Petro named new defensive coordinator | Page 6 | Syracusefan.com

Petro named new defensive coordinator

In reading the Syracuse.com articles, it seems like Petro wants to be a head coach again. I think he stays at SYR until a head coaching offer comes to him that is appealing. That being said, if he's here only a year or two, it's worth it.
 
Have now watched the Petro presser and read a bunch of the articles that were written about the presser. I am really impressed with the former Hopkins coach. He had long detailed answers to each question, very thoughtful, very composed. It wasn't just coach speak either, you could tell he really believed what he was saying. He clearly has a plan in place. I was ready to run through a brick wall after the first few minutes. This is a guy who knows himself and knows what type of team he wants to have. I think this hire is a home run.

I am not sure what went wrong at Hopkins but it really feels like it was a classic "change of scenery" situation. I don't want to get too psychoanalyst here, but it really seems like Petro had to get away, and now that he's in a new situation, seems very dedicated to achieving greatness. 20 years at one place is a long time! I know there are concerns that he'll just cut and run at the first chance at a head coaching job, but - 1) being a top assistant at Syracuse can sometimes be better than the head man at a lower level place, 2) Head coaching opportunities in the ACC/Big 10 don't come around that often and 3) There's no guarantee that if one of those schools have an opening, he would be their first choice.

The wildcard here is his sons. If they change their commitment to Syracuse, that would obviously be huge for a number of reasons but I think it would also help signal that Petro views this as a more long term commitment. Obviously there are the comments from LaxFactor, and a poster on FanLax who predicted the that Gait would be the new HC for the men's team and Petro would be his DC is also saying the twins are Syracuse bound. Fingers crossed, obviously.
 
Have now watched the Petro presser and read a bunch of the articles that were written about the presser. I am really impressed with the former Hopkins coach. He had long detailed answers to each question, very thoughtful, very composed. It wasn't just coach speak either, you could tell he really believed what he was saying. He clearly has a plan in place. I was ready to run through a brick wall after the first few minutes. This is a guy who knows himself and knows what type of team he wants to have. I think this hire is a home run.

I am not sure what went wrong at Hopkins but it really feels like it was a classic "change of scenery" situation. I don't want to get too psychoanalyst here, but it really seems like Petro had to get away, and now that he's in a new situation, seems very dedicated to achieving greatness. 20 years at one place is a long time! I know there are concerns that he'll just cut and run at the first chance at a head coaching job, but - 1) being a top assistant at Syracuse can sometimes be better than the head man at a lower level place, 2) Head coaching opportunities in the ACC/Big 10 don't come around that often and 3) There's no guarantee that if one of those schools have an opening, he would be their first choice.

The wildcard here is his sons. If they change their commitment to Syracuse, that would obviously be huge for a number of reasons but I think it would also help signal that Petro views this as a more long term commitment. Obviously there are the comments from LaxFactor, and a poster on FanLax who predicted the that Gait would be the new HC for the men's team and Petro would be his DC is also saying the twins are Syracuse bound. Fingers crossed, obviously.
The fact that Pietramala didn't dismiss the idea of his sons coming along is a hopeful sign. His answer to the question about his sons was one of the rare moments of "coachspeak" (or, perhaps, better, "fatherspeak").
 
The wildcard here is his sons. If they change their commitment to Syracuse, that would obviously be huge for a number of reasons but I think it would also help signal that Petro views this as a more long term commitment. Obviously there are the comments from LaxFactor, and a poster on FanLax who predicted the that Gait would be the new HC for the men's team and Petro would be his DC is also saying the twins are Syracuse bound. Fingers crossed, obviously.
Obviously a biased and uninformed opinion, but the twins jumping over would only seem to make sense. Dad's goal is to win some championships and build back his resume and reputation. Kids' goals are to win some championships to create a reputation, maybe play pro, etc. They can't both win championships at the same time. Why wouldn't they do whatever they could to help each other reach their goals? That is of course unless Petro's kids are like my own and would never willingly play for a team their dad coached even if their life (or XBox) depended on it.
 
Obviously a biased and uninformed opinion, but the twins jumping over would only seem to make sense. Dad's goal is to win some championships and build back his resume and reputation. Kids' goals are to win some championships to create a reputation, maybe play pro, etc. They can't both win championships at the same time. Why wouldn't they do whatever they could to help each other reach their goals? That is of course unless Petro's kids are like my own and would never willingly play for a team their dad coached even if their life (or XBox) depended on it.

As a fan, I hope they switch and come here.

As a Dad, I wonder if that is the healthiest thing.
 
FWIW, this is an article from October 2020 on the Petro twins’ verballing to UNC.


Where do you want to go?” Dave Pietramala asked Dom early in the process.

“I want to play for you,” Dom replied.

“Well, that’s not happening,” Dave said.

That understanding became a reality in April after the COVID-shortened season when Pietramala, the winningest coach in Johns Hopkins history, “mutually parted ways...”
 
The fact that Pietramala didn't dismiss the idea of his sons coming along is a hopeful sign. His answer to the question about his sons was one of the rare moments of "coachspeak" (or, perhaps, better, "fatherspeak").
As a glass half empty kind of guy, I had the opposite interpretation- the ambiguous answer was worrisome. You have to think that if the kids were going to jump, they would do it soon so as not to string UNC along.
 
If they were my sons, I would not hesitate. I'd advise them to stick with their commitments. I'd add that the benefits of that act would last forever and be far more important than any athletic accomplishments. "And you two, I will be proud of you both when I coach against your team, more proud than I would be if you scored a dozen goals for SU against UNC." Character matters.
 
