Throughout the year, The Juice Online will address questions about the Syracuse football team in our “Kickoff Countdown” segment.
Today’s question: On Monday night, CBSSports.com reported that Scott Shafer would succeed Doug Marrone as head coach of the Syracuse football team. How do you feel about the new coach?
The Juice Online’s Nate Federman and Jim Stechschulte weighed in on today’s question:
Nate Federman: When Paul Pasqualoni left Syracuse, the program was already starting to crumble. Greg Robinson wasted absolutely no time demolishing what remained. Doug Marrone inherited a heap of trash, cleaned it up, and laid a foundation for the future. And the hire of Scott Shafer provides Syracuse football with the continuity it needs to continue rebuilding. Is that rebuilding going to happen as quickly under Shafer as it likely would’ve under Marrone?
That remains to be seen, but by hiring in-house, Syracuse will (hopefully) retain their recruiting class and avoid a massive turnover in scheme and personnel, which should alleviate the need and time required to lay a new foundation, and allow the program to continue to build on its current trajectory.
» Related: Shafer promoted to head coach
Jim Stechshulte: The hiring of Scott Shafer as Syracuse’s new head football coach is a product of his talents, resume, and experience. It also underscores the desire to maintain continuity for the Syracuse football team as it transitions into the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
When things were rocky for the Orange this past season, the merits of retaining Doug Marrone as head coach were debated. One of the reasons to keep him was smoothing the bumps and jolts from the upcoming conference switch. Promoting defensive coordinator Shafer to head coach and keeping Nathaniel Hackett in the fold does just that.
» Related: SU should be optimistic with Marrone’s departure
Reaching into the past of the program a little, a big issue in the transition from Paul Pasqualoni to Greg Robinson was the overhaul of the offensive system, which remained unsettled in following years as the coaching staff repeatedly tried to install a system that made the roster work. It was one of the problems marking his troubled tenure.
That will not be an issue with this coaching transition. The roster, which is filled with players chosen to play the offensive and defensive styles employed by Doug Marrone, does not need to change and is ready to go right now. Many of the incoming recruits will still be on board through this change. While there are still questions about the new coach (and what his final staff will look like), there will not be any regarding the general deployment of his personnel.
What do you think of Shafer taking over the Orange? Voice your opinions below or Tweet us your opinions!
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