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Message: [QUOTE="reedny, post: 504871, member: 1423"] You picked up on the dictum, however the post was a positive one about McDonald. But since you raised the subject, there are reasons for my reaction. As you point out, every year, college FB staff positions change. A few lucky coaches get NFL opportunities. Marrone was an obvious target, even before he came to us. All the same, I had some issues with the way things went down: 1- First and foremost, I don't agree that Marrone was done with what he came here to accomplish (even giving him a free pass on his "dream" job quote). He's a talented coach. I loved his no nonsense attitude and the discipline he brought to the program. In a short time, he reversed the GRob damage, got us back on track and started winning games, even getting to a bowl a couple of times. His development of Nassib was an inspiration. All those things are noted and appreciated. But 4 years did not get us near top 20 status. We're still struggling with recruiting compared to our competition (even more since he left during prime recruiting time). There were way too many things left undone. The one saving grace is that he left SS. For that I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (even though he probably tried to poach him too); 2- Marrone's "email" to the players (and subsequent meeting) was (were) fine, but from a fan standpoint his departure was too shadowy for my taste, and the timing was nearly as bad as Schiano's. January is a changeover month, and maybe you were not surprised that Marrone jumped. However, I respect(ed) Marrone as a character guy. Character guys address issues head-on; they don't duck the media while doing interviews, or leave their alma mater (and its fans and staff) riding the gravity chair for a week. At the very least, once he made a decision, he should have addressed THE FANS. Do your Buffalo roll-out, fine, but not before you tell the SU faithful that you've decided to leave. Instead, he slid out of town, put on a new hat and scheduled a news conference at another venue. I'm not bitter -- I wish Marrone well (if he takes some SU talent, I may even follow his new team). I'm just disappointed he didn't have the guts to face the SU nation straight up. Most of us would have understood. 3- The poaching added to the sour taste. If he [I]had[/I] to have Hackett, fine. But raiding almost every staff position, without an apparent thought to the damage it would do to recruiting (or continuity), was harsh. It seems like, once he got his NFL ticket, his loyalties flipped faster than you can say "chicken wings". He needed coaches and raided the closest ice box -- without a care in the world for the fallout for SU. This was totally unnecessary. NFL assistants can be found all over the country. Marrone's coached at a bunch of institutions. He could easily have gotten staff from any of these former schools, or even an ACC school, without leaving scorched earth in central NY. Yes we will recover. SS has put together a nice group (the main point of my post). But none of that was DM's doing. We had to pick up the pieces ourselves. [/QUOTE]

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