These are the final days in the recruitment of Robert Washington, and only he knows his decision. The dynamite running back from North Carolina says he has made up his mind, but hasn’t told anyone yet. We know the six finalists, and we know Syracuse is one of them. But is there really a chance he chooses the Orange over Alabama, Florida or Michigan? And if so, how much would that alter perception of the SU football program?
Let’s start with the first part: Yes, Syracuse has a chance. SU was the first finalist he named, his dad said the Orange was the front-runner a few weeks ago, and SU was one of the first offers he received. Say what you want about how down Orange recruiting has been, but the staff has really done¬†a tremendous job on him. They’re in the hunt with national powers. After a 3-9 campaign and usually losing these types of battles before, SU is definitely the underdog. But there’s reason to optimism just getting this far.
We all know Shafer’s seat is warm. He’s coming off a dreadful season, the quarterback dilemma was a mess all year, the George McDonald saga was a bad look, and the guy that promoted/hired him has been fired. He need to impress a new set of eyes now. There’s no loyalty to a previous regime’s decision. One player doesn’t make a program. Washington is great, but he’s not going to put SU in the ACC title game.
But landing Washington would give every Shafer critic pause. Wait, they were able to pull that off? The Orange has swung and missed on landing big fish before this. If Shafer does what Marrone couldn’t? Then you have to at least wonder if he deserves another season beyond this – even if it’s a non-bowl campaign – just because he would have earned another recruiting class. It would also open up major eyes to other coaches and recruits, which could land more players SU usually loses out on.
It’s hard to put the future of a staff on one recruit. Even if Washington doesn’t sign with SU, Shafer can keep his job by simply winning games. But a week from now, we could have a different view of the head coach because of one simple announcement.
Posted: D.A.
9 responses to “Would Robert Washington to Syracuse Save Scott Shafer’s Job?”
D.A.
Why would you ask the question ,”would Robert Washington to Syracuse Save Scott Shafer’s Job”? Do you know something about Coach Shafer that the rest of don’t? Is it just because your upset that Syracuse finished with a 3-9 record last year and feel your opinion is important enough to get the fans upset and start another uprising to have Shafer fired like what happened with coach Pasqualoni?
Do you believe in re-carnation? I do and here’s why. I’ve taken a good hard look at Shafer and come to the conclusion that if we were to put a pair of black rimmed glasses on him that he could be a twin to Coach Schwartzwalder who coached here for 24 years.
Let’s take a side by side comparison of the two men. This is Coach Shafer’s third year(hasn’t played a game yet in 2015) as the head coach of Syracuse University. Has an overall record of 11 wins 12 losses for a winning percentage of .916 and winning the Texas Bowl in his second year. Just to inform everyone,Coach Shafer wasn’t the first to be labeled/described as being a hardnosed person.
Coach Schwartzwalder coached for 24 years and won the National Championship in 1959. Just imagine he brought the likes of Jim Brown,Ernie Davis,Floyd Little and Larry Csonka to Syracuse because of that personality. Under his leadership he had an overall record of 153 wins and 91 losses with 3 ties for a .626 winning percentage. In his 24 seasons Syracuse was ranked in the AP top 20 preseason 7 times finishing the season ranked in the AP top 20 13 times and went to 7 Bowl Games during that time posting an overall record of 2-5. As we all know he won the National Championship in the Cotton Bowl in 1959 and 2 years later won the Liberty Bowl.
If we did get rid of him,who would you suggest we hire? Firing Shafer would mean losing all/most of the 2015/2016 recruits just like we did when Dr Gross fired Coach Pasqualoni.
I think the last two recruiting classes have been better than anything Doug Marrone ever accomplished here at Syracuse. I say lets get rid of all of this negative talk about getting rid of Shafer and give him a chance to prove himself. Just remember that he’s in his third year.
Just letting you know coach Schwartzwalder was the first to be labeled “hardnosed” and he finished the last 5 campaign’s with 4 of them losing seasons. His 1973 campaign ended with a 2-9 record.
Stop the damn negative talk about having getting Coach Shafer “FIRED”.
I’m hoping and praying that Robert Washington comes to Syracuase and is given the #44 jersey during his time here. So if he does come here should we start comparing him to Ernie Davis? Will Robert Washington help bring in more talented players? if it’s happens, will the press change their story lines and give Coach Shafer the respect he deserves for the job that he and his staff have done? Only time will tell,I guess.
So if we get Washington…and we go 4-8, Shafer should stay?
NOPE!!!!!!
If we’re in the ACC or any major conference, we should be getting 4 star recruitS EVERY year!
Shafer must illustrate that he is a successful CEO at Orange Football INC. This means he and his staff
can recruit, develop players, gameplan and game manage onto a 7-5 season. He has less than 7 months to
deliver or the new AD will do what an AD do.
Ron, you know I love you and your optimism. But I think it’s totally fair to wonder about Shafer’s job security – and I’m not here to just wave pom poms. I want Cuse to win big time, but I will also call it down the middle. Schwartzwalder was the greatest coach in program history – and wouldve went to a Texas Bowl every year if they existed back then. Lets not put Shafer anywhere near his category yet.
