Rocco
Watching you.
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It all started with Peter King’s “Top 5 College Coaching Candidates for NFL Head Coaching Jobs” article. Doug Marrone, the Orange alum who resurrected our once-proud program from the days of basement dwelling, appeared on the list at #5. This was November 26th, 2012. Many people were completely caught off-guard with the amount of positive reviews front office execs were sharing about our very own Syracuse HCDM. Anyone close to Marrone’s circle knew from the start that he was a great NFL offensive mind, an NFL HC talent and had a CEO-type vision that many GM’s like. More importantly, they knew that this is where his heart was. When he first took his “dream job” at Syracuse (a phrase forever etched and tattooed in the minds of some bitter SU fans), I fully believe that at the time, it was exactly that. He played for SU in the 80’s under Coach Mac, was able to experience the golden years of this program, and ultimately decided that coaching football was his true passion in life. Off he went…
Fast forward 20+ years from his last playing days at SU and DM now sees SU as the laughing stock of all of college football. It is November 2008. Daryl Gross, our 4th year AD at this point, is already 0-1 on HC hires after his firing of 14 year SU HC Paul Pasqualoni in 2004. Gross’ first hire after PP’s firing, Greg Robinson, took a slippery pig and greased it up some more en route to the meat grinder. Over his 4 years, GRob went a stellar 10-37, including a 3-25 Big East conference record. 3-25 against dicey BE competition. Fans and administration were embarrassed and disgusted, and former players felt the program had been neglected. As the OC of the New Orleans Saints, Doug Marrone decided something needed to be done to right the ship at his alma mater. He reached out to Sean Payton, his boss and close friend, and attained his blessing if he were to reach out for the SU HC job. He did just that. He put together an elaborate game plan of how he was going to exactly fix the problems up on the hill in the football program, and completely blew away the search committee including Gross, Little and Green. Marrone, up to this point, was an unknown in college coaching circles. Gross was courting Skip Holtz, Turner Gill, Randy Edsall and a few other “hot names” at the time. Doug Marrone affirmatively and passionately through his name into the ring for consideration.
On December 11th, 2008, Syracuse had a new football coach. Doug Marrone came in as a long-shot and relatively unknown candidate, to being tasked with re-directing, and frankly, resurrecting The Orange Football program from the depths of college football purgatory. The job was a monumental one at the time. He had 59 scholarship players to start off his first campaign. Many of the players weren’t willing to buy into his philosophy and direction, and off they went. He simply told other players that they would likely never play for him in a real game. He’d help them find a new home if they asked. He did everything he felt necessary to “clean house” and start over. After all, this was a team coming off of 42-28 loss at home to Akron a few months prior to his arrival. Major, major changes needed to be made. One of the first hires he made was to recently removed DC at Michigan, Scott Shafer. He wanted Shafer to come in and command his defensive unit, and gave him the keys to the D after he came aboard. The rebuilding, remodeling, refurbishing, reconstructing, rejuvenating, reincarnating of the program was on its way. There was a loooong way to go.
Fast forward to November 26th, 2012 and the news that Peter King had included Doug Marrone as a legit NFL HC candidate. Peter King, for those who don’t know, is extremely connected with the front offices and insiders around the NFL. When he says something, people listen. Those who didn’t really know who Doug Marrone was before that article, started playing attention to the Syracuse HC. Marrone now had a full roster, was making in-roads recruiting wise, and was marketing ferociously behind the scenes to improve the football facilities. On top of that, he had just finished a 7-5 season, in which the Orange started off 2-4. They smashed Top 10 Louisville and they were getting ready for their 2nd bowl appearance in 4 years, facing off against long-time rival West Virginia (who they would sweep the floor with 38-14). The program under his reign was 25-25 with 2 Pinstripe Bowl victories. Things appeared to be on the right track. Everyone was very happy with Gross’ 2nd football hire at HC. It seemed things were on the up and up. Shortly after the Pinstripe Bowl W, things became hectic. Rumors were flying around that Doug was the heavy favorite for Eagles, Browns, Bills and Chargers HC jobs. People in Syracuse, hanging their hat on the infamous “dream job” comment, didn’t want to believe it. No way would DM leave now. On January 6th, 2013, Marrone was officially hired as next HC of the Buffalo Bills.
