Sporting News had some harsh criticism for Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer, ranking him as the second-worst coach in the ACC.  Coming off a 3-9 season, it makes sense that Shafer would come under fire, but ranking him 13th amongst coaches in the somewhat weak ACC seems harsh.
The only coach below Shafer is Mike London from the University of Virginia.
Amongst the 12 coaches ranked above him is Dave Clawson of Wake Forest.  The Dave Clawson who led the Demon Deacons to a 3-9 record, going 1-7 in the ACC.  One of these seven conference loses was a blowout, at home, to Syracuse, 30-7.
Right away it seems like Shafer should jump another coach in Clawson. ¬†Granted, 2014 was Clawson’s first year but there Wake Forest was almost a mirror image of Syracuse in 2014.
With all of that said, there can be plenty said about the job Shafer has done and how he needs to improve to get this Syracuse program back to where it needs to be to appease the fans of Central New York. ¬†The explanation of Shafer’s ranking does point out some crucial flaws and some disconcerting numbers.
A curious hire two seasons ago, Shafer hasn’t done much to change first-look opinions. The Orange have lost 11 of 16 and Shafer’s biggest win is Minnesota in the 2013 Texas Bowl. SU scored seven points or less in four losses last season-offensive futility that gets coaches fired.
This points out the biggest concern that Syracuse fans should have and that is the lackluster offense.  The Orange need to be able to move the football and put up points.  Tim Lester will have a full season this year and the offense should improve.
The defense was clearly the stronger side for the 2014 Orange and one would expect that to continue as Shafer is a defensive coach.  However, a failure to improve the offense could put Shafer on the hot-seat as another sub-par season is sure to follow.
With all of the numbers aside, there is one thing Shafer did this off-season that every other ACC coach failed to do, recruit and land Robert Washington.
Recruiting is just as big of a part of a college coach’s job as gameday decisions and Shafer has taken a step in the right direction in that department.
Overall, Shafer has ,thus far, failed to prove himself a great coach that can bring Syracuse back into the national spotlight but he is not worth of the ranking as the 13th best coach out of 14 in the ACC.
Posted: Logan Grossman 
22 responses to “Is Shafer Deserving of His Harsh Ranking?”
Amazing article
Did ‘Admin’ write it because you are ashamed of what it says?
Love that the one thing Shafer did that no other ACC coach did was recruit and land Washington. LOL, amazing what a kid can do by lying about his offer list. I wonder if its tough for fans to pretend like his offer list is real?
Kid claims offers from best schools in the country…visits none and chooses syracuse lol. Amazing how Harbaugh, Meyer, Saban, Miles, Fisher couldn’t get in the door with this kid but Shafer was able to lol. Something doesn’t add up….and its his fake offer list but I am sure he’ll lead syracuse to atleast one national championship lol.
At this point if he doesn’t with the heisman atleast twice in his three years at syracuse it would be a disappointment.
I guess I’ve seen and read all of the things written by so-called football fans. This statemen”amazing what a kid can do by lying about his offer list”. Just amazes me.Here are the schools that were listed after Robert Washington’s name on one of the rrecruiting websites. Syracuse Akron Alabama Appalachian St. Arizona Arizona St., Boston Coll. California Charlotte Clemson,Duke Florida, Florida St. Georgia TechLouisville LSU Maryland Miami (FL) Michigan Mississippi Mississippi St. Nebraska N. Carolina N.C. State Notre Dame Autry Denson Ohio St. Oregon St. Penn St. Pittsburgh Stanford TCU Tennessee UCLA Vanderbilt Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest Washington St. West Virginia Wisconsin Seven of the schools listed sent coaches to talk to Mr. Washington that included coaches from Alabama.
Mr. TEBOWS shows me two things,1st) he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about and 2nd) he must hate Syracuse Folotball a ton because Coach Shafer landed a 4* RB over all of the other schools.
Not at all
Where did he visit….
syracuse
unc
virginia tech
michigan
flordia
somehow two ‘finalist’ never even got visits…TCU and Alabama…you think Alabama is being shut down by this kid? you are dreaming.
Then look at two other factors
Michigan already had two commits from running backs before Washington gave his decision….but he claims he was Michigan’s number one option…well obviously he wasn’t.
He claims Saban told him he was the next Skittles Lynch yet somehow didn’t ever ask him to visit campus or to visit on A-Day where they had three other RBs on campus.
Then he chooses flordia…and flips the next morning lol…yeah ok. Thats after claiming that he had known for weeks where he was going and his dad told everyone SU was the choice and he said his dad didn’t know a thing about his recruitment…despite earlier saying his dad was his inspiration in life lol.
Kid also got late offers from LSU and USC……yet never gave them a look lol, yeah ok
he is making it up and everyone knows it. Notice how his decision didnt even ruffle a feather on the Bama sites or Michigan or TCU or UNC lol. The only site paying attention was flordia and thats because he told them they could release the video…of him choosing them despite knowning he was going to SU all along.
The other thing that clues you into the fake offer list.
He has the most offers in the country by far, its not even close.
Yet no invite to the Opening? and somehow isn’t even rated as a top 10 running back by any service? Something doesn’t make sense.
Don’t you think if Saban and Harbaugh were that impressed by him at some point they would’ve sent a coach to his school? or visited him themselves? they have done it with a few dozen other kids why not washington? Oh am I supposed to believe that Nick Saban sat in his office and said to his assistants ‘syracuse is just dominating us on the recruiting trail, we don’t even have a chance with our number one back lets concede defeat to that northern powerhouse program’…..yeah ok lol
News just breaking on syr.com Another NY 4* athlete bites the dust. Clemson defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko, a one-time Syracuse football target and a top-ranked recruit in New York, has been dismissed from the Tigers program, it was announced Tuesday. Three years shot down the drain. I think more of those NYC kids ought to pay more/closer attention to what Mr. Williams is telling them.
no way a 4 star ?
thats not possible all four stars end up being great players, like Robert Washington, right?
you ‘fans’ that cheer against kids because they don’t go to your favorite teams school and then rejoice in their struggles are disgusting.
Hah! A Florida fan comes to a Syracuse website article and says Washington lied about his offers. Sour Grapes maybe? Was the Florida offer fake? If it was, then why was Florida upset and why are you so upset he ended up at Syracuse? I can safely say I’ve never gone to a Florida Gators website and I’ve never commented on an argument there. That’s because I generally don’t care about Florida or about kids SU was recruiting that ended up at Florida instead. Wow, are you sour!
you’ve got it right now
the flordia offer was a non-commitable offer and when he found that out he switched to syracuse.
also am not a flordia fan am actually the only true su fan here. Anyone who can’t see the obvious isn’t a fan they are a run of the mill fanatic. Who today praise washington but if he fails to win the heisman as a true frosh will bash the kid and his family and rant on how he isn’t worthy.
You don’t need to be on a flordia site to know anything all you have to do is know people who are smart and those people….don’t post on message boards and don’t write that one recruit makes a coach a good coach before the kid ever steps on campus.
What do you have to say about the accusations about that Kelly guy who runs that blog?
The word on the street is that the NCAA is investigating his relationship with Washington and his family. There are rumors that gifts may have exchanged hands and there are ‘offers’ out there once he signs and shows up. I read the message board today and he even said himself on the message board that he has inside info that nobody else has….how is that? Him even contacting Washington or his family is a violation….repeatedly admitting it especially with the program on probation and the NCAA already sniffing around is that a good idea?
Just telling it like it is Tebow. I went to a website to get the information on Robert Washington. I honestly don’t think a kid can generate a list of schools that’s interested in him and then give it to any website. To say the kid is a liar and a cheat is going way overboard for anyone . But I guess a person like you would know all about being a fake. Your moniker say’s it best. The real Tim Tebow was brought up to respect others. I wouldn’t ever expect to have a response from him calling a kid that he never saw or talked to a liar and a cheat. Only in Florida does things like this happen.
