Report: McDonald to WolfPack

[chugg21]

Come on, the current recruits were 3 years old at that time, they definitely remember the glory days!

Oh well.

You guys continue to be delusional though. It's not 1998 anymore.

Since 1999... FIFTEEN years...

NC State:
10 bowls
Six 8+ win seasons
Two times finished season ranked in top 25
5 losing seasons

Syracuse:
6 bowls
Three 8+ win seasons
One time finished season ranked in top 25
8 losing seasons

Yeah, such a "lesser" program.

It. Is. Not. 1998. Anymore.

 

[boog7]

...I agree with you about Lester and I have been on record that Scott Shafer as HC doesn't give me confidence...

At least with this move, McD now ensures that he'll be coaching in the ACC longer than Scott Shafer will.

 

[UD1954]

Water seeks its own level....Shafer is the only head coach that was willing to give McDonald a shot as a OC ...I respect Shafer for giving McDonald a shot but it was obvious to all that McDonald was in over his head as a OC...he's a wide receiver coach period.... He may be mad leaving... but lets wait and see when or where he gets his next OC opportunity.

 

[Chip]

A true lateral move. I wonder if they matched is Asst/Assoc HC bonus as a position coach.

Once you get demoted, lateral moves feel like promotions.

 

[Stevenson]

One of the biggest pieces of garbage to ever step foot in the Dome

 

[TheCusian]

At least with this move, McD now ensures that he'll be coaching in the ACC longer than Scott Shafer will.

Doreen has 1 more win than Shafer in 2 seasons - and won his 1st ACC game against us in the last half of the season. Sloooowwww Doooooown.

 

[Dr. Bill]

Shafer confirmed the change only AFTER McDonald had already cried to the press.

All I know is Shafer has some work to do now to find another recruiter!

 

[oldpinepoint]

Ok, why I'm annoyed at Micky D's, it's not that he's leavings it's the timing. I just find the announcement odd. I thought these things were annouced after signing day as a courtesy to the Previous employer. hopefully he has some integrity and doesn't poach committed recruits.

 

[boog7]

I have no problem being alone in my opinion. Majority can be just as wrong as any individual.Too many people seek "group affirmation" before being confident about what they think.

You're actually not alone in your opinion as I agree with you completely.

The poorly thought out, reactionary way that Shafer threw McD under the bus for a struggling offense after like just four games showed what a poor leader and decision maker he is. The fact that the offense actually got worse after the switch only demonstrated that the offensive problems ran much deeper than McD, and if Shafer was a competent coach, he would've recognized that instead of making a hasty decision that only ensured the loss of his best recruiting weapon but still didn't fix the problem.

But McD became a despised scapegoat, so many posters here applauded his demotion and credited Shafer for being "swift and decisive." I prefer to view it as "rushed and short-sighted" and ultimately unwise & unfair. McD was a young, developing OC that Shafer hand-picked -- nobody forced McD on him, that was entirely his choice -- and for Shafer to bail on him so early in just his 2nd year, after leading the O to bowl eligibility and a W over a solid Minnesota team in his 1st year, was imho, a inept display of organizational leadership and personnel management.

And with the way McD was treated, I don't think Shafer will have an easy time finding a replacement who has McD's recruiting bona fides and connections. And let's face it, Shafer may not be on the hot seat yet but it's certainly warming up. A repeat performance like 2014 next season and Shafer's likely a goner. Coaches know that and may be reluctant to join his staff, at least the better coaches, anyway.

NC State got a steal w/ McD. Watch how many blue chip So. Fla. kids he convinces to play in Raleigh, which I'd imagine is a far more attractive location to those kids than frigid Syracuse.

 

[javadoc]

You're actually not alone in your opinion as I agree with you completely.

The poorly thought out, reactionary way that Shafer threw McD under the bus for a struggling offense after like just four games showed what a poor leader and decision maker he is. The fact that the offense actually got worse after the switch only demonstrated that the offensive problems ran much deeper than McD, and if Shafer was a competent coach, he would've recognized that instead of making a hasty decision that only ensured the loss of his best recruiting weapon but still didn't fix the problem.

