Thoughts on Doug Marrone

On Thursday night I received a text message from a friend informing me that Doug Marrone was going to be named the new head coach at Syracuse. My first thought was how the hell did we let Skip Holtz and Turner Gill get away from us. My next thought was to call my dad, a lifelong fan and the reason I root for the Orange.

When I informed him of the news, my dad seemed surprisingly upbeat, hardly the reaction I was expecting. You see my dad is the type of fan that will stay at a sporting event to the very end, no matter the result. Countless times we have sat through blowouts, both victories and losses, freezing conditions, monsoons, and other weather that normal people would not be caught in at all sorts of sporting events.  We never left until the end. I don’t even know if my dad missed an SU football home game between 1996 and 2006.

But the for the past two seasons, my father has not hesitated to stay at home on Saturday to do something else as significant as cutting the grass. Or he has done the previously unthinkable and left a game before the final whistle. He has given tickets to his friends, taking a huge loss like so many other fans. I never thought he would ever do that, but he started to feel like it was a complete waste of time to use a whole day to watch extremely horrendous football. This is something similar to what a lot of SU fans have gone through over the past few years.

But my dad said that he was intrigued by the choice of Marrone. He was happy that someone who genuinely seemed to love the university, his university, got the job. Dad seemed content while I remained unconvinced.

Then I watched Marrone’s introductory press conference. I heard him speak about how proud he was to have this job. How happy he was to come back to a place that he considers his home. I heard him talk about how he kept his recruiting ties even while he was coaching in the NFL, and heard people talk about how every move he has made in his coaching career was building towards this moment.

I was sold.

I understand there are concerns about Marrone not having any previous head coaching experience. That is a valid point. But I honestly think Marrone will be able to put together an experienced staff to help him. I think he understands what it takes to be a head coach even though he has never been one.

It is also valid to be worried about him not being active in the college game over the past seven years and how that will negatively impact recruiting. But who is better suited to sell potential recruits on the idea of playing in Syracuse than a former Syracuse player? I think him growing up in the Northeast and playing at Syracuse is the difference between Marrone and Greg Robinson. Robinson had no ties to this area. He didn’t know the high school coaches in the region and he was not able to create the ties with those coaches that are required to succeed in recruiting. I believe Marrone knows enough about the region, and has the passion to persuade recruits to come here.

Is it going to be a tough road? Absolutely. Will he need as much luck as he does skill in order to turn the program around? Of course. But I believe he can do it.

At the begining of this process I didn’t know who he was. Even after learning who he was I wasn’t convinced he would be a good coach, let alone land the gig. But now I believe he can do it. I think he will get the job done. And maybe this year my dad won’t have to skip any games.

Meet a Candidate: Al Golden

With the news that Al Golden was in New York City at the same time as Daryl Gross, I guess we can consider him a candidate. Even though he previously said he wasn’t interested.

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Al Golden

2006-present Temple (Head Coach: 10-26) 2001-2005 Virginia (Defensive Coordinator) 2000 Penn State (Linebackers) 1997-1999 Boston College (Linebackers)         1994-1996 Virginia (Graduate Assistant)

Who is he?: Golden is a former Penn State football player who began coaching as a grad assistant at Virginia in 1994. After a stop at Boston College, Golden returned to Penn State to coach linebackers in 2000. He then returned to Virginia to be their defensive coordinator for five seasons.

Golden took over at Temple in 2006 and has turned them into a respectable program in the MAC, going 10-26 in his three years.

What does he bring to the job?: Golden, like Turner Gill, has found success at a school that nobody thought would ever be competitive. Golden is a talented coach with a defensive background. He is an experienced recruiter in the Northeast and seems to be on his way to super stardom, similar to Gill.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: Golden could be very similar to Skip Holtz, in that he might be a candidate at schools he has a connection with next season. Al Groh is on thin ice in Virginia and who knows what Joe Paterno’s future is after this season. Golden would be a leading candidate for both jobs, and could easily leave Syracuse after one season if those jobs become available.

What are his chances?: Good. Golden seems to be right in the mix with Holtz and Gill as the leading candidates, and him being in NYC this week will only add fuel to that fire. Golden has an eerily similar resume to Gill, and both seem destined for big things. I think Golden could emerge if Gross is unable to get anywhere with Holtz or Gill. But I don’t know if he will ever vault over them to get the job. He could also get passed over for Doug Marrone, whose chances are improving seemingly every day.

