Syracuse fires football coach Scott Shafer

Syracuse has fired football coach Scott Shafer after three seasons and a 13-22


Shafer led the Orange to a 7-6 record and a Texas Bowl win over Minnesota in 2013, his first season, but wasn’t able to match that success in the following two. In 2014, Syracuse won its first two before finishing on a 1-9 skid. This season, the Orange won its first three games for the first time since 1991 but has since lost eight straight. And with recently hired athletic director Mark Coyle in place, the writing was on the wall, especially because attendance at the Carrier Dome has dipped to 32,400 per game despite home games against heavy hitters LSU and Clemson this season.
That represents a 20 percent drop in attendance from last season.
Shafer had one season left on his contract, leaving Coyle two choices: Either fire him or give him an extension that would ward off any lame-duck talk among recruits. He chose the former.
Sports Illustrated’s scribes list Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, Coastal Carolina Coach Joe Moglia, Fordham Coach Joe Moorhead, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and Michigan State offensive coordinator Dave Warner as possible candidates to replace Shafer.
Syracuse closes the season Saturday at home against Boston College. Evans reports that Shafer will be on the sideline for the game