For years Scott Shafer, who on Wednesday was announced as the successor to the departed Doug Marrone as head coach of the Syracuse University team, would lie in bed at night and wonder if he was destined to be a career No. 2 guy. His dream of someday becoming No. 1 seemed to be slipping away as he entered his third decade as an assistant.
?I think every human being has those thoughts,? Shafer said, ?especially in this profession. I am extremely passionate about it. I?d be lying if I didn?t tell you there were moments over last 10 years when I wondered, ?Boy, will I ever get that opportunity???
At those low points Shafer would turn to his first love, his wife, Missy, for support.
?I was fortunate to be grounded by a wonderful woman,? Shafer said. ?As long as I was able to go home and see those green eyes I figured I could be No. 2 at work. And on the flip side I knew as long as I had the opportunity to work with these young men and maybe help them have a little more in life when they leave here (with a degree) I?ll be the happiest guy around. That is what it?s all about for me.?
It will be all about a little more now for Shafer, 46, courtesy of love story and happy ending No. 2, his appointment to a job only seven men have held at SU since Ben Schwartzwalder accepted it in 1949, 63 seasons ago.
?I can?t wait,? Shafer said, the enthusiasm in his voice evident. ?I can?t wait.?
Shafer, Marrone?s defensive coordinator for the last four seasons, got his shot when Marrone resigned Monday to become coach of the NFL?s Buffalo Bills. The Orange was 25-25 in four years under Marrone, a vast improvement from the 10-37 four-year record of his predecessor, Greg Robinson.
?The last few days I sat down with him a lot and it just reinforced to me what a great, great person Scott Shafer is,? athletics director Daryl Gross said. ?It?s not like he was auditioning for the job. Who he is is very consistent with everything you?ve reported over the years. His commitment to producing the kind of student-athletes this university can be proud of ? doing it the right way on and off the field ? resonates here. Scott?s defense is tough, hard-nosed and aggressive, a reflection of his personality. Now that he is the head coach this entire team will take on his personality.?
SU?s situation is reminiscent of the one SU faced following the 1990 season when Dick MacPherson left the Orange following a bowl victory to become coach of the NFL?s New England Patriots and athletic director Jake Crouthamel promoted defensive assistant Paul Pasqualoni to replace Coach Mac.
Current AD Gross chose the same route and likely hopes to receive similar results. Pasqualoni went 107-59-1, won at least a share of four Big East championships and guided the team to nine bowl berths in 14 seasons.
Like Pasqualoni, Shafer inherits a team that is coming off a winning season capped by a bowl victory, as the Orange went 6-1 down the stretch to finish at 8-5 and co-conference champions, crowning the run with a 38-14 victory Dec. 29 over West Virginia in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. And like Pasqualoni, who guided the team into its first affiliation with a football conference, Shafer will oversee SU?s transition into the Atlantic Coast Conference.
?We?re not looking for a huge culture change here,? Gross said. ?I believe we can go into the ACC and compete for the conference championship right away.?
Like Crouthamel back in 1991, Gross looked within to best pursue that goal.
?Whenever something like this (Marrone?s resignation) happens you have to know what the whole world of possibilities is,? he said. ?The thought process is Doug Marrone left for the NFL and here is what we know: We?re coming off a momentum-building season that has returned the program to its rightful place. It?s late in game for a full-blown search and at that time there is no longer a full-blown list of candidates, so you weigh it against what you have in house. You make sure you vet it and get input to make an informed decision, and you work hard doing it.
?The fact is Scott outweighed any home run hit we could have had on the outside. I knew it, but I still had to be as objective as possible.?
Endorsements from Marrone and San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, Shafer?s boss at Stanford, helped seal the deal.
?Jim and I had a great conversation about Scott,? Gross said. ?He told me Scott was the cornerstone of getting Stanford moving in right direction.?
Shafer did the same for Marrone as the new head coach?s hand-picked defensive coordinator. In his first season (2009) the Syracuse defense improved to No. 28 in the nation in third-down defense after finishing No. 117 the season before, No. 27 in first downs allowed (from No. 104), No. 37 in total defense (from No. 114) and No. 6 in sacks (from No. 100). In 2010 the Orange defense ranked No. 7 in the nation and Shafer was nominated for national assistant coach of the year. This season the SU defense was No. 6 in the nation in tackles for a loss.
Shafer produced similar results in stints at Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Stanford. He seemed to be on the same page with Marrone from the outset, echoing the head man?s commitment to developing talent but more importantly developing solid citizens.
?I want to make sure we have a seamless transition from the great things Coach Marrone has put in place and to the direction we want to take moving forward, which is basically the same direction,? Shafer said. ?There will be a sense of integrity, discipline and focus with the way we do things.?
Shafer has his work cut out for him, as he must replace offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and several key members of the 2012 team, try to keep the rest of his staff together and work on reassuring recruits that it is business as usual.
But it is not business as usual for Shafer, who once feared he would be a career No. 2 guy. Now when he looks into those green eyes he will do so as a head coach.
Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2013/01/syracuse_football_coach_scott.html
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