If they were my sons, I would not hesitate. I'd advise them to stick with their commitments. I'd add that the benefits of that act would last forever and be far more important than any athletic accomplishments. "And you two, I will be proud of you both when I coach against your team, more proud than I would be if you scored a dozen goals for SU against UNC." Character matters.
Hmmm...I get your point. However, as the kid, would you prefer playing for your dad or against your dad? It’s not like they committed to a school that wouldn’t play Syracuse every year. They’ve already said in an article that they wanted to play for their dad, it just wasn’t an option that they could foresee. I don’t think it shows lack of character at all to respectfully change their commitments considering what has transpired since their commitment to UNC.
 
As a glass half empty kind of guy, I had the opposite interpretation- the ambiguous answer was worrisome. You have to think that if the kids were going to jump, they would do it soon so as not to string UNC along.

I had ks orange's interpretation, though it is probably colored by wishful thinking. If they are indeed going to switch to the Orange, I don't know when that announcement might be made - the Orange have been in the news for a solid two weeks, from Gait's hire, to Petro's hire, to now Traenor's hire. They might want to wait until the coaching carousel slows down a bit. Ted from LaxFactor thought they were trying to time things right.

And for what it's worth, there haven't been any other switches from other recruits yet, even though there have been rumors on FanLax about Virginia flipping a number of kids after the title game. I don't know when "flipping season" starts, but since it's not happening now, I am not overly concerned I guess.
 
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Hmmm...I get your point. However, as the kid, would you prefer playing for your dad or against your dad? It’s not like they committed to a school that wouldn’t play Syracuse every year. They’ve already said in an article that they wanted to play for their dad, it just wasn’t an option that they could foresee. I don’t think it shows lack of character at all to respectfully change their commitments considering what has transpired since their commitment to UNC.
It's the hard decisions that build character not the ones with easy outs. Hell, I played against my father's hockey team and loved to beat them. Then we went out and had a beer. I think I would respect a father who told me to stick to a commitment even though there were enticing alternatives, more than the father who does not see the lesson, the opportunity in the moment. I was very impressed with Pietramala's thoughtfulness, tact, intelligence, foresight, and enthusiasm demonstrated

in his interview. I'll bet he discusses this with his kids. I'll bet he sees the opportunity in the moment. And then his kids will decide for themselves. It's as much the father's character as the kids' in question. I'd love to see Dom in an SU uniform.
 
Just one man's opinion, but I think high school athletes are making college playing choices way too early. Gee, sophmores and juniors making these important decisions before they had a chance for their bodies and minds to mature. As far as I'm concerned, until they sign a letter of intent, anything else is just wishful thinking. Besides, do we actually believe that college recruiters aren't still actively looking for better players even after the kid makes the so-called verbal committment, as well as, the recuriter dropping the school's committment if the player gets injured or has an "bad" senior year?

I think if Dave's boys want to play with their dad (or not), that's their decision and shouldn't be a committment until they officially sign their respective letters of intent.
 
Because I believe this discussion has broad implications for college sports, I want to revive for a moment the dead horse discussion of commitments. I am inferring from the comments above that a verbal commitment from an 18 year old should not be considered a "real commitment", first because it is not a written commitment and second because an adolescent made it. Neither argument convinces me. By law, verbal contracts are as binding as written contracts. By ethics, verbal commitments are promises. I know the NCAA buys the questionable notion that only written commitments are binding. The verbal commitment requires the institution to include in its calculations the player who has so committed. So, if it is an ethical school, it remains committed to the player until signing occurs or does not occur.

A promise to a large organization is an adult rite of passage and should be honored as such by the player. A kid can go anywhere he chooses. Rightly so, but she or he ought to spend a lot more time examining the implications and responsibilities of the decision. I apply all this to college players who don't get the world they want from a school fast enough, so they run to another. I understand the obvious counter argument that employees are free agents and may work anywhere they please.

Sometimes this entitlement is sorely abused.
 
Because I believe this discussion has broad implications for college sports, I want to revive for a moment the dead horse discussion of commitments. I am inferring from the comments above that a verbal commitment from an 18 year old should not be considered a "real commitment", first because it is not a written commitment and second because an adolescent made it. Neither argument convinces me. By law, verbal contracts are as binding as written contracts. By ethics, verbal commitments are promises. I know the NCAA buys the questionable notion that only written commitments are binding. The verbal commitment requires the institution to include in its calculations the player who has so committed. So, if it is an ethical school, it remains committed to the player until signing occurs or does not occur.

A promise to a large organization is an adult rite of passage and should be honored as such by the player. A kid can go anywhere he chooses. Rightly so, but she or he ought to spend a lot more time examining the implications and responsibilities of the decision. I apply all this to college players who don't get the world they want from a school fast enough, so they run to another. I understand the obvious counter argument that employees are free agents and may work anywhere they please.

Sometimes this entitlement is sorely abused.
I generally agree with the verbal agreement premise as a promise, but where I have a problem is that sophs and juniors are generally not 18 years old, so I suspect some parental involvement is in order when these "promises" are being made. Certainally Dave P should know this as well as any parent.
 
I generally agree with the verbal agreement premise as a promise, but where I have a problem is that sophs and juniors are generally not 18 years old, so I suspect some parental involvement is in order when these "promises" are being made. Certainally Dave P should know this as well as any parent.
From a legal perspective, contracts entered into by minors are voidable.
 

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