Meet a Candidate: Tim Murphy

Since it has been announce that Syracuse has had contact with Harvard coach Tim Murphy, I thought I’d add him to the list of coaching candidates.

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Tim Murphy

1994-present Harvard (Head Coach: 97-52)
1989-1993 Cincinnati (Head Coach: 17-37-1)
1987-1988 Maine (Head Coach: 15-8)
1985-1986 Maine (Offensive Coordinator)
1982-1984 Boston University (Offensive Line)
1981 Lafayette (Defensive Line)

Who is he?: Murphy is the longtime coach at Harvard , who has compiled a 97-52 record since 1994 with the Crimson. Before taking over at Harvard, Murphy had the head job at Cincinnati. While he only had a record of 17-37-1 while with the Bearcats, that happened after Murphy “inherited a program that had a condemned stadium, no practice facilities, and the loss of 19 scholarships after being placed on probation for infractions incurred by the previous coaching staff.” Murphy’s tenure at Cincinnati ended with an 8-3 record in 1993. Before Cincinnati, Murphy spent two years  as the head coach at Maine,  going 15-8.

What does he bring to the job?: Murphy has extensive head coaching experience. In fact he has the most head coaching experience out of any candidate that has interviewed so far. Murphy has kept Harvard at or near the top of the Ivy League standings year after year.

Murphy’s experience at Cincinnati is also a huge plus, as he was able to turn a horrid program into a respectable one by the time he left. He has experience recruiting the Northeast and wouldn’t need much time to get a staff together and hit the recruiting trail.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: While Murphy has extensive experience, he hasn’t been a D1-A coach since 1993. Who knows if he would be able to make the jump to the Big East. Much like Mark Whipple, Murphy is an experienced coach at the D1-AA level. Unlike Whipple, Murphy has had a shot at a 1A school. But that was 15 years ago. Would he be able to coach and recruit against the other coaches in the Big East?

What are his chances?: Murphy seemingly came out of nowhere to get interviewed, and nobody really had heard of him before. On paper he’s a very talented coach who has great experience. He has experience in the Northeast and would be able to land some good recruits from areas that Syracuse found little success in under Greg Robinson.

Overall he’s an interesting candidate, but not a serious contender. He’d be at the same level as Whipple, which probably puts him 8th or 9th on the list. He could get a job at D1-A at some point, but not with Syracuse.

Monday Coaching Update

It seems like there is news about the coaching search every day, which I guess is a good thing. So here is an update:

• Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley has taken the head coach opening at New Mexico. This is either a sign that Daryl Gross didn’t like Locksley as a candidate, or he wants someone with head coaching experience. I hope for the latter.
• According to NFL.com, New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is a candidate. God I hope this is not true. Other than his success with the “run-and-shoot” offense with the Houston Oilers and his current success with the Giants, Gilbride is not a good coach. I’m a Bills fan and I remember being thoroughly unimpressed with him during his tenure as our offensive coordinator. If we’re going to hire another NFL assistant, hire Mark Whipple or Doug Marrone.
• Speaking of Marrone, a NY Daily News writer (and Syracuse grad) puts up an interesting case for Marrone as the head man with the Orange. And I have to agree with Brent Axe, this piece gave me chills and makes me think that Marrone could be the right man for the job. Anyone who would consider this his “Boeheim job” would get my attention, and Marrone has. If we get passed over by Holtz and Gill (the two likely front runners) I think the job is his.
• So Skip and Doc Gross are in New York City together and should be meeting to discuss the job. That, combined with Auburn’s interest in Turner Gill should put Skip in the lead to land this thing. Donnie Webb says that Skip’s wife also bought an Orange sweater. And who in their right minds would do such a thing? (In the same article, Donnie says that he believes Al Golden is still a candidate and his statement saying he wasn’t interested was a front)

So if I’m handicapping this race right now I’d say Holtz is the favorite, followed by Gill, Marrone, Golden, and Addazio. I don’t expect Rogers or Gilbride to get anything more than an obligatory interview. While I think Mark Whipple would be a good coach I don’t think Gross is going to seriously consider him (but I’ll have more on that later).

For now I think we have a 48 hour period where Skip could lock this up and get a deal done. I don’t know how serious Auburn is about Gill, but Gross needs to act fast on Holtz, because if we get strung along by him, we need to lock up our second choice. And at this point that seems to be Gill. We can’t afford to lose both guys in one week and then have Daryl try to sell us that the guy we end up with was his first choice.

