Who is Mike Cavanaugh? Meet the man tasked with fixing Syracuse football’s offensive line

[rrlbees]

I was the biggest supporter of Babers up until this season

nice

 

[Chip]

If I might be a little mean for a moment, I don't think it would hurt Cavanaugh to do some work with Edinger. He's no Bob Wylie, but that looks like a 12 pound baby he's carrying.

 

[HOFCeluck]

nice

I’m honestly starting to think that some people, for the sake of their personal agendas, would prefer last season never happened.

 

[upperdeck]

its only people who assumed last year meant this year would be great. anyone who really watched last year and saw this year even without knowing the oline would struggle should have seen 3 wins 1 loss and 8 tossups. so far we are 0-4 in the tossup games with 2 coming down to the end and 2 on the road. can we win 2 at home and then go 1-4 on the road..

 

[SUFan44]

Haven't read this thread but if you don't think SU's football media relations contact Mike Morrison "pitched" this to Bailey as something he should write, you are SORELY mistaken.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Well if nothing changes, then we should expect similar results. Expecting anything different in an exercise in futility. One that I have engaged in for decades but no more. I actually went to Wegmans during the 3rd quarter of that FSU pasting, no not for more beer and snacks, but milk, bread, dog and cat food, coffee, etc. I just didn't care. I assume next year will be a similar feeling if Dino pulls a P.

I hear you, brother. NC State and Pitt were not that close. We only made it seem close in garbage time.

Florida State was the same - we fell behind quickly and did not look competitive - except this time we didn't even make it seem close in the second half. We just got pasted by another mediocre team in the middle of a rebuild.

We had better hit the waiver wires hard and bring in about 3 or 4 quality JUCO linemen, or we are going to tune out again next year, and all the buzz from that 10 win season will be lost. It will totally seem like a fluke.

 

[CuseLegacy]

I hear you, brother. NC State and Pitt were not that close. We only made it seem close in garbage time.

Florida State was the same - we fell behind quickly and did not look competitive - except this time we didn't even make it seem close in the second half. We just got pasted by another mediocre team in the middle of a rebuild.

We had better hit the waiver wires hard and bring in about 3 or 4 quality JUCO linemen, or we are going to tune out again next year, and all the buzz from that 10 win season will be lost. It will totally seem like a fluke.

I doubt they bring in that many JUCOs. Grad transfers are only good for one year. And kids in the transfer portal have to sit a year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I’m honestly starting to think that some people, for the sake of their personal agendas, would prefer last season never happened.

Dude, we returned something like 31 players off the 2 deep. The absolute worst we should have been this year is 6-6, and a realistic expectation was 8-4. This team turned to crap, and it all begins with the offensive line, and the lack of chemistry between DeVito and his favorite receivers.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I doubt they bring in that many JUCOs. Grad transfers are only good for one year. And kids in the transfer portal have to sit a year.

Well, they apparently have no faith in the young guys currently on the roster, or they wouldn't have kept trotting this hot trash out there when we have literally the worst O line in college football.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Honest question, but let’s assume that we had new coaches this year. Any position coach you think should be replaced. Do you think our record and performance would be greatly different?

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Honest question, but let’s assume that we had new coaches this year. Any position coach you think should be replaced. Do you think our record and performance would be greatly different?

Really? Of course. A great OL coach would have made a difference. Would we be looking at 10 wins? I doubt it. But, we'd be much better off than we are now.

 

[Nahson]

If Mike Cavanaugh is here next season, I’ll be more disappointed than anything. It’d show me that there is zero accountability in that coaching room. I mean, how do you expect to hold your players accountable, if you don’t hold your staff accountable too? I run the sales and marketing division (for one of the biggest branches in the country) for a company. If we close the fourth quarter with the worst numbers of any branch, in the entire country, yet alone my region, I would expect to be fired, and rightfully so. I get paid to produce results, if those expectations aren’t met, I need to be held accountable. That’s how winners are built. What’s going on now, just seems soft.

 

[CuseLegacy]

If Mike Cavanaugh is here next season, I’ll be more disappointed than anything. It’d show me that there is zero accountability in that coaching room. I mean, how do you expect to hold your players accountable, if you don’t hold your staff accountable too? I run the sales and marketing division (for one of the biggest branches in the country) for a company. If we close the fourth quarter with the worst numbers of any branch, in the entire country, yet alone my region, I would expect to be fired, and rightfully so. I get paid to produce results, if those expectations aren’t met, I need to be held accountable. That’s how winners are built. What’s going on now, just seems soft.

Don't you know yet that the sales/marketing people are always the first to go...whether or not it's their fault.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

If Mike Cavanaugh is here next season, I’ll be more disappointed than anything. It’d show me that there is zero accountability in that coaching room. I mean, how do you expect to hold your players accountable, if you don’t hold your staff accountable too? I run the sales and marketing division (for one of the biggest branches in the country) for a company. If we close the fourth quarter with the worst numbers of any branch, in the entire country, yet alone my region, I would expect to be fired, and rightfully so. I get paid to produce results, if those expectations aren’t met, I need to be held accountable. That’s how winners are built. What’s going on now, just seems soft.

From what I heard, there will be a thorough review. Hard to see how Cavanaugh wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Dude, we returned something like 31 players off the 2 deep. The absolute worst we should have been this year is 6-6, and a realistic expectation was 8-4. This team turned to crap, and it all begins with the offensive line, and the lack of chemistry between DeVito and his favorite receivers.

O

 

[Nahson]

Don't you know yet that the sales/marketing people are always the first to go...whether or not it's their fault.

Haha running the division, unfortunately I know that all too well. I stick by my guys/gals, through tough times because you always gotta look at yourself first... but it gets to a point, where they need to go. If I had the worst rep in the company and I give them months to show improvement and they don’t... well sorry.

 

[wooddoc]

Reminds me of Bud Melman...

 

[MGDCuse]

besides being a terrible OC, Spence creeped me out. Like, guy driving an ice cream truck looking for kids to abduct creepy

The king of the bubble screen.

 

[SuRaider307]

I will die on this Hill.. We DO NOT have top 5 worst talent on the OL in FBS football.. Period.. When you have multiple positions along the line that are as bad as we have looked... There is an issue with scheme/coaching/offensive sets there has to be SOMETHING. We are not even picking up basic blitzes up the friggan middle correctly for Christ sake... The "coaching" is not translating and so we must ask why. From a mental stand point if what you are teaching is forcing guys to have to be thinking too much.. then yes you have a coaching problem. Its probably is a scheme/technique/combined with offensive flow problem.

My biggest issue is really quite simple and IMO its a coaching issue.. We have been told the "best players" will play right? I find it hard to believe that any competent evaluator of talent could possible watch tape on the first 4 games and feel like Bergeron could not replace Alexander... He looked MILES better in just one game.. and I am guessing its just didn't "click" for him. So they either are really bad at talent eval in practice or they are playing favorites for one reason or another.. NEITHER ONE is a good showing for anyone at the major college level. Which brings me to Servais.. I said after game 4 he was the biggest problem on the OL.. NOW he definitely is... Because of the Bergeron situation, I don't have confidence in them with there choice to play him at center... I have doubt because of what we have seen with Bergeron and if they have the best line-up out there.

I will always come back to what I think our talent level is.. I think we have mediocre OL talent... so the fact that we are playing bottom 5 worst in P5 tells me the coaches are not doing there job one way or another...

 

[bevosu]

Before this season started I took my normal preseason stance...non committal. I do it for basketball also.

Last season was a big surprise (to me), and great.

There was a lot of optimism, in this forum and with the Syracuse football community in general.

I loved Tommy's potential, but I had doubts. - A quote in August- " Babers added that being consistently good, not occasionally great, is the new goal." He was talking about the team.

My worry was would Tommy show that he is a capable ACC QB on a consistent basis? There was no real way to know. That and the generally accepted speculation that we were weak in the offensive lineman department. Those were my preseason questions.

I have to say that I never thought that we'd be this bad this quickly.

Tommy needs a decent to good offensive line in order to maximize his skill...drop back pocket passer...with a very good arm. Not saying he doesn't have faults, but the offensive line has been pathetic. Made his job much more difficult than I thought it would be,

 

[Oakland]

I think lots of coaches get fired too early and often as escape goats, but now can Cavanaugh not be held responsible for this debacle?

 

[Cusefan78]

I think lots of coaches get fired too early and often as escape goats, but now can Cavanaugh not be held responsible for this debacle?

I think as bad as the line has been it all comes back to recruiting. There is some kind of disconnect. How are the better players passing on Dino’s energy. If it was me I would follow him anywhere. That leads me to think the recruiting coaches are not very good and there is a disconnect. Start there with change and Start to bring in top 25 -30 classes then pray our coaches we have can coach them up.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

I think as bad as the line has been it all comes back to recruiting. There is some kind of disconnect. How are the better players passing on Dino’s energy. If it was me I would follow him anywhere. That leads me to think the recruiting coaches are not very good and there is a disconnect. Start there with change and Start to bring in top 25 -30 classes then pray our coaches we have can coach them up.

There will be changes.

 

[cuseguy]

Well if nothing changes, then we should expect similar results. Expecting anything different in an exercise in futility. One that I have engaged in for decades but no more. I actually went to Wegmans during the 3rd quarter of that FSU pasting, no not for more beer and snacks, but milk, bread, dog and cat food, coffee, etc. I just didn't care. I assume next year will be a similar feeling if Dino pulls a P.

Dino has a long way to go to accomplish to what P did at SU.

 

[qdawgg]

I think as bad as the line has been it all comes back to recruiting. There is some kind of disconnect. How are the better players passing on Dino’s energy. If it was me I would follow him anywhere. That leads me to think the recruiting coaches are not very good and there is a disconnect. Start there with change and Start to bring in top 25 -30 classes then pray our coaches we have can coach them up.

Just goes to show there’s a lot more to recruiting than just liking the coach or coaches. There’s a ton of coaches we think are meatheads or find super annoying just watching on the sideline but they’re bringing in consistently higher rated classes then we are.