The problem is that no-one has patience anymore. Instant gratification,if we don’t get it then fire the person that’s not performing to the level and expectations that others have of them.
Look I’m not waving pom poms here. Coach Shafer is going into his 3rd year,I feel we need to give the guy a chance to change the direction of the program. If they do decide to get rid of Shafer it will throw us backwards for another 15 years losing perspective recruits in the process.
So D.A. and ORANGEINVA;IF AND WHEN SHAFER GET’S RELEASED who do you think we should go after to replace him? Please enlighten us all with your genius.
I’ve copied this from the rivals website. Read the article and weep boys. It ‘s giving us a look into the future of Syracuse Football . kind of makes a lot of you out there look foolish.
In February of 2014, then wide receiver coach Rob Moore left the Syracuse coaching staff to join the Buffalo Bills under former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone. With the opening at wide receiver, Syracuse moved then tight end coach George McDonald into the vacancy creating a void at the tight end position. After a few short days, little known Bobby Acosta, who had previously coached at Division III Widener, was brought in to fill the spot. At the time, not many people knew what to expect of Coach Acosta, but knew that he was bringing with him relationships and ties to one of the biggest “hot beds” in the northeast for high school football, New Jersey.
At the time, arguments for and against the hire were voiced. On one side, people suggested that Head Coach Scott Shafer missed on another opportunity to make a splash with an assistant coach, opting to bring in someone with no Division I experience and limited college coaching experience. However, on the flip side of the coin, it was hard to ignore the possibility of re-establishing a pipeline into New Jersey, an area that had been forgotten recently by the Orange.
During the program’s successful run throughout the 1980s and 1990s, New Jersey was always a stop on the recruiting trail for the Syracuse coaching staff. With the firing of Paul Pasquoloni after the 2004 season, Syracuse seemed to lose any and all contact within the state of New Jersey, opting for a different recruiting strategy that involved a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of nothing.
Fast forward to the present day and Coach Acosta is now coaching the wide receivers and has the Syracuse football program primed to start pulling in some of the best talent from the state of New Jersey. Listening to how recruits respond, they all highly regard coach Acosta and value the relationship that he builds with them. In the last recruiting class, he was able to persuade one of the best New Jersey talents, Dontae Strickland, to skip on in-home Rutgers to come to Syracuse. Lightning almost struck twice with the commitment of Daiquan Kelly, only to see him de-commit and pledge to his dream school Penn State. In a short period of time, he has had his hand in landing Strickland, highly touted Daivon Ellison (NJ), flipping Jake Pickard from Wisconsin (NJ), bringing in offensive lineman Kenny Carter (NJ), and New York natives, Tyrone Perkins and Jordan Fredericks. So far in the class of 2016, he helped to land wide receiver Sadiq Palmer (NJ).
Palmer might become one of the most important recruits for the Orange in 2016, as he has vowed to help Syracuse recruit other New Jersey athletes to call the Dome their home. Right now, Syracuse is highly regarded in the eyes of many of New Jersey’s finest high school football players. Quarterback Anthony Brown (and friend of Palmer) has been declared quarterback recruiting target number one by the coaching staff and Brown loves the Orange. He is set to announce a commitment in May, and many people have Syracuse as a favorite to hear their name called. Other highly rated players out of New Jersey who have high interest in Syracuse include two-star running back Tyler Thompson, four-star wide receiver Hasise DuBois, four-star offensive lineman Will Fries, three-star athlete Emmanuel Appiah, three-star linebacker Tyreek Williams, two-star defensive end Sal Mauro, offensive lineman Thomas Lopez, and a bunch of wide receivers including three-star Kelvin Harmon, two-star Donald Stewart, three-star KJ Gray, two-star Noah Ellison, Gene Coleman, and Kolton Huber. Plus a handful of other New Jersey players who are waiting on a scholarship offer from Syracuse.
That is a long list of names that could change the face of the program for years to come. If that isn’t enough, Coach Acosta just started to become one of the primary Florida recruiters sharing the duties with newly hired coach, Jake Moreland. The two hope to create the same type of hype in Florida for Syracuse that is happening right now in New Jersey, and it may have already started. Back in March, Syracuse offered three-star defensive back Brandon Shuman who has hinted that Syracuse could be on a short list of colleges who he could commit to after the spring.
Overall, on the recruiting trail, if certain dominoes start to fall, it would come to no surprise if Syracuse were to jump up the recruiting charts this season. The 2016 class has already started out strong with the verbal commitment from three-star offensive lineman Cam DeGeorge and the aforementioned Sadiq Palmer. Syracuse could be getting one of the best players the program has pursued in the past fifteen years if uber recruit Robert Washington were to choose Syracuse over TCU, UNC, Alabama, Michigan, and Florida. Throw in a few of these Jersey boys Coach Acosta has been recruiting and Syracuse could be primed for a huge 2016 recruiting class.