Meet a Candidate: Doug Marrone

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Doug Marrone

2006-present New Orleans Saints (Offensive Coordinator)
2002-2005 New York Jets (Offensive Line)
2001 Tennesee (Tight Ends)
2000 Georgia (Offensive Line)
1997-1999 Georgia Tech (Offensive Line)
1996 Georgia Tech (Tight Ends)
1995 Georgia Tech (Director of Football Operations)
1994 Northeastern (Offensive Line)
1993 US Coast Guard Academy (Offensive Line)
1992 Cortland State (Tight Ends)

Who is he?: Marrone is a former Orange player (1983-1985) who is currently the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints. His other previous stop in the NFL was as offensive line coach with the New York Jets. He has had a long career as a college assistant, including stints with Tennessee, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

What does he bring to the job?: Marrone has been a part of one of the NFL’s best offenses during his tenure in New Orleans. This season, his team leads the NFL in yards per game and is fourth in points scored. In 2007 they were 4th in yards per game, and were 1st in 2006. He and head coach Sean Payton have developed a very good system that would hopefully be easily translated to college success. Marrone has been able to utilize the gifts of players like Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister, as well as helping to develop young wideouts Marquese Colston and Lance Moore.

Being a Syracuse alum, Marrone would be passionate about this job and hopefully be able to show recruits that Syracuse isn’t a bad place to spend some time, even in the winter (good luck).

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: Like Rogers, Mullen, Addazio and Locksley, Marrone has never been a head coach before. Like all of the others, he would have to hire a staff and begin recruiting right away, something that is not easy for someone who has been away from the college game for seven years.

Most of Marrone’s collegiate coaching experience was in the SEC, which might not lend itself to instant recruiting success in the Northeast.

What are his chances?: Marrone has seemingly come out of nowhere to become a viable candidate for the job. His name hadn’t really been mentioned until the past week, and according to some sources, he is either a great candidate or a secondary candidate. So there ya go.

Marrone is one of three NFL assistants (Mark Whipple and Kevin Rogers being the others) to have interviewed for the position. While I would take him over Rogers in a heartbeat, I think Whipple’s head coaching experience puts him above Marrone. I don’t think he’ll beat out some of the current or former college head coaches, but Marrone is a good dark horse candidate.

Meet a Candidate: Kevin Rogers

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Kevin Rogers

2006-present Minnesota Vikings (Quarterbacks)
2002-2005 Virginia Tech (Quarterbacks)
1999-2001 Notre Dame (Offensive Coordinator/QB)
1997-1998 Syracuse (Offensive Coordinator)
1995-1996 Syracuse (Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator)
1991-1994 Syracuse (Quarterbacks)
1983-1990 Navy (Offensive Assistant)

Who is he?: Rogers is a former SU assistant who is currently the quarterbacks coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Rogers held a variety of jobs while at Syracuse from 1991-1998, coaching the quarterbacks, serving as recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach, and finishing up as offensive coordinator. Rogers star pupil during his time with the Orange was three-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Donovan McNabb.

After leaving Syracuse to become Bob Davie’s offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, followed by a stint at Virginia Tech as quarterbacks coach.

What does he bring to the job?: Rogers, much like Steve Addazio, is a link to the 1990s glory under Paul Pasqualoni. His offenses at Syracuse were very good and he helped develop some great Orangemen into futer NFL stars. Rogers has strong credentials as an offensive coach and would be one of the better tutors for whomever ends up quarterbacking the Orange next season and beyond.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: Rogers has no previous head coaching experience, something that is almost a prerequisite at this point. While he has a great Syracuse past, he hasn’t been around upstate New York since Donovan McNabb left, and has been out of the college game for three years. It has to be hard for someone like that to gain a footing in recruiting.

While Rogers now has pro coaching experience, do we really want a guy who’s star pupil in the NFLhas a career 68.6 rating and was benched for Gus Frerotte?

What are his chances?: Not that great. At least, I hope not that great. Rogers is fairly unimpressive compared to the other candidates. He hasn’t been at Syracuse for a decade, has been out of the college game for the past three years, and has had limited success as a pro quarterback. He might be a good offensive coach and could be a good college offensive coordinator, but he wouldn’t be a good choice as the next head coach at Syracuse.

