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Syracuse keeps it in-house, hires defensive coordinator Scott Shafer as new coach

By the time Doug Marrone left Syracuse to be the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills, almost all of the best candidates had settled in and found new jobs. So Syracuse decