I have advocated for an up-tempo, spread offense in the controlled conditions of the Carrier Dome for years. This is the perfect time to make the switch. You’ve fired a “smash-mouth,” old-school coach who ran a traditional, plodding offense, and can hire a young guy who wants to throw the ball and excite the fans. That’s what makes the Scott Frost rumors exciting.
If the Frost hiring happens, it shows two things: 1) Syracuse is enticing to a well-respected coach, not a retread or complete unknown. 2) AD Mark Coyle is thinking in progressive ways for the program.
Frost is considered a rising star in the profession, and there are already eyebrows raised. “Why would he take that job.” If he does he earns some credibility back for SU, who was perceived to go with the cheapest, easiest solution when they hired Scott Shafer.
What I Like: He’s young, and runs an aggressive, open offense. Syracuse has simply never had that type of philosophy. Coach Mac, Coach P, Groobers, Marrone and Shafer all were traditional guys. Groobers brought elements of the West Coast in, but was too much of a bumbling fool to install them correctly. When you are can’t coach your way out of a paper bag, you can’t really run the offense correctly. I like that there’s something enticing about coming to SU if Frost takes the job. Syracuse should aspire to be Cincinnati. Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly and Butch Jones all coached 3-4 years there over the last decade. Find the young, smart, next big head coach and allow him to build the program up before leaving for the Michigan States and the Notre Dames of the world. Frost could be like that. Make it the place young assistants want to come for¬†their first Power 5 job, let them be creative and throw the ball.
What I Don’t Like:¬†No concept of East Coast, Northeast recruiting. Not as many quarterbacks to go around. Not as many skill position burners like the West Coast. Does the name Scott Frost resonate or connect with high school coaches in Buffalo and Long Island? But coming from Oregon is about as sexy as it gets for high school kids these days, so if you’re selling recruits on being the next Marcus Mariota or D’Anthony Thomas, it’ll sell almost anywhere.
What’s At Stake:¬†Surpassing Rutgers. The Knights fired Kyle Flood, which means it’s now a flat-footed race between SU and RU to hire the right guys, and have a chance to own the region (relatively) for the foreseeable future. If SU nails this, then they can change the recruiting paradigm in NJ and go back to the way it was before Greg Schiano, when the Orange landed big time talent from the Garden State. RU is down, Syracuse must take advantage of that, especially since Temple is on the rise, which always will recruit Southern Jersey.
Posted: Damon Amendolara
