Marrone the Obama

Let me say first that while TNIIAM was reminded of MTV's "The State" when hearing about Doug Marrone. I was reminded of this little guy.

Okay. Secondly, I'm not trying to make a political statement at all with this post. But to properly explain the point, it should probably be known that I voted for Barack. I believed that he offered a hope that the other candidate, and past candidates did not.

Now a little background. At the outset of the search for a Syracuse football coach, I set up shop at many "camps". At first I was all ready for Lane Kiffin. Partially because of Layla Kiffin. Now, it should be noted, someone in the Syracuse blogosphere had already pointed out the fact that Juli Boeheim is, and shall remain, the "alpha dog" in the hierarchy of hot Syracuse coaches wives. But let's be honest. We have two eyes. And as soon as I have the ability to turn my eyes in two different directions, I'll need another wife to look at. But I digress...

Then I remember getting on Chris Peterson and loving the idea of the Boise State coach. It should be noted that I still think he would have been a great choice . He's a young offensive mind, who beats name programs with inferior talent. But that never panned out.

Then I liked the idea of Turner Gill. I live in Buffalo, so there was a lot being made out of UB's ascension to the league of not-crappy teams. There was always something a little uncomfortable about Turner though. I would have liked him as a coach and would have given him my full support, but I would have liked to see him duplicate this years performance without the support of the senior quarterback he had this year. Seeing it happen for a second year in a row would have really sold me on him.

Throughout this entire process, I read about Doug Marrone, heard about him, but never really expected anything out of him. Certainly didn't expect him to be named the head coach.

When Skip Holtz did (or did not) turn down the Syracuse job, and Marrone was really gaining momentum as the top candidate, I have to say I felt a bit uncomfortable. But after his press conference, and a few other times in which I've heard him speak, I'm absolutely comfortable with this guy.

Now to the point that I was trying to make originally. Listening to Dougie's press conference reminded me of hearing Obama speak. He had this hope that we haven't heard in years. He had a strong, yet calming presence about him. He talked about having transparency in his leadership. He was going to make everyone a part of the program and be absolutely clear about how he and his staff were going to fix this program. It was a great moment for me. I felt ( and still do feel) supremely confident that we might have pulled a diamond in the rough here.

Frankly, Pat Forde can think what he wants about the Marrone hire. He and several others in the media have slammed Syracuse for choosing one of their own. Forde covers and entire nation of college football. I would expect him to know a little bit more about the situation and the differences between a coach on his was down and a coach on his way up, but I know better. ESPN is full of Pat Forde's. They have small opinions about everyone, but no deep opinions on anyone.