Meet a Candidate: Brady Hoke

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Brady Hoke

2003-Present (Ball State Head Coach: 34-37)
2002 Michigan (Associate Head Coach/Defensive Line)
1997-2001 Michigan (Defensive Line)
1995-1996 Michigan (Defensive Ends)
1991-1994 Oregon State (Defensive Line)
1990 Oregon State (Inside Linebackers)
1989 Oregon State (Defensive Line)
1987-1988 Toledo (Outside Linebackers)
1984-1986 Western Michigan (DL/ Special Teams)
1983 Grand Valley State (Defensive Line)

Who is he?: Hoke has been the head coach at Ball State since 2003, posting a 34-37 record heading into tonight’s MAC championship game. Ball State went 12-0 this season under Hoke, their best ever regular season mark.

Before taking over at Ball State, Hoke was a defensive assistant under Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Carr, of course was on campus earlier this year and, while he isn’t really considered a candidate for the job, he has allegedly been consulting Daryl Gross about the coaching search. Hoke was also a candidate for the Michigan and Washington State openings last year.

What does he bring to the job?: Hoke, along with Skip Holtz, is one of the most experienced coaches to be mentioned as a candidate.  He has turned Ball State into a relevant team in the MAC as this will be their second straight season ending with a bowl appearance. He has a great history as a defensive coach and now Ball State has even developed well offensively this season under Hoke.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: I honestly can’t think of a solid reason why Hoke wouldn’t make sense as a candidate. You can say he doesn’t have Northeastern ties and that could hurt recruiting, but he is a talented coach who has an undefeated season on his resume. How many other candidates have that?

What are his chances?: I think Hoke is an intriguing candidate, but why hasn’t he been interviewed yet? Maybe he didn’t want to interview before his team played in the MAC championship, but that didn’t stop Turner Gill. I think if Hoke interviews in the next week or so he should quickly rise up the list of potential candidates. One thing to watch out for is what other jobs might open up in the next few weeks. Hoke would be mentioned as a candidate for a lot of positions, so if the dominoes start falling, he could fall out of Daryl Gross’ reach. Overall he is a strong candidate, but at this point trails a few others who have already interviewed.

Meet a Candidate: Dan Mullen

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Dan Mullen

2005-Present Florida (Offensive Coordinator/QB)
2003-2004 Utah (Quarterbacks)
2001-2002 Bowling Green (Quarterbacks)
1999-2000 Notre Dame (Graduate Assistant)
1998 Syracuse (Graduate Assistant)
1996-1997 Columbia (Wide Receivers)
1994-1995 Wagner (Wide Receivers)

Who is he?: Mullen is a long time Urban Meyer assistant who has been Florida’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2005. Before that he was the quarterbacks coach for Meyer’s teams in Utah and Bowling Green. Over the years he has coached QBs such as Tim Tebow and Chris Leak (Florida), Alex Smith (Utah) and Josh Harris and Omar Jacobs (Bowling Green).

Mullen previously worked at Syracuse as a Graduate Assistant during the 1998 season (Big East championship and Orange Bowl appearance).

What does he bring to the job?: In one word: offense. Mullen has been in charge of some of the most prolific offenses over the past few years, and has helped develop Tim Tebow into a Heisman Trophy winner and Alex Smith into a number one NFL pick. Mullen is a master of the spread offense and would help make Syracuse a more dangerous team in the Big East.

Mullen, along with Steve Adazio, has also been an integral part of Florida’s highly successful recruiting over the past few years.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: Mullen, like many of the other mentioned candidates, has no previous head coaching experience. Who knows how he would do at the head of a program. Recruiting in the Northeast could be a concern, but he seems to have had no trouble in getting commits from the area while at Florida. Could that success translate to keeping some of those kids “home” at Syracuse?

What are his chances?: Mullen would be my choice out of the non-head coach candidates. He is a talented offensive coach and recruiter and would likely be able to bring in some impact players to make an immediate difference. He has been a coach at Syracuse before so he is no stranger to the area. Overall I think he’s a strong candidate with a good chance, but he still appears to be trailing Skip Holtz, Turner Gill and even fellow Florida assistant Steve Adazio. In fact, Mullen hasn’t been confirmed to have interviewed for the position. In my opinion he would be a better choice than Steve Adazio or Mike Locksley if we go with an assistant to head the program. But Mullen could easily hold out for a more lucrative offer or a better situation. More SEC and Big 12 jobs are likely to open next year and he would be a prime candidate for those as well. I think in the end it would take a miracle to convince him to come to Syracuse.

