Orange Watch: Former Syracuse coach Scott Shafer classless in victory

Pitt
Shafer was dismissed by Syracuse two seasons ago
Pitt
Shafer was dismissed by Syracuse two seasons ago

Item: Former Syracuse coach Scott Shafer breaks out a victory cigar inside the smoke-free Dome immediately following his Blue Raiders upset win over the Orange.

One word: Classless.

Following Middle Tennessee’s 30-23 upset win against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, former Orange head coach Scott Shafer was seen smoking a cigar in the bowels of his old stomping grounds.

It’s understandable that Shafer would relish the opportunity to return to a school that fired him just two years ago. And to his credit, Shafer called a brilliant defensive game, holding a normally high-powered Syracuse offense to 308 yards of total offense, and just 182 yards through the air.

His aggressive blitzing style of defense flustered and frustrated SU quarterback Eric Dungey, who was forced to absorb five sacks.

» Related: Former Syracuse coach Scott Shafer calls return ‘bittersweet’

But save the cigar celebration for the privacy of your locker room or bus trip to the airport.

Why stick it in the face of the majority of those that supported you during your somewhat successful run as Doug Marrone’s defensive coordinator, and not-so-successful 14-23 mark as head coach?

Or, better yet, save it for the person officially responsible for your dismissal from the university, former AD Mark Coyle, if your team pulls off the shocker at 2-0 Minnesota this weekend in front of Coyle and company outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium.

A shocking move from a coach that, when he walked up to assume his bird’s eye view of the Carrier Dome, was treated to a standing ovation by Syracuse fans that he passed.

It was a Bush League move, period.

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About Brad Bierman 848 Articles
Now in his sixth decade of covering SU sports, Brad was sports director of WSYR radio for eight years into the early 1990s, then wrote the Orange Watch column for The Big Orange/The Juice print publication for 18 years. A Syracuse University graduate, Brad currently runs his own media consulting business in the Philadelphia suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @BradBierman.