Gross had to begin his 3rd search for a football HC in 8 years. He was bummed, without question, but needed to find a replacement as soon as possible. He did not have to look very far in finding Scott Shafer, who had been the DC all 4 years under Marrone’s helm. Shafer was a known commodity within the program and community. The players and administration already loved him. The fans wanted him. If hired, the continuity of the program would remain relatively unscathed. On January 9th, 2013, just 3 days after Marrone was introduced as the Bills HC, Shafer was named the new HC of the Syracuse Orange. This was a breath of fresh air to many in the program, especially the players, since Shafer brought such a different philosophy of coaching to the table. He was a high intensity guy, a players’ first coach in contrast to the CEO, business-like approach Marrone brought to the table. Neither is wrong, but both are polar opposites from one another. Will be interesting to see how the team responds.
The reason for this post was to remind Syracuse fans that we have a respectable program now, one that needs all of the support and contributions it can get from its fan base and alumni. I was very bummed that Marrone left for greener pastures, but at the end of the day, his skill set and incredibly high knowledge for the game may have been better suited for the NFL. He still loves this program, but decided he needed to walk away for a bit after he left, to let people’s emotions calm down a bit. He will keep a close eye on the progression being made in his absence. With that being in the past, the most important thing now is that DM brought us Scott Shafer. Shafer has yet to coach a college football game, but if the players’ attitudes have shown anything, they are more than ready to play for their new leader. His defensive-minded approach to the game will allow us to continue watching the blitz-oriented, fast-paced and aggressive defense we’ve become used to seeing over the last 4 years. He was able to hand-pick his defensive staff, led by good friend and new DC, Chuck Bullough. Along with Bullough is D-Line coach Timmy Daoust and a slew of other guys he used to coach with. Shafer was also able to bring in a bunch of young and exciting offensive minds to round out the other side of the staff. I think you will see more aggressive play calls coming from George McDonald. The "family" atmosphere is alive and thriving for us.
At the end of the day, our program has returned from the shallows of college football mockery, and is on its way back to what we’re used to seeing. Marrone was able to right the ship; it is up to Shafer to continue to navigate the ship in the right direction. Shafer needs to strike while the iron is hot, and it has never been hotter. We are right on the verge of being a very good program again. Another winning season and post-season bowl berth should continue to open the doors to bigger and better recruits. Upgrades have been made to the locker rooms, football wing, training and rehab rooms and more. We will soon have a brand new 102,000 square foot Football Indoor Practice Facility being built next to Manley in an effort to bring our football facilities up to par with our peers. Season ticket sales have improved. We have way better competition coming into the Dome now. All things up on the hill are finally moving in the right direction. We will be playing on a much bigger stage now than we have in the past, and I feel this team and its coaching staff are more than up for the challenge.
All hail new HC Scott Shafer, and thank you to Doug Marrone for bringing him to us. Gross is now 1-1 on football hires, here's to hoping he improves to 2-1.
Let's. Go. Orange.
Fast forward 20+ years from his last playing days at SU and DM now sees SU as the laughing stock of all of college football. It is November 2008. Daryl Gross, our 4th year AD at this point, is already 0-1 on HC hires after his firing of 14 year SU HC Paul Pasqualoni in 2004. Gross’ first hire after PP’s firing, Greg Robinson, took a slippery pig and greased it up some more en route to the meat grinder. Over his 4 years, GRob went a stellar 10-37, including a 3-25 Big East conference record. 3-25 against dicey BE competition. Fans and administration were embarrassed and disgusted, and former players felt the program had been neglected. As the OC of the New Orleans Saints, Doug Marrone decided something needed to be done to right the ship at his alma mater. He reached out to Sean Payton, his boss and close friend, and attained his blessing if he were to reach out for the SU HC job. He did just that. He put together an elaborate game plan of how he was going to exactly fix the problems up on the hill in the football program, and completely blew away the search committee including Gross, Little and Green. Marrone, up to this point, was an unknown in college coaching circles. Gross was courting Skip Holtz, Turner Gill, Randy Edsall and a few other “hot names” at the time. Doug Marrone affirmatively and passionately through his name into the ring for consideration.
On December 11th, 2008, Syracuse had a new football coach. Doug Marrone came in as a long-shot and relatively unknown candidate, to being tasked with re-directing, and frankly, resurrecting The Orange Football program from the depths of college football purgatory. The job was a monumental one at the time. He had 59 scholarship players to start off his first campaign. Many of the players weren’t willing to buy into his philosophy and direction, and off they went. He simply told other players that they would likely never play for him in a real game. He’d help them find a new home if they asked. He did everything he felt necessary to “clean house” and start over. After all, this was a team coming off of 42-28 loss at home to Akron a few months prior to his arrival. Major, major changes needed to be made. One of the first hires he made was to recently removed DC at Michigan, Scott Shafer. He wanted Shafer to come in and command his defensive unit, and gave him the keys to the D after he came aboard. The rebuilding, remodeling, refurbishing, reconstructing, rejuvenating, reincarnating of the program was on its way. There was a loooong way to go.