“please enlighten us with all your genius”
“kind of makes a lot of you out there look foolish”
Ron, why the sarcasm and snark-attack?
The article asks if the successful recruitment of Washington( and considers no other factor) would/should lead to another year of HC Shafer. I don’t see
how Washington’s recruitment will have much if any influence. To focus on recruiting only,as you do, I find strangely myopic. Just how many wins are we awarded with a top 30 class- and when are they awarded, the year after, 3 years after? Must we really “board the buses” and play those pesky games?
“If certain dominos fall…”, Syracuse COULD be primed…” a player “has hinted that Syracuse COULD be on a short list…”, “That is a long LIST OF NAMES(?) that COULD change the face of the program…” Ron, do you see a pattern here?
Can we now look at what IS?
Our offense the last few years has been…uhhhhhhh…. OFFENSIVE. Who put McDonald in the position of OC? THe same person who gave the position to Lester WITHOUT an interim designation. That is both bold and, in my mind, unnecessary. Shafer could have waited through the end of last season and evaluated who, as an OC, would be available. Instead he chose to go all in with Lester. Shafer either knows something or hasn’t learned something..and you and I are going to find out.
Shafer has been at SU going on 5 years now. It’s not like he walked in the door and had to start from scratch. Let’s say we go 5-7(very possible)
this year. That would make SU 15-22 with Scott as HC after he had been here 2 years as DC. Now honestly, if he were let go by the new AD, how would that be regarded as wanting “instant gratification”?
I like Scott Shafer. I believe he is passionate about family and football. I believe the players like playing for him. I have spoken to a HS football coach in CNY
who has coached for decades..and HE thinks Shafer could be a good coach and he has spoken with Shafer on more than a few occasions. Over the last 2 years, I see a headcoach who loses his cool, who is unprepared, who is questionable in his game management. But because I like him and want to see if he has grown into the role of a HC, I want to give him another year. If he were a “Bobby Petrino”, I would have been demanding his dismissal the end of November last year.
Marrone could coach…he was smart and organized. Unfortunately, because he had the personality of a digital wall clock, he couldn’t recruit. MAYBE Shafer /staff can recruit. But if he can’t game plan, can’t manage a game and can’t develop his players to be above average, can’t beat teams like PITT, BC, UVA- which would show progress- then a verbal from Washington and any other “uber” recruit is meaningless.
Conversely, If we go 7-5 this year, I’d like to see the University open up the purse, pay and keep these guys here with new contracts- REAGRDLESS if Washington is Orange or not. I’m being consistent and maybe foolish.
Orangeinva; my comments were directed at he guys who write all of these damn negative articles about Syracuse Football. They kept telling me that none of these guys can recruit and then I run across an article that goes in the opposite direction of what this original article is telling guys like you and me.
I compared Scott Shafer a little to Ben Schwartzwalder because of the way he looks and the way he talks. let’s face it both were/are no nonsense individuals. One of the points I tried to make with the comparison was that Coach Schwartzwalder coached for 24 years and went to 7 bowl games losing 5 of them. Coach Shafer has coached here for 2 years and have gone to a bowl and won.
The above article that I copied and posted here shows me a lot of N/R,2*.3* and 4* recruits that I didn’t know anything about. Why can’t we get that information from the people who are writing for the FIZZ?
Anthony Brown and Robert Washington are both considered a 4* recruit’s. I would be real happy if both were to commit to the Cuse. I also know that a lot of the names mentioned also could go else where. I know that a lot goes into the recruitment of these young men. But in the end everyone needs to remember that Scott Shafer is heading into his 3rd year as the HC of the Orangemen,all that I’m saying is let’s give the man a chance to prove himself. I think we have a good coaching staff here at the moment and I agree if we have a good season and go to another bowl game,then damn it the university should pay these guys more money.
When it’s all said and done and Shafer can’t improve the program then I’ll change my mind and agree with all that want him gone. Right now I’m going to give the guy a chance because I truly believe that he’s the man that’s going to lead Syracuse back to being a player on the National scene.
ORANGEINVA; Syracuse Board of Trustees hire the Queen Nancy Cantor who hired the second coming of stupidity Dr. Daryl Gross,who fired Paul Pasqualoni and hired a Football Genius by the name of Greg Robinson who was fired and replaced by Doug Marrone who told us all that coming to Syracuse was his dream job who left after 4 years to Buffalo of the NFL and replaced by Scott Shafer. My point “the turnstiles have been spinning real fast for a decade now. If Robert Washington commits to the Orangemen on Saturday and Anthony Brown commits later we will have 2 out of the 4 commits considered 4* athletes and from what I’m reading we could get some more of the same to follow. It’s time we settle down and give this coaching staff a chance to prove itself. If they do succeed we both know that Syracuse University will not give them more money to stay and will probably get offers to coach at another school. I know that him leaving Syracuse would make a lot of people happy and at the same time put our program back another 15 years.
It’s how I feel about the program and I’m just offering my opinion.