Have a good day or night,take some pepto bismol before going to sleep tonight.
Can we put Robert Washington in the group that Cam Newton belongs to? If it wasn’t wrong for Auburn to pay his father at least $180K to play there then what makes you think that it’s not ok for Washington to play for Syracuse.
As far as one 4* recruit coming to the CUSE to play. Everyone thinks that Shafer and staff can’t recruit. My opinion is if Washington does stick by his commitment and brings more 4* or better 3* recruits with him,then and only then I hope it shuts all of the nay-sayers mouths for good.
who said it wasn’t wrong?
is that what they paid washington 180K?
He can’t recruit lol
look at the first two classes of qb’s
aj long…terrible
wilson….terrible
kimble….forced to admit after just two seasons that he was in over his head at an fbs school.
one four star recruit doesn’t make you a good recruit(and he isn’t four stars on every service)
Greg Robinson got five 4 star kids in his 3+ classes and he was a terrible recruiter. One four star recruit doesn’t make you a good recruiter.
Tebow, it wouldn’t be easy for a recruit to make up a list of schools without any of the schools that didn’t actually offer him a scholarship saying something. And absolutely no one is expecting Washington to win the Heisman as a true freshman. So not a single person will be bashing him once he doesn’t win it. Also, no one is saying that Shafer is a great recruiter just because he got one player. But it is a start
YOU and I agree paying Cam Newton’s father at least $180K was wrong. What did the NCAA say and do? They said they didn’t have a rule on the books to cover illegal payments to parents so they turned their cheeks and did nothing. I’m not saying that Robert Washington got payments from anyone here,I was just responding to your comment that he doesn’t belong here because you think that he’s a liar and a cheat. I agree one 4* recruit doesn’t make you a hero. But lets wait and see just how many 4* athletes are in the 2015 class. The star rating system is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone. The web sites that I read have Robert Washington as the 12th to 15th best running back in the class of 2016. Now remember that’s what some websites have put into print for people to read.
aw crap…just spit morning coffee on the screen,,,,,,
someone claims Shafer is in over his head and then refers to GROB (10-37)favorably.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Good morning to you too ORANGEINVA. Great post you got me laughing this morning.
Totally agree orangeinva, this Ron guy says that if you recruit a four star player you are a great recruiter lol. I think we should raise the bar a little, maybe? I also love how the first post praises Shafer because he got a four star player and that will lead to more four star/high three star recruits…but now the star rating system is a joke. Its important when it says something good(four star recruit) but if it tells the truth then its horrible. Remember that ten years stretch where SU was bad/mediocre at best and people complained about the low ratings SU players got and how they were actually much better? Its wierd if you think back….low ratings….those were poor teams or low ratings which were wrong and those were really talented teams…but they still were poor on the field. Which makes sense to you? Sure those low ratings were wrong?
Ron you think Jimmy B. is the first coach to have someone write a paper for a player? Think he is the first coach to violate the drug policy?
The answer of course is no.
the next question is if every coach who does that is punished?
Answer again is no
So do I think its a big risk paying Washington to come to SU?
Yes I do especially with the ncaa already around and just because Cam Newton and Auburn got away with it doesn’t mean SU can. Thats not how NCAA enforcement works at all and we all know that and fair isn’t part of their enforcement either.
just to be accurate
espn #5
scout #21
Rivals #15
247 does some wierd bs composite rating so its not really a rating at all its a bunch numbers averaged out.
Tebow; first let me say that I never said that if Shafer recruits one 4* athlete it makes him some sort of guru. I did however say let’s wait and see what kind of class Coach Shafer and staff brings in for 2016. From what I’ve read others including ESPN who know more about what is going on than I is telling me that Syracuse possibly could bring the best class to Syracuse since the 1959 National Championship Team.
