I don't know if he is really at fault. The pool of talent is not that good in the Northeast. The ones that are talented aren't banging down the door to come to Syracuse. It will take a # of years to really get that going again & changing coaches every 3-4 years will do nothing but hinder that growth.
Exactly
If you want to knock him for not coaching up what he has or so, that is one thing. However to fire him for underachieving when they did not have much talent to begin with is quite unfair. They have not been good since McNabb left. They haven't had that special player to infuse the program with a lot of energy & talent to follow them in.
The Northeast does not have much of that talent & the ones that do get snapped up by the bigger names like Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan along with upstarts like Connecticut & Rutgers. Also don't underestimate how some of that talent also lands in I-AA since players see they can make the NFL from there as well.
Now you throw in an improving Buffalo squad & things are only going to get harder for them. Syracuse usually brings in quality basketball players, not football.
I would find it hard for any coach to really make much headway there unless they bring in talent from the areas they came from.
I disagree...If you put Brian Kelly from the same conference in Robinson's place, this team would not be a loser right now. I guarantee it..Robinson reminds me of Tommy Bowden. He's too soft of a coach that doesn't demand respect.....Sometimes you have to slap these players around and get in their grill. Especially when you don't have as much talent to work with, like a Cincy or a Rutgers.. And I don't see either of those two coaches as being that hard nosed firey style of coach a team needs to succeed in today's game... Robisnon will be just like Ron Zook or Dave Wannstadt. He'll go someplace else and build another mediocre team....Watch and see.
How much do you think they would win? Maybe a few more games a year? I doubt they would go bowling. I know the talent level in the tri-state area & it is at its weakest imo in quite some time. They don't have that much talent there.
When was the last time they even had a decent QB? They have not had one for quite some time. I am not a fan of Robinson as a coach but he isn't the reason they are not winning. The fridge is just about empty there & no coach is going to do that much better for awhile.
Lets even look at the other conference members who the majority of the time will always have better recruiting opportunities. Rutgers is in a up cycle from they were. Pittsburgh always brings in good talent especially from Pennsylvania. West Virginia under Rodriguez was able to go out & recruit outside of their area & bring in talent. Whether they can continue to do that now remains to be seen. South Florida has the best recruiting area & the results have been showing over the last few seasons.
The coach can only do so much. They are the ones to quickly get the majority of the credit & the same in terms of blame. In reality it will come down not to X's & O's but the Willies & Joes.
Absolutely it is Robinson's fault. Why are these players going to upstart schools such as Rutgers and UCONN? Cause Schiano and Edsall can recruit. Who's fault is it we don't have the talent? Robinson's! Players used to come here, and not much has changed. Sure the playing the in the Dome is drawback, but Syracuse still has top notch facilities (that are even going to be better after the Mello Center is completed), play in a major conference, and have a history rich program. It is his fault alone that he couldn't sell the players to come here. That should be Syracuse's #1 priority. Hiring a coach that can get players in here. Besides even with the players he had Robinson was still far from a good X and 0 coach. He would get outcoached on a regular basis. Syracuse would lead going into half countless times, and was unable to make the correct adjustments his oppenents would. Several players are upset over playing time. Their are a number of players who have produced that are on the sideles (delone carter) for some reason not known to them. Robinson and his staff was unable to develop Andrew Robinson, who has the physical tools to succeed and be a good D1 quarterback.
This program was going no where, and Darrly Gross has no choice, but to make a change. The crowds at the Carrier Dome have been an absolute joke. The university needs the football program to draw money and they were just not doing it. It was obvious the city, the players, and even Robinson had given up on him. Without a doubt the right decision was made
This program was going no where, and Darrly Gross has no choice, but to make a change. The crowds at the Carrier Dome have been an absolute joke. The university needs the football program to draw money and they were just not doing it. It was obvious the city, the players, and even Robinson had given up on him. Without a doubt the right decision was made
by the way I think they should go after Turner Gil of Buffalo. Just look what he has done to the once doormat of D1 football. He has charisma, and the familiarity with the area to recruit, and is a solid game coach. Gross being african american as well could have some influence on the choice
I think the location of a school is one of the biggest copout excuses you can have..West Virginia is in the middle of nowhere. But they've had some excellent coaches there to build that program..And unless you have a short memory, this Syracuse team use to dominate the Big East..Did you know that this team never had a losing season through the 90's? It must have been that bad tri-state area their located in.
You are right about the talent pool here.
