Scott Shafer is not sitting in an envious position. He’s a first year head coach shepherding a program into its inaugural season in a much better conference. He has no clear cut quarterback. He has an offensive coordinator in his rookie season. His recruiting class was chopped out at the knees because the previous staff left just weeks before Signing Day. His facilities at the moment are near the bottom of the ACC. His name alone brings little national cache.
All this doesn’t mean Shafer can’t be successful. Syracuse may very well have built a solid enough foundation to forge six wins and a bowl game out of the season. The recruiting front will have a much better day this February since this staff will have a full calendar year to do it work. They’re already paying some big dividends. The new indoor facility is currently in the works.
Shafer is also respected around coaching circles for being a good motivator, a savvy defensive mind, and a no-nonsense guy. Some of that persona is already rubbing off on his squad. But there’s another reason to root for Shafer: He was blindsided by SU’s most despised and least respected man ever, Greg Robinson.
It seems an impossible irony, but it’s true. Shafer was canned as DC at Michigan, so that Rich Rodriguez could bring in Groobers. This was the same Groobers who had just walked away from the flaming carnage of the SU football program. He had just had 1, 2, 3, and 4-win seasons, a combined 3-25 in the Big East, and one of the worst defenses in the nation. Then he was incredibly hired as the Wolverines DC.
As you might imagine, Robinson somehow made the Michigan defense worse. Like historically bad.
Here’s a look back from¬†AnnArbor.com’s “Eye on the Wolverines.”
“But the root cause of all the defensive problems, and really, the undoing of Rich Rodriguez, can be traced back to one day. December 16, 2008.
That’s the day Rodriguez fired defensive coordinator Scott Shafer after one year in Ann Arbor. It was a panic decision. The Wolverines finished 3-9 and needed someone to blame.
The outsider, the member of the first-year staff with no prior connection to Rodriguez, working with position coaches he did not hire, took the fall. That year, his defense allowed 347 points and 4,403 yards.
Numbers like that would be cherished today.
Today, Shafer is Syracuse‚Äôs defensive coordinator. He has his defense ranked 13th in the country in points allowed (18.1 per game) and fifth in yards per game (295.0). Of all the mistakes Rodriguez made in the past three years, the one that hurt him most on the field may have been the quick hook of Scott Shafer.”
More defense of the job Shafer did in Ann Arbor from MGoBlog.com:
“But we do know Shafer, a very good MAC coordinator who Harbaugh picked up and then made Syracuse better than anyone thought possible very quickly, is a good coach. And we know he was undermined and pushed out. Evidence suggests Greg Robinson is a terrible coach but he was undermined, too, and instead of a vaguely worse defense than two BCS teams coupled with Denard Robinson – good for 8-4 at least – we got something that was literally the worst ever in various categories.”
Obviously, I’m rooting for Shafer. I’m a Syracuse fan. But I’m also pulling for the guy because he has to live with the ignominy of being replaced by the single worst defensive mind in football history. How sweet it would be for Shafer to lead Syracuse football back to glory, a program that was buried there because of a guy he was fired for.
I hope Groobers has the ACC package on his cable box.
Posted: D.A.
107 responses to “Sweet Revenge: Syracuse’s Shafer Tries to Wash Away the Ghosts of Groobers”
@D.A.
“How sweet it would be for Shafer to lead Syracuse football back to glory, a program that was buried there because of a guy he was fired for”.
Greg Robison will do to Texas as he did to Michigan and Syracuse.
I don’t know about the revenge factor,but I do believe that Scott Shafer is the man that will lead Syracuse to the promised land. The hard nosed approach to the game is rubbing off on the players and they are accepting/believing this approach will take them to places that this program hasn’t been to in quite a while. I also feel the excitement growing in the fan base. People need to be prepared because Syracuse is going to surprise a lot of people this year.
New poster here, prefer this site over Troy Nunes (to much basketball coverage) Would be great to return to our glory days!!
Welcome aboard “Cuser”,your going to like it here.
This site just keeps growing but imagine how shocking it would be if hint started the way this competition is going he certainly isn’t giving it up I think he will get his shot because cuse already messed it up when nassib an nfl qb watched Paulus throw picks even with NFL reciever mike Williams so this years original starter should be taken much lighter
CUSER another FOOTBALL guy won’t hurt anything!! I agree with the SUBB thing to on Nunes!! I wish there was a site for SUFB only and SUBB only.
I see that Samuals went OSU!! Good for him, but also good riddance too!! Like many others from the apple area they throw SU away and go else where they disappear!! BYE!! But still can’t blame him either!!
Love HCSS to death!! Every time I listen to him I’d run through a wall for him!! The dougie dump being history, I hope HCSS helps SU forget about the “dump” and have SUFB move on to better fields!!
Thanks for the welcome I am a definate football guy! Got my tickets for Clemson and NC state. Hoping Allen gets the job, really not much of a fan of the option offense which I think there will be alot of if Hunt gets the job. However, I think we will have a year to remember!!!!
schafer definately deserves the title as head coach. his defenses were great from the get go and if his teams play like his defenses did we’ll be fine. i like how communicates with his players and the community already, and feel the best is yet to come.
I’m with Cuser..hope Allen gets the start. I’m not as optimistic about Shafer.. Excellent DC.. Did a lot with a little. Made them better players. Problem..recruiting these days need sizzle. ACC helps, new facility helps..Shafer.. Not so much. Hope I’m wrong.. 6 win season would be a home run!
Robinson made us a laughing stock and seriously diminished the brand! We haven’t recovered and I don’t think Shafer has the presence to drag us out of this hole. Love the guy..like the way he handles himself..don’t think he can put together strong enough recruiting talent to move the needle. In the end..It’s about the talent!
@Cuse17 What i like about Scott is that he is way more confident then Marrone. Scott said we are going to lock Clemson into the Dome and Win! While Doug might say “We are playing a good Clemson team we need to play well” I think many will be surprised this year !
Hope so! Good season would help recruiting and help his reputation…
Good news is…..I believe he’s a good coach, will do right by the kids and do a good job representing the University.
Bad news…ACC isn’t the Big East and we’re on our way to a 60ish plus ranked recruiting class again..last one wasn’t his..he may have improved it. This one’s his and nothing to write home about. He’s going to have to coach them WAY up!
Remember it was our slick West Coast affirmative action AD who hired Goober. He needs to take some of the blame.
No one is forgetting him! I’m hoping when the witch leaves the Athletic Department gets a different look. I went to Cuse on a scholarship in one of the sports he eliminated. Claimed it was about prop 48… It was about the witch wanting the land for one of her construction projects. He brought in Goober and a plan to elevate women’s sports. He did that. The football team played like girls….
I’m surprised she didn’t give the job to a homeless person from Salina Street. Couldn’t have been any worse and it would have advanced her social agenda.
Bring back Golf!!!!!!
SS says all the right things, even more then G Rob did. G Rob at the beginning could sure get me riled up but then it didn’t amount to anything. I love the Hard noised mentality of SS but its going be a ride to see if he can live up to Locking people in the dome and Storming the ACC.
New QB that could not be very good is scary.
On the other hand we seem to be really focused and have momentum on our side.. Hopefully preparation and this hardnosed mentality translates into wins on the football field IN REALITY. Not homerism and just hype.
IT WILL BE SWEET REVEGE IF WE KICK ASS
Gross should have gone packing with GRob…..
How can a guy who cost SU $millions with his horrendous hire, and chased Marrone away with his penny pinching ways STILL HAVE HIS JOB?
It is a shame what could have been if a smart AD forced Coach P to fire DeLeone and clean house on his staff, Ray Rice would have worn an Orange helmet, SU football would have been fine and Rutgers would still be Rutgers….
Nice job, SU Board of Trustees….and Nancy C. Nice Legacy on the football….
Ah if only we could go back in time we’d be the beast of the east!!RR don’t remind me but I think Shady would have got him anyway?PP would have been out of his element cause he still can’t recruit even his homestate of Connecticut GDL or no GDL!I think PP had run his course as HC matierial long ago and UConn regrets taking a “safe” HC now!!No CFB at all in Storrs.Its a shame!
No CFB “BUZZ” in Storrs I meant to say!
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