Your starting to see Fran and his assistants get exposed for a lack

[NYCorange]

If the system were that great you shouldn't need a Top QB to run it. Why don't we have a 2016 like Pitt game to show? Instead we have struggled to get 25 yards in the first half the last 2 games. That is historically bad.

Even when you have a very good QB, they will have a 2-3 off games every year. We had 3 last year.

Last year the best passing D that we played was a home game vs the 56th ranked team. With Angeli the best we played was 72nd (another home game). So we don't know if Nixon's system works vs decent pass Ds.

IMO we should be looking to have an O like our 2012 O. We should be closer to 55% pass instead of well over 60% pass like last season. And when we do run we can't have our RB getting under 4.5 ypc.

I'm sorry, but the idea that you should just be able to win without a good QB is crazy and frankly shows a lack of football knowledge. How did BB do without Brady? How did Florida St. do with DJ Uiagalelei?

Now is it on Fran Brown to get a good QB? Yes. But it's year two rebuilding a very bad Cuse program and he's gotten a good one both years-- just whiffed on the backup this year. That's extremely understandable IMO, especially since he did find a backup with pedigree, just not someone good. Ohio State should have multiple good QBs, Bama should too. Cuse? Our resources are less, so our roster is thinner. This is part of the reason why the blue bloods win more-- yes they have the best players but they also have deeper rosters.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I'm sorry, but the idea that you should just be able to win without a good QB is crazy and frankly shows a lack of football knowledge. How did BB do without Brady? How did Florida St. do with DJ Uiagalelei?

Now is it on Fran Brown to get a good QB? Yes. But it's year two rebuilding a very bad Cuse program and he's gotten a good one both years-- just whiffed on the backup this year. That's extremely understandable IMO, especially since he did find a backup with pedigree, just not someone good. Ohio State should have multiple good QBs, Bama should too. Cuse? Our resources are less, so our roster is thinner. This is part of the reason why the blue bloods win more-- yes they have the best players but they also have deeper rosters.

1. Who said anything about winning? I am talking about functioning. What we have seen the last three 1st Halves has been all time bad. Even wishbone teams out pace what we have done. FCS teams laugh at our passing yards. 115 yards for a half is bad and that is what we have combined! We have IMO the worst set of QB2s in the Dome era. That is unacceptable.

2. He didn't get a backup with pedigree, Collins came here to be QB1. If he had panned out and gotten hurt we would be in the same predicament.

3. Very bad program? Outside of 2018 and 2020 we were mediocre under Dino. With a better DC and/or a 12 game Dungey we make Bowls in 2016 and 2017. We had a bad year in 2019 and still went 5-7, and that year we were again killed by a bad DC. Had we started Shrader from Day 1 we may very well have made a Bowl in 2021. The next year we were ranked 14th before our QB got hurt. Which is far better than last season's best ranking. In 2023 we had no QB for half the season and still made a Bowl. Even 2020 was much better than this post Angeli team. This is setting up to be our worst season since 2014.

 

[NYCorange]

1. Who said anything about winning? I am talking about functioning. What we have seen the last three 1st Halves has been all time bad. Even wishbone teams out pace what we have done. FCS teams laugh at our passing yards. 115 yards for a half is bad and that is what we have combined! We have IMO the worst set of QB2s in the Dome era. That is unacceptable.

Ok sure, my point is that very bad QB equals bad offense, no matter the system, Look at Dave Canales' offense under Brice Young as a rookie vs his offense with the Bucs with Baker. Look at Sean McVay with Brice Perkins. It's stupid to say our system is bad when we just had McCord and Angeli have good success with it just because it looks terrible with frankly terrible QB play. The problem is the QB, not the system.

2. He didn't get a backup with pedigree, Collins came here to be QB1. If he had panned out and gotten hurt we would be in the same predicament.

I'm sorry, so your argument is that Collins wasn't the backup QB because he came here to be the starter? Fran got 2 qbs. One panned out, one didn't. It happens. The point is he got us a good QB in Angeli, could have done better evaluating Collins obviously. But Fran clearly realized Collins wasn't great and took steps to rectify it by bringing in Angeli, but unfortunately he got hurt.

3. Very bad program? Outside of 2018 and 2020 we were mediocre under Dino. With a better DC and/or a 12 game Dungey we make Bowls in 2016 and 2017. We had a bad year in 2019 and still went 5-7, and that year we were again killed by a bad DC. Had we started Shrader from Day 1 we may very well have made a Bowl in 2021. The next year we were ranked 14th before our QB got hurt. Which is far better than last season's best ranking. In 2023 we had no QB for half the season and still made a Bowl. Even 2020 was much better than this post Angeli team. This is setting up to be our worst season since 2014.

We all know Cuse is/was in the bottom 3rd of Power 5 jobs. Come on.

 

[NineOneSeven]

This x1,000

I would LOVE to see 90% of this board coach a P4 program. I bet the decision making and time management would be PERFECT lol.

Fran hit on 2 of 3 QB's he brought in through the portal... It's the CNY way to just look at the negative and be pessimistic, not sure why, but born and raised here, it is what it is.

This is strange. I’d love to see 90% of p4 coaches work in product development as a materials engineer.

This is why different careers and jobs exist. Oh and coaches get paid a LOT.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Nixon’s offense looks great when he has a very good to awesome QB but without that, he is completely and utterly lost. I have never seen a collection of huge unauthentic OL as we have now. It is truly amazing how these guys can’t move at all. I know many think Willis at RB is some stud. I just don’t see it. I see a big slow RB with no power and hits the hole soft.

Fran is clearly learning on the job and has absolutely no answers right now. He has/had an ego that “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash.”

Edit: I honestly hope Fran can hold together this recruiting class but I have serious doubts that he can.

Every offense is college football should look great with that!

 

[NineOneSeven]

I guess my main criticism is that Nixon seems as if he has an offense, and by God, he's going to run it. No matter who the personnel are, as opposed to tailoring an offense to fit the parts he has. View attachment 256621

Stubbornness is absolutely a quality many coaches possess. As you note it’s much easier to adjust a scheme to the players vs players with limited abilities adjusting to a fixed scheme.

Say what you will about Dino (rightfully so), but they pulled off that Pitt game a few years running a million times with Villari. Dumbest game I’ve ever seen, but it beat a team we’ve largely gotten wrecked by over 20 years, including last year with an elite offense!

 

[NineOneSeven]

The offseason will be defining for Fran. He needs to be willing to make staffing changes, even if they are his friends. That's why he gets paid millions of dollars.

MILLIONS.

“I’d like to see this board coach a P4 program!”

Uhh what?? MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

4 for 18!

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Ok sure, my point is that very bad QB equals bad offense, no matter the system, Look at Dave Canales' offense under Brice Young as a rookie vs his offense with the Bucs with Baker. Look at Sean McVay with Brice Perkins. It's stupid to say our system is bad when we just had McCord and Angeli have good success with it just because it looks terrible with frankly terrible QB play. The problem is the QB, not the system.

I'm sorry, so your argument is that Collins wasn't the backup QB because he came here to be the starter? Fran got 2 qbs. One panned out, one didn't. It happens. The point is he got us a good QB in Angeli, could have done better evaluating Collins obviously. But Fran clearly realized Collins wasn't great and took steps to rectify it by bringing in Angeli, but unfortunately he got hurt.


We all know Cuse is/was in the bottom 3rd of Power 5 jobs. Come on.

1. A program that is on the bubble for making a Bowl and occasionally ranked isn't a "very bad" program.

2. We are "bottom 3rd" of P4 because of the environment not the coach. That hasn't changed now that Fran is here and won't ever change.

3. Very bad QB = bad O. Very good QB = good O. The question is what happens when we have an avg QB? Every O looks good with a good QB. Does Nixon's O look decent otherwise? That is a question that we do not have the answer to. If his system requires a good QB, then the system isn't special is it? No one can say that Nixon has a great system because there isn't enough data yet. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't.

My point was it is hard to believe that his system is great when we avg under 40 yards passing in the last three 1st halves against mediocre pass Ds. That is historically bad. Not for SU's history but for all of college football in the last 25 years. It is that bad. Time will tell how much of that is on the QBs and how much is on Nixon.

 

[Archbold44]

MILLIONS.

“I’d like to see this board coach a P4 program!”

Uhh what?? MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

4 for 18!

Fine, I will do it. Set up something with H.R. I will download a digital copy of The Idiot's Guide to Coaching Football. In the meantime, I will tell the offensive coordinator to try SOMETHING other than runs up the middle and pass plays that only McCord/Angeli can make consistently. I might even suggest a bubble screen...

 

[Ttk.gman2]

I really hope Fran takes a long, honest look at this staff after the season because the issues we keep running into aren’t from lack of effort — it’s coaching, development, and game management.Offensively, the O-Line speaks for itself. We can pass block at times, but when we need to run the ball and actually move people, it just isn’t there. We need an OL coach who knows how to teach run blocking at a high level. I’m talking power, counter, pulling guards, finishing at the second level — not just holding up in pass pro. If you want to compete in this conference, you have to be able to line up and get 3–4 yards when the defense knows it’s coming. Right now we can’t do that consistently, and that falls on coaching. On defense, the D-Line room has talent, but the development hasn’t matched. We need a DL coach who can take guys where they are and actually improve them. Get their hands right, teach pass-rush plans, set edges with discipline, win leverage, stack blocks — the details that turn potential into production. Too many guys look the same in November as they did in September, and that’s a problem.Erob is valuable, no question about it. But he needs to just be the Defensive Coordinator. That’s it. Let him focus on the full defense — the scheme, the adjustments, the pressure packages, the in-game chess match. The D-Line needs its own coach, someone who can give that group 100% of their attention. Right now Erob is doing too much at once, and it makes everything less sharp than it could be. We also need a veteran defensive assistant, somebody experienced who can help with the timing of calls, recognizing what offenses are setting up, and collaborating on adjustments before drives start slipping away. Every good defense has more than one brain in the operation — we only have one right now.Same thing on offense. Nixon shows flashes, but sometimes the sequencing is off, or we get away from what’s working, or the offense feels like it loses its rhythm. He needs a seasoned offensive assistant in his ear. Not someone to take over, but someone who can help him manage the game — the timing, the feel, the momentum, the situational calls.

 

[Ttk.gman2]

We all know Fran isn’t an Xs and Os mastermind, and that’s fine, because what he brings is just as important — he knows how to lead a program, motivate a team, set a culture, and keep guys bought in and playing hard, which is something a lot of coaches can’t do, the real problem is that the staff around him has to balance out the areas where he isn’t strongest, and right now we don’t have enough elite scheming or high-level development voices to consistently elevate what he builds, because a CEO-style head coach only works when the coordinators and position coaches are elite teachers, tacticians, and in-game adjusters, and whether it’s the run game not evolving, the trenches not developing the way they should, or questionable timing in key moments, those are the gaps that need to be patched by the staff, not Fran, he needs coaches who can max out players technically, build detailed game plans, and stay ahead of opponents during the chess match on Saturdays, he doesn’t need to call every play or draw every blitz — he needs the assistants who can do that at a championship level and then execute it through elite teaching, and once he has that, everything he already does well becomes even more powerful, because culture + talent + elite scheming is how programs break through from being competitive to actually winning games they’re “not supposed to,” and that’s the staff build he has to hit if Syracuse wants to stop being close and start being dangerous every week.

 

[tbonezone]

We all know Fran isn’t an Xs and Os mastermind, and that’s fine, because what he brings is just as important — he knows how to lead a program, motivate a team, set a culture, and keep guys bought in and playing hard, which is something a lot of coaches can’t do, the real problem is that the staff around him has to balance out the areas where he isn’t strongest, and right now we don’t have enough elite scheming or high-level development voices to consistently elevate what he builds, because a CEO-style head coach only works when the coordinators and position coaches are elite teachers, tacticians, and in-game adjusters, and whether it’s the run game not evolving, the trenches not developing the way they should, or questionable timing in key moments, those are the gaps that need to be patched by the staff, not Fran, he needs coaches who can max out players technically, build detailed game plans, and stay ahead of opponents during the chess match on Saturdays, he doesn’t need to call every play or draw every blitz — he needs the assistants who can do that at a championship level and then execute it through elite teaching, and once he has that, everything he already does well becomes even more powerful, because culture + talent + elite scheming is how programs break through from being competitive to actually winning games they’re “not supposed to,” and that’s the staff build he has to hit if Syracuse wants to stop being close and start being dangerous every week.

so say if you watched THE WIRE (season 1&2) . we see different personalities and styles at play .
we have Avon Barksdale. strong leadership skills and the muscle to back it up.
we have Stringer Bell . the business savvy numbers dude. makes the operation run but loyalty is an issue.
and we have Omar Little. street smart. battle tested. get's things done his way.

so now which of those dudes would you most want in charge of your program ?

 

[tipphill]

Fran is a poor head coach. In over his head and at this point anything he says is not creditable . Tis all. all.

 

[tipphill]

We all know Fran isn’t an Xs and Os mastermind, and that’s fine, because what he brings is just as important — he knows how to lead a program, motivate a team, set a culture, and keep guys bought in and playing hard, which is something a lot of coaches can’t do, the real problem is that the staff around him has to balance out the areas where he isn’t strongest, and right now we don’t have enough elite scheming or high-level development voices to consistently elevate what he builds, because a CEO-style head coach only works when the coordinators and position coaches are elite teachers, tacticians, and in-game adjusters, and whether it’s the run game not evolving, the trenches not developing the way they should, or questionable timing in key moments, those are the gaps that need to be patched by the staff, not Fran, he needs coaches who can max out players technically, build detailed game plans, and stay ahead of opponents during the chess match on Saturdays, he doesn’t need to call every play or draw every blitz — he needs the assistants who can do that at a championship level and then execute it through elite teaching, and once he has that, everything he already does well becomes even more powerful, because culture + talent + elite scheming is how programs break through from being competitive to actually winning games they’re “not supposed to,” and that’s the staff build he has to hit if Syracuse wants to stop being close and start being dangerous every week.

Your premiss that he knows how to lead a program is totally, totally wayyyy wrong. It's chaos.

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

Your premiss that he knows how to lead a program is totally, totally wayyyy wrong. It's chaos.

What sort of "Chaos" are we talking about?

 

[Ttk.gman2]

Your premiss that he knows how to lead a program is totally, totally wayyyy wrong. It's chaos.

It’s his second year?? And he has shown he does, its not his fault his starting QB not hurt.