Syracuse confirmed reports from earlier in the week with an announcement Wednesday that Scott Shafer has been officially named the Orange’s head coach.
Shafer, 46, served as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator for four seasons under Doug Marrone, who left last week to take the head-coaching job with the Buffalo Bills.
“I look forward to representing the hard-nosed city of Syracuse and the great state of New York as the head coach of Syracuse University,” Shafer said in a statement. “We will go to work every day to put a quality product on the field as we storm our way into the Atlantic Coast Conference. We are very motivated to start preparing for the 2013 campaign with our current team and incoming student-athletes.”
Before coming to syracuse in 2009 and transforming a defense that was one of the nation’s worst when he arrived, Shafer worked as a coordinator at Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Stanford and Michigan. The Orange rankeds seventh in FBS in total defense in 2010 and 44th this year.
Marrone, who guided Syracuse to a 25-25 record and two bowl appearances in four seasons, applauded the hiring.
“As a Syracuse letterwinner, I am proud to have Scott Shafer leading the football program,” Marrone said in a statement. “He is a person of high integrity who cares about the student-athletes and their development on and off the field. Scott has proven his expertise as a defensive coordinator and is ready to lead the program.”