What was the reason that McDonald was demoted? Do you know for a fact?

From what has been said here, there was something that happened that required a change, regardless of which game it occurred in. At the very least, he couldn't call plays any longer.

 

[SUbear]

Didn't Urban Meyer coach in the MAC.

Didn't Randy Walker coach in the MAC.

Didn't Don James coach in the MAC.

Didn't Terry Hoeppner coach in the MAC.

The fact is that some very good coaches came from that conference.

Cherry picking. I think you could come up with dozens who were never worth a darn.

 

[boog7]

Doreen has 1 more win than Shafer in 2 seasons - and won his 1st ACC game against us in the last half of the season. Sloooowwww Doooooown.

NC State 2014: 8-5 [3-5 ACC], ended the season w/ a 3 game winning streak incl. a bowl win. Doeren arrow pointing up.

Syracuse 2014: 3-9 [1-7 ACC], ended the season w/ a 5 game losing streak, no bowl. Shafer arrow pointing down.

Overall career wins are not nearly as important as the current direction of the program. Doeren has his program moving in the right direction and has a history of doing that.

Shafer does not.

Doeren will likely be coaching in the ACC in 2016, 2017.

Shafer will likely not be.

 

[Finwad32]

What was the reason that McDonald was demoted? Do you know for a fact?

From what has been said here, there was something that happened that required a change, regardless of which game it occurred in. At the very least, he couldn't call plays any longer.

I Believe he lost it and shut down in the booth.

 

[anomander]

Did Shafer demote him publicly? Seems a common assumption that it was Shafer's doing, but I think a more believable case can be made for McD leaking the info himself to make it public.

This one is on Shafer. There was a lot going on, but 1 thing was that Gross really didn't want HCSS to use the word "demotion", but HCSS was adamant about being up front with what was going on. Sounds like a few people weren't too happy with the way this was handled, and the reason McDonald acted that way was because he was caught off guard, and what he felt was done wrong. His presser wasn't his best moment, but I think that was a lot of heat of the moment stuff. I don't think McDonald leaked anything. His only wrong in this was the way he handled the demotion publicly. Everything else is on HCSS.

 

[Finwad32]

You're actually not alone in your opinion as I agree with you completely.

The poorly thought out, reactionary way that Shafer threw McD under the bus for a struggling offense after like just four games showed what a poor leader and decision maker he is. The fact that the offense actually got worse after the switch only demonstrated that the offensive problems ran much deeper than McD, and if Shafer was a competent coach, he would've recognized that instead of making a hasty decision that only ensured the loss of his best recruiting weapon but still didn't fix the problem.

But McD became a despised scapegoat, so many posters here applauded his demotion and credited Shafer for being "swift and decisive." I prefer to view it as "rushed and short-sighted" and ultimately unwise & unfair. McD was a young, developing OC that Shafer hand-picked -- nobody forced McD on him, that was entirely his choice -- and for Shafer to bail on him so early in just his 2nd year, after leading the O to bowl eligibility and a W over a solid Minnesota team in his 1st year, was imho, a inept display of organizational leadership and personnel management.

And with the way McD was treated, I don't think Shafer will have an easy time finding a replacement who has McD's recruiting bona fides and connections. And let's face it, Shafer may not be on the hot seat yet but it's certainly warming up. A repeat performance like 2014 next season and Shafer's likely a goner. Coaches know that and may be reluctant to join his staff, at least the better coaches, anyway.

NC State got a steal w/ McD. Watch how many blue chip So. Fla. kids he convinces to play in Raleigh, which I'd imagine is a far more attractive location to those kids than frigid Syracuse.

"Rushed and short sighted" like his offense that continually went 3 & out and when it did go stalled inside the 20.

 

[javadoc]

I Believe he lost it and shut down in the booth.

