Doug Marrone’s ostensibly out recruiting kids, but it looks like he may need to add coaches to his schedule of meet-and-greets.
Syracuse Assistant AD Sue Edson sent out a release this afternoon confirming what FootballCoachScoop.com reported earlier: offensive coordinator Rob Spence, wide receivers coach Jamie Elizondo and defensive line coach Derrick Jackson have all been relieved of their duties.
Can’t say this is a huge surprise: Syracuse’s 21.1 points per game and 330.4 yards per game ranked second-to-last and dead-last in the league. After that eye-cringing 10-9 loss at Louisville Nov. 14, though, the Orange put up 31 points in both its win over Rutgers and Saturday’s season-ending loss to UConn.
Now, Marrone was the rock star offensive coordinator for the New Orleans the three years preceding this one, he did run the Saints offense that in 2007 set an NFL record for completions and team records for passing first downs, passing touchdowns and passing completion percentage and it’s not a leap to wonder if Marrone wasn’t calling the plays these last two weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if Marrone hires an outside offensive coordinator or decides the best candidate is the one in the mirror.
Aditi Kinkhabwala has written a regular column for SI.com and been published in Sports Illustrated.