Scott Shafer wrote touching letter to team before final game as Syracuse coach (Photos)
Before the final Friday night Syracuse team meeting of the season, recently fired Orange head coach Scott Shafer could not face his players. It would be too hard. Too emotional.
Instead of addressing the team, Shafer turned that duty over to his senior and gave fifth-year senior guard Rob Trudo, a team captain, a stack of papers. The pieces of paper were a letter from Shafer titled, “For The Love Of The Game.”
This Friday, though, Shafer didn’t address the team. He couldn’t. Around 7:30 p.m., he pulled redshirt senior guard Rob Trudo, a team captain, into an adjacent room and handed him a stack of papers.
“There’s no f***ing way I’ll be able to say this tonight without getting all emotional,” Trudo recalls Shafer telling him. “I want the seniors to run the meeting.”
Shafer hugged Trudo and cried on his shoulder for a moment. Then Trudo returned to the meeting room and waited for the rest of the team to file in.
“It changed my complete mood from relaxed and focused up to, ‘OK, this is some serious s*** now,'” Trudo said. “You see Superman cry … you know what I mean?”
After the rest of the players filed into the meeting room, other seniors passed out copies of Shafer’s letter. Trudo then addressed the team.
“Look, I need 10 or 15 minutes for some serious s*** right here,” Trudo announced, his mind unable to escape the thought of Shafer crying minutes earlier. “Shafer, whether you love him or you hate him, he dedicated the last seven years of his life to this community.
“The least you can do is show some respect in this meeting. Give me your silence and attention.”
Trudo then began to read Shafer’s letter.
Via Syracuse.com, here is Shafer’s letter to the team, in full:
The next day, Syracuse finished out Shafer’s tenure on a positive note by beating Boston College 20-17 on a 35-yard field goal by Cole Murphy as time expired.
Trudo and fellow senior lineman Nick Robinson then carried Shafer off the field on their shoulders.
Shafer was emotional in his postgame press conference.
The Orange finished the season with a 4-8 record. In three seasons as head coach, Shafer, who previously served as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator under Doug Marrone from 2009-2012, had a 14-23 overall record.
For more Syracuse news, visit CuseConfidential.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
