Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1542198, member: 289"] There are a lot of things I like about Shafer: His intense personality, his emphasis on football as part of the learning experience, his pedigree with the Harbaughs and previous involvement with rebuilding programs, his aggressive defensive style, etc. There are things I don't like. The wild swings of his first year, with 7 wins and a bowl victory but some horrendous defeats. The dismal losing streaks these last years, with the team getting worse rather than better as the season progresses. I agree that he talks a tough game but his willingness to surrender the ball to the opposition seems to contradict his apparent attitude. His decisions about clock management seem strange and the inadequate and contradictory statements he and his coaches have made about those decisions are concerning. All Syracuse coaches are learning on the job. They've either never been head coaches before or never been head coaches at this level. The same thing is true of most of their staff. Coach P and, yes Coach Mac also made some strange decisions and said some strange things about them. They were criticized for it but they coached here for 10 and 14 seasons because they had, (or eventually had) the talent available to win games anyway. I think the talent level has been Shafer's biggest problem. it was mediocre, at best to begin with but he was able to win a bowl game with it. He got wiped out by injuries last year and this year, it's all freshmen and sophomores with little depth because his predecessor got bored with recruiting and then left in the middle of a recruiting season: we just don't have that many decent juniors and seniors and even the ones we do have are nothing special, (see the offensive line). I do think that many of the freshmen and sophomores are special, or have a chance to be, and that they will be joined by more such players in the coming class. I'd like Shafer to have a chance to coach the players he and his staff have recruited when they are juniors and seniors and are supported by a couple more such classes. I also abhor the thought of ripping it all up and starting all over gain for the 4th time in a dozen seasons. That bothers me far more than keeping on a guy who may not be "the guy" for another year or two. And I think looking for a new coach this year when so many better jobs are open is folly. I'd like to give Shafer two more years but am hoping for at least one more. I realize as the losses pile up, that gets less and less likely. In the end, it's not up to us. It's up to Mark Coyle. I don't think any of us can claim to know what he is thinking or will do. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?