Right, wanted to bring that back up. The offense was producing yards but was getting bogged down in the red zone. Rather than figure out how to make it work, McD stressed himself into a panic-like shutdown and we couldn't get plays in. The moment that happens, you have to pull the plug, at least on the play-calling duties.

I do not know this firsthand, but have read it from enough long-time knowledgeable guys here to believe it. And Go had been highlighting the red zone issues, pointing out that it was a totally fixable issue and entirely up to the coaches. Instead of a fix, we got a breakdown.

 

[Louie and Bouie]

"Rushed and short sighted" like his offense that continually went 3 & out and when it did go stalled inside the 20.

He was .500 as the offensive coordinator. As I've been told 100x on this board the measuring stick is wins and losses. Good luck to Tim Lester reaching that career mark at Syracuse. After his start, he'll need it.

 

[SUbear]

Shafer announced the change..that is not private. Private would have been keeping his title...just changing play calling assignments.

You are incorrect, it only came to public knowledge after McD told reporters. Subsequently Shafer was forced to go public.

 

[boog7]

"Rushed and short sighted" like his offense that continually went 3 & out and when it did go stalled inside the 20.

By "his" offense are referring to Lester or McD because you're describing both?

 

[TheCusian]

What was the reason that McDonald was demoted? Do you know for a fact? From what has been said here, there was something that happened that required a change, regardless of which game it occurred in. At the very least, he couldn't call plays any longer.

Rumor was he choked and couldn't get the play called in the rd zone a couple if times.

 

[Finwad32]

He was .500 as the offensive coordinator. As I've been told 100x on this board the measuring stick is wins and losses. Good luck to Tim Lester reaching that career mark at Syracuse. After his start, he'll need it.

Never said Lester was any better. Don't know at this point.

The statement I made that you quoted was not typical from me, but, I'm sick of listening to everybody and their sky is falling crap. Something came to fruition that's been coming down the pike for months and you'd of thought we got hit with a 3 year bowl ban today directly attributable to Shafer.

And don't write off this staff just yet, otherwise, you might as well bury your head in the sand until 2016.

 

[Finwad32]

By "his" offense are referring to Lester or McD because you're describing both?

What's your point?

I'm sure you could've let HCSS know that this would happen prior to the switch too.

 

[TheCusian]

NC State 2014: 8-5 [3-5 ACC], ended the season w/ a 3 game winning streak incl. a bowl win. Doeren arrow pointing up. Syracuse 2014: 3-9 [1-7 ACC], ended the season w/ a 5 game losing streak, no bowl. Shafer arrow pointing down. Overall career wins are not nearly as important as the current direction of the program. Doeren has his program moving in the right direction and has a history of doing that. Shafer does not. Doeren will likely be coaching in the ACC in 2016, 2017. Shafer will likely not be.

1st of all - how many QB's did they start all year? 2nd - I'm not saying they are not trending up - just that he difference is minimal overall. They each have a 3-9 to their credit, and Shafer has more conference wins.

Pure speculation on your part.

 

[boog7]

...The offense was producing yards but was getting bogged down in the red zone. Rather than figure out how to make it work, McD stressed himself into a panic-like shutdown and we couldn't get plays in. The moment that happens, you have to pull the plug, at least on the play-calling duties.

Good head coaches coach up their coaches. McD lead the same offense to 8 wins his first year as OC. If he was experiencing some type of sophomore slump, Shafer should've diligently worked with him to correct whatever problems he was having. Or maybe he could've brought in a retired coach to "consult" and mentor McD. But pulling the plug and demoting him was, imo, the worse choice in terms of the big picture. While McD certainly takes a share of the blame for the problems on offense, they weren't all on him as Lester proved when he took over and was even less productive.

 

[SUbear]

I have read the entire discussion and been a part of previous discussions on the same topic. There has been a lot of talk about McDonald being a bad guy for expressing to the press his feelings about the demotion..and not being loyal...etc...etc. you should read all the comments..that is the general thread. I seem to be the only one that has no problem with what he said to the press.

You being the only one says a lot does it not.