I grew up a Jersey boy. before I moved to Husky country 4 years ago, and when I was in HS in Jersey, the Catholic prep schools in Bergen county alone would produce at least five linemen alone every season that Notre Dame, Penn St. etc. etc. would drool over.
No more.
Jersey used to be a HS football factory.
Once again read what I said. The talent level has dropped off in the tri-state area. Go around & ask any coach who deals with football in our region. The talent level has been decreasing. It is not an excuse as it easy for you to say considering your team recruits in really strong areas.
As far as West Virginia being in the middle of nowhere, yes it is. However Rich was able to bring in people & the success led to more being open minded to it. They also do not have as much competition for talent as a team in the Northeast has.
The talent in the 90's in this region was quite superior in terms of overall #'s than it is now. This isn't just happening in football. The same issue is really noticeable in basketball. The talent pool is just not here right now compared to other parts of the country.
Robinson did not get the job done in terms of winning but I doubt anyone would be successful in a huge way with what they have going for them.
It will take someone who can sell talent to come to the Northeast as no one & I repeat NO ONE is building a really strong team with the talent available in this region.
I read what you said..If your school is not in a great area to recruit, you go out of your area to get players..You also don't bring in a coach like Robinson who had no head coaching experience prior to Syracuse. You hire somebody who has been a head coach, and who has coaching connections around the country. Man, you are dead wrong if you think this game isn't ALL about coaching..The good coaches find a way to get it done. Even if they have to go to Timbuktu to find players...Nebraska was a football power for many years..But I guarantee you they didn't just recruit Nebraska. And being where their located, the Huskers not only had other Big 12 teams to compete with in recruting, they had the Big 10 too.. If they had just recruited their own state, they would have been another Syracuse...But like Cuse, they've had to go through some bad coach hiring decisions in the last 5 years..And it goes the other way around too...As good of a football history as my Sooners have had, they had some terrible coaches in the 90's, when winning 5 games would be considered a good year. OU is in one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country.. And we had some great players on those 90's teams..But it meant nothing without good coaching..Stoops inherited a 3-8 John Blake coached team in 1999...And he won the national championship with those same players in 2000. They would have never made it to 6 wins under Blake....Coaching is what it's all about...If the Syracuse AD and powers that be want to have a good football team along with a good basketball team, they'll spend the time and money and go find themselves a winning coach.
Well we both agree that he isn't a good coach. I've seen enough of his decision making to see that he is not cut out to be the head man. I just don't think it is strictly that though as the talent you realistically have available to you plays a huge part in the success or failure of a program.
I think the best they could do is get an up & comer as I don't see an established coach with a long winning pedigree wanting to get in that mess. The question is will the A.D. give the new man enough time to realistically turn it around?
I think too many schools want quick fixes & think that when they see a school quickly rise, it can happen for them too. For everyone one of those success stories, you have many more failures.
EGD....What they need is a coach with connections...This is the big thing in college football today..When OU AD Castiglione hired Stoops, one of the big reasons he hired him was all of the coaching connections that he had in his coaching career from Iowa to Kansas St. to Florida..He knew that he would bring in the best assistants that you could get, because Stoops was so well known in coaching circles around the country, and knew who to go after. That's why he continues to get good coaches after many of his assistants have moved on to other jobs....This is the KEY to coaching success in today's game...This is one reason why most NFL coaches don't work out when they go into the college ranks for the first time such as Callahan at Nebraska and Robinson, who had spent just one year as a college assistant at Texas, and prior to that was an assistant in the NFL for something like 15 years..He just didn't have the coaching connections that are required for that job. Wannstadt had the same problems at Pitt after coming in from the NFL..I thought his first coaching hires were awful..Especially his offensive coordinator. He didn't have the college connections that were needed for that job.
I agree, it would pay for them to hire a coach with connections especially to fertile recruiting areas.
I don't know if a coach with connections like that in the tri-state area is worth it due to the lack of high quality talent. If they were to get someone who fits the mold of Stoops, do you think they could actually get the kids they need to turn that around? I don't know if they can get the depth of talent needed.
Do you have any names in mind that you think could be a good fit?
I would definitely go after some of the bigtime defensive coordinators from the SEC such as Bama's Kevin Steele or Paul Rhodes of Auburn. I would also give Vandy's HC Bobby Johnson a long look. He's one of the very best in the country, who can get alot out of a little talent. The unfortunate problem for Syracuse this season is there will be so many job openings at more tradition rich football schools this season that they may have to settle for sloppy seconds again. They may have to pony up more money than they would like if they want somebody hafway decent. And they may not be willing to do that.
