Dabo Swinney likes Scott Shafer, which isn’t all that surprising. If I were a head coach, I would like to see the competition lose as well. But that’s not what Swinney meant. In the ACC’s coaches’ teleconference Wednesday Swinney said he thinks Scott Shafer should remain the head coach of the Orange past this year, according to Syracuse.com. Maybe Dabo hasn’t heard the news, but more and more Orange fans are starting to disagree. I am one of them, and Swinney’s reasoning doesn’t make all that much sense to me.
Dabo’s first support? “I see a guy building a program,” he said of Shafer.
Yeah, so did we. That‚Äôs why we‚Äôre upset it hasn’t translated to wins. I don‚Äôt think anyone is doubting Shafer‚Äôs ability to bring in good players. He‚Äôs had success recruiting big names such as Robert Washington and Chris Clark (even though both of those players have since decommitted), and at the very least has found¬†players who seem fit the system. Syracuse fans see Shafer building a program off the field, it just hasn‚Äôt turned¬†into victories¬†on the field. Terrible clock management has taken away Syracuse‚Äôs chances of winning more than one game, and his decision to play Eric Dungey at the end of the Louisville game will never make sense. He hasn‚Äôt been a good in-game coach, and all the recruits in the game won‚Äôt change that.
‚ÄúIf they stay the course, I don’t have any doubt he‚Äôll [Shafer] get them to where they need to be,‚Äù said Swinney.
Where does Swinney think Syracuse needs to be? The only course the Orange is on right now is the one going downhill. Over the past two years the only FBS teams Syracuse has beaten are Central Michigan and Wake Forest. Unless the team takes a complete turn in the next 3 weeks, Shafer will finish under .500 for the second straight year after inheriting a bowl-winning team from Doug Marrone. If Shafer is brought back for another year, it won’t be becuse of the “course” he’s put this team on.
Should Scott Shafer get another year at Syracuse? I’m on the fence, but either way the calls for Shafer to get the ax are not unwarranted. Dabo may like the fit, but we’ll see at the end of the year if the university agrees.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