Fast forward to November 26th, 2012 and the news that Peter King had included Doug Marrone as a legit NFL HC candidate. Peter King, for those who don’t know, is extremely connected with the front offices and insiders around the NFL. When he says something, people listen. Those who didn’t really know who Doug Marrone was before that article, started playing attention to the Syracuse HC. Marrone now had a full roster, was making in-roads recruiting wise, and was marketing ferociously behind the scenes to improve the football facilities. On top of that, he had just finished a 7-5 season, in which the Orange started off 2-4. They smashed Top 10 Louisville and they were getting ready for their 2nd bowl appearance in 4 years, facing off against long-time rival West Virginia (who they would sweep the floor with 38-14). The program under his reign was 25-25 with 2 Pinstripe Bowl victories. Things appeared to be on the right track. Everyone was very happy with Gross’ 2nd football hire at HC. It seemed things were on the up and up. Shortly after the Pinstripe Bowl W, things became hectic. Rumors were flying around that Doug was the heavy favorite for Eagles, Browns, Bills and Chargers HC jobs. People in Syracuse, hanging their hat on the infamous “dream job” comment, didn’t want to believe it. No way would DM leave now. On January 6th, 2013, Marrone was officially hired as next HC of the Buffalo Bills.
Gross had to begin his 3rd search for a football HC in 8 years. He was bummed, without question, but needed to find a replacement as soon as possible. He did not have to look very far in finding Scott Shafer, who had been the DC all 4 years under Marrone’s helm. Shafer was a known commodity within the program and community. The players and administration already loved him. The fans wanted him. If hired, the continuity of the program would remain relatively unscathed. On January 9th, 2013, just 3 days after Marrone was introduced as the Bills HC, Shafer was named the new HC of the Syracuse Orange. This was a breath of fresh air to many in the program, especially the players, since Shafer brought such a different philosophy of coaching to the table. He was a high intensity guy, a players’ first coach in contrast to the CEO, business-like approach Marrone brought to the table. Neither is wrong, but both are polar opposites from one another. Will be interesting to see how the team responds.
The reason for this post was to remind Syracuse fans that we have a respectable program now, one that needs all of the support and contributions it can get from its fan base and alumni. I was very bummed that Marrone left for greener pastures, but at the end of the day, his skill set and incredibly high knowledge for the game may have been better suited for the NFL. He still loves this program, but decided he needed to walk away for a bit after he left, to let people’s emotions calm down a bit. He will keep a close eye on the progression being made in his absence. With that being in the past, the most important thing now is that DM brought us Scott Shafer. Shafer has yet to coach a college football game, but if the players’ attitudes have shown anything, they are more than ready to play for their new leader. His defensive-minded approach to the game will allow us to continue watching the blitz-oriented, fast-paced and aggressive defense we’ve become used to seeing over the last 4 years. He was able to hand-pick his defensive staff, led by good friend and new DC, Chuck Bullough. Along with Bullough is D-Line coach Timmy Daoust and a slew of other guys he used to coach with. Shafer was also able to bring in a bunch of young and exciting offensive minds to round out the other side of the staff. I think you will see more aggressive play calls coming from George McDonald. The "family" atmosphere is alive and thriving for us.
At the end of the day, our program has returned from the shallows of college football mockery, and is on its way back to what we’re used to seeing. Marrone was able to right the ship; it is up to Shafer to continue to navigate the ship in the right direction. Shafer needs to strike while the iron is hot, and it has never been hotter. We are right on the verge of being a very good program again. Another winning season and post-season bowl berth should continue to open the doors to bigger and better recruits. Upgrades have been made to the locker rooms, football wing, training and rehab rooms and more. We will soon have a brand new 102,000 square foot Football Indoor Practice Facility being built next to Manley in an effort to bring our football facilities up to par with our peers. Season ticket sales have improved. We have way better competition coming into the Dome now. All things up on the hill are finally moving in the right direction. We will be playing on a much bigger stage now than we have in the past, and I feel this team and its coaching staff are more than up for the challenge.
All hail new HC Scott Shafer, and thank you to Doug Marrone for bringing him to us. Gross is now 1-1 on football hires, here's to hoping he improves to 2-1.
Let's. Go. Orange.