Meet a Candidate: Chris Petersen

A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Now here is my take on Boise State’s Chris Petersen.

Chirs Petersen

2006-present Boise St (Head Coach:35-3)
2001-2005 Boise St (Offensive Coordinator)
1995-2000 Oregon (Wide Receivers)
1993-1994 Portland St (Quarterbacks)
1992 Pittsburgh (Quarterbacks)

Who is he?: Petersen has been one of the most successful coaches in D1 since he took over the Boise State program from Dan Hawkins. He has compiled a 35-3 record in three years, including two undefeated seasons. He was responsible for the Broncos exciting victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and has Boise State in the running for another possible BCS berth.

What does he bring to the job?: Incomparable success. He by far has the best record of any of the other candidates with previous head coaching experience. He is a budding coaching star who will be getting many offers in the future if he doesn’t take a BCS job this year.

Petersen runs an extremely successful offense that would more than likely be a hit on  the Carrier Dome turf. Here are the total offensive ranks of Petersen’s teams since becoming Boise’s offensive coordinator in 2001:

2001: 14th

2002: 1st

2003: 7th

2004: 4th

2005: t-29th

2006: 10th

2007: 12th

2008: 12th

Needless to say, it is hard to imagine a situation in which Petersen couldn’t get the Orange offense into the top of the Big East rankings.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: The only knock I can see against Petersen would be his lack of Northeastern recruiting ties. He has spent his entire coaching career out West and would need to develop a local recruiting base quickly to find success.

What are his chances?: Unfortunately, not as good as I’d like. While money isn’t likely a problem for the Orange (Petersen will only make $1,112,650 next year), competition will be. Petersen is going to be mentioned for every job opening, including Washington, Mississippi State, Auburn and even Texas Tech should Mike Leach cash in on his teams run this year. Not only that, but why would Petersen decide to leave what looks like a great situation in Boise for Syracuse? One potential reason could be the salaries of his assistants:

“If things stopped progressing at Boise State, that’s probably the biggest thing,” he said. “If we weren’t able to keep the assistants’ salaries up and we decided that we’re good where we are facilities wise, then things change a little bit. But the administration has been so good about that. That’s what keeps everybody excited about being here.”

If Boise balks at Petersen’s requests for himself or his staff, here’s hoping Dr. Gross will open up the checkbook and make a run at him. But in all likelihood, I don’t think it will happen.

Meet a Candidate: Steve Addazio

This is a continuing look at the candidates for the Syracuse Head Coaching job. A full rundown of the candidates can be found here.

Now we take a look at current Florida assistant and former Syracuse assistant Steve Addazio.

Steve Addazio

2008-Present Florida (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line)
2005-2007 Florida (Tight Ends)
2004 Indiana (Offensive Coordinator)
2002-2003 Indiana (Offensive Line)
1999-2001 Notre Dame (Offensive Line/Tight Ends)
1995-1998 Syracuse (Offensive Line)

Who is he?: Addazio is the Assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Florida, where he previously served as tight ends coach. Addazio was an offensive line coach at Syracuse under Paul Pasquoloni, before following Kevin Rogers to Notre Dame, and then moving on to Indiana.

Addazio has been publicly recommended to Daryl Gross by a group of former SU football players, led by Rob Konrad.

What does he bring to the job?: Addazio brings a breadth of offensive experience, especially as an offensive line coach. He would be a link Daryl Gross desperately needs to the former players who were angered by Paul Pasquoloni’s dismissal, if only to get them to stop publicly scrutinizing the program.

Addazio’s ties to Syracuse (and Northeast recruiting) would be beneficial to rebuilding the program.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit?: Addazio has never been a head coach, and has been away from the Northeast for a decade. The lack of head coaching experience is the biggest problem in his candidacy. At this point I almost feel like this is a prerequisite.

What are his chances?: Not good. As I wrote before, I think Addazio isn’t the right fit. The lack of head coaching experience is the first problem. The second is the fact that I’m more impressed by his fellow Florida assistant, Dan Mullen. From the outside looking in there is no way to know who is more responsible for the success with the Gators, but I’m tempted to say Mullen. I also don’t think Gross will cave to the pressure of the Syracuse football alumni. The more important thing is getting the right guy, and I don’t see it with Addazio.