Even the guys who hated his ability as a coach recognize just how good a guy Shafer is, and how hard he works and what a great series of relationships he builds with his guys.
He's a guy that we all so desperately wanted it to work out for. Would one more year have made any real difference for him? We will never know, but most people would say it probably was just prolonging the inevitable.
3 pieces of advice for Shafer as he gets ready for his next job.
1. Work on the game management issues
2. Pick an offensive identity and hire somebody who can execute it. We basically had 6 offensive systems in 3 years under Shafer (McDonald, McDonald's system as called by Lester, McDonald's revamped system, Lester running McDonalds revamped system after he was demoted, Lesters system and the triple option as necessisitated by Mahoney in the line ups). Gotta have an identity, play through it and recruit to it. It doesn't matter what that identity is, you just gotta find one.
3. There is a balance between coaches who can create an amazing family atmosphere in the program and guys who can actually coach. We have some guys on this staff who can't coach in their current roles.
Those are three big things you can control going forwards that got you fired from Syracuse. Best of luck Shafer, your energy and excitement will be missed in Syracuse.