I’ve always said and will never change my mind that the star rating system is a joke and that it should be abolished. I base my opinion of any player on their skill set and how he playes the game. Prime example Marcus Mariota rated a 2* athlete who led his team to the national championship game. I feel that he should have been rated a 4* or even maybe a 5* athlete. Your last post showing what the websites have Washington listed at go from #5 to #25 best RB in the land,and the last sentence about 247sports tells it all. I REST MY CASE!!!!!
I’ve never said that Washington should get paid by a booster to play here. I lumped him in with Cam Newton because you seem to think the kid lied and cheated to get the offer from Syracuse.,you need to get your facts straight.
I don’t live in a world of hypothetical’s,from what I’ve read in the papers Jim Boeheim had nothing to do with that paper being written for Fab Melo. Unless you have prove to the contrary,please put it on the web for all of us to read. I think you need to go talk with Dr. Gross and if he’s man enough will tell you exactly how it happened and who was in attendance when the meeting was set up.
There isn’t a single article written anywhere that says it could be SU’s best class since ’59. You are confusing ‘articles’ with message board posts by fans who have no clue and say that stuff.
If you go back on the same message board they will tell you that last years class was the best in 15 years and two years ago was the best in 10 years and now this year is the best in 50+ years lol.
That is just fan hype, The class has all of four kids at this point it is way way way way to early to even guess what the class will look like in 7+ months so forget about giving it an all time ranking already.
5-25 sounds great for someone who doesn’t know what they are looking at. Think about it from a big picture instead of just a number.
22….
23….
What are those you ask?
Those are the number of running backs drafted the last two years
If you go back to 2010 and look at the espn recruiting rankings)thats the ‘service’) that has Washington they highest.
More then half of their top 25 RB recruits were never drafted by an NFL team. So putting a #5 by his name doesn’t mean a thing. You talk out of both sides of your face. On one side the stars don’t matter but then because he is top 25 it means something despite the fact the evidence shows it its a 50/50 shot at best that he is good.
Cam didn’t ‘cheat’ to get to Auburn and technically didn’t lie either. He did steal a laptop though lol.
You said you wanted to put Washington in the group with newton.
This is your exact quote from above.
“Can we put Robert Washington in the group that Cam Newton belongs to? If it wasn‚Äôt wrong for Auburn to pay his father at least $180K to play there then what makes you think that it‚Äôs not ok for Washington to play for Syracuse.”
you said you want him lumped in with newton and say because it is ok for auburn to pay and newton to play for them why isn’t that true for washington….clearly you are saying its ok to pay him.
stop reading the papers and read the report instead. If you think Jimmy B doesn’t know whats going on with his team you are crazy. That team had a chance to win a national championship and with out melo had zero. If you think he wasn’t aware of his academic issues that could keep him out you are blinded by your fandom and unable to think straight.
Here it is for all the web…
Boeheim knowingly violated the drug policy and was a partcipant in the Fab Melo academic violations.
if you want even more details…read the report lol.
TEBOW;
I’ve read articles written by a ESPN reporter that wrote an article about Bobby Acosta and his efforts in recruiting the NJ/NYC/PA areas. He listed the names of some of the top recruits that are really interested in Syracuse. Weather they come or not is up in the air. I’ve combined that letter with other websites that have posted the efforts of Robert Washington connecting with some of his friends that might come join him here to play. If it all works out and we get some of those top recruits from Jersey,Texas,North Carolina and Florida that were after then yes,I MADE THE STATEMENT THAT THIS COULD BE AS GOOD A CLASS AS THE 1959 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. But I hope you continue to notice that I haven’t called any of the recruits liars or cheats.
Secondly I will always say talent will always trump the amount of stars that any recruit has attached to their names. I follow every year the amount of those 4*&5* athletes that can’t make the grade at a Div1 program and transfer to Div III schools where there isn’t as much pressure playing football. LIKE I RESPONDED TO ONE OF YOUR COMMENTS THE OTHER DAY,THE STAR RATING SYSTEM IS A FRIGGING JOKE AND SHOULD BE DONE AWAY WITH. Your comment about the numbers that ESPN only prove’s my point,the people who are rating these players don’t know what the hell their doing period. Thanks for making my point.
I don’t believe in semantics playing on everything a person has to say or write. I din’t say I wanted to put Washington in a group with Cam Newton,I asked if we should put him the group with Newton because ACCORDING TO YOU,ROBERT WASHINGTON IS NOTHING BUR A LIAR AND CHEAT. THAT’S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL ABOUT CAM NEWTON. Can you honestly tell me and others that Cam Newton wasn’t involved in the deal that got his father at least $180k. The one thing Syracuse doesn’t have is deep pocketed alumni that would go the extra mile to bring top flight players to Syracuse.
I also believe that it’s high time that these athletes get paid something for their services. They’re making millions of dollars for their respective schools and getting nothing in return. SO YES I BELIEVE ROBERT WASHINGTON AND ALL OTHER ATHLETES THAT GENERATE THAT KIND OF MONEY SHOULD BE GETTING A PIECE OF THAT PIE.
SYRACUSE IS ONE OF A FEW SCHOOLS THAT HAVE A DRUG POLICY. A MAJORITY OR SHOULD I SAY THE NCAA DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE SUCH A POLICY IN PLACE. SO HOW IS IT THE NCAA CAN PUNISH A SCHOOL FOR NOT HAVEING ONE IN PLACE? If I remember right didn’t the NCAA make that statement in the Cam Newton case. They said they didn’t have a rule on the books covering illegal payments to parents and couldn’t do a thing about that. Jezz Cam Newton ended up at Auburn playing for the Tigers. HOW FRIGGING WONDERFUL IS THAT?
“Boeheim knowingly violated the drug policy and was a partcipant in the Fab Melo academic violations”. The NCAA report that came out is nothing but supposition. I don’t believe a damn word of it.
You have a good day
‘if syracuse gets some of the top recruits from Jersey,Texas,North Carolina and Florida’….well obviously but lets get real.
They are not going to get the top guys from those states. Syracuse is not going to go into flordia/texas and beat out texas/fsu etc across the board.
congrats on going back to the original idea that stars aren’t correct if you are keeping score they didn’t matter, then they did, then they didn’t, then again they started to but now once again they don’t. lol ok
Washington isn’t being honest and everyone knows it. You think Cam is a cheat…because he didn’t go to syracuse. Jim Brown smacked his wife around more then once and yet he is godlike while ray rice is a horrible person…whats the difference????? yup the college they went to
Nothing in return? you may want to do some research into that before repeating that again in public. Also if you want to start paying kids millions of dollars to attend college just be aware syracuse will never again be an elite team.
So despite JB publically admitting in a press conference that he violated the drug policy…you still don’t believe it? lol thats all you need to say.
Also when you say the 1959 championship team recruiting class you mean the recruiting class the year following that so the ’60 class or what class exactly. Obviously every player on the 1959 team wasn’t from one recruiting class.
Tebow,your right it wasn’t the 1960 class that was national champions it was a combination of the 1956,1957 and 1958 classes that won the championship.
You still don’t get it do you? I really don’t care anything concerning the star rating system,it means nothing to me and yes I read every year articles about those 4 &5* athletes that fail to live up to their billing and laugh when I’m through. Those articles(to me) only show just how in accurate they really are. last week I posted and article here on how many stars were attached to the top ten players drafterd in the NFL draft this year. There were (1) 2*,(3) 3* and (6)4* athletes drafted. Then I went through the 1st round and was amazed at the results. There were (2) 2*,(1) N/R, (16) 3*,(9) 4* and (4) 5* drafted in the 1st round. Looks like to the N/R,2* and 3* athletes do a little better than the better rated athletes. Another fact that I found was that out of the first round pickes 2 stayed in college to get their degrees,(1) was the N/R athlete and the other was a (3*) athlete with the rest of the first round averaging 2 years of college before entering the draft. I mention the stars attached to any recruits name only because it’s what’s reported on the websites. Other than that they ought to throw the system out the window.