First on NewsChannel 9:Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- The new leader of Syracuse Orange Football,
Scott Shafer opened up or the first time since the university announced his position as head coach. He talked Wednesday afternoon on WSYR 9.2 and ESPN Radio’s sports talk show
Upon Further Review.
Shafer says he’s excited to take the reigns at SU and said he’s already well into the process of rounding out his staff of assistants.
“The chance to come and work for Doug is just phenomenal and now I just want to do a good job, taking that baton and continuing forward. We look forward to storming into this ACC Conference. It’s a great chapter that we’re beginning together here with the city of Syracuse and the campus. I couldn’t be more excited or enthusiastic about it,” Shafer said.
Shafer was officially named head coach of the Orange on Wednesday. He brings with him more than 20 years of coaching experience, including the last four years as SU’s defensive coordinator.
Shafer’s first order of business will be to find a new offensive coordinator, since Nathaniel Hackett will be following Doug Marrone to the Buffalo Bills. It’s a tough blow for Shafer, who’s guided an offense that broke a number of school records this past season.
“The biggest thing I want to do – from a philosophical point of view -- in hiring that staff, is to really take John Warden’s advice and one of his quotes was always ‘you don’t want to hurry, but you do want to be quick.’ And that’s my approach with hiring the staff…I want to make sure we get the right guys in here that fit Syracuse, with the philosophy of raising these kids up and giving them an opportunity to compete with great integrity and play great football on the field,” Shafer said.
SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross says they’re looking for an offensive coordinator with the same kind of ideas, the same kind of vision for a fast-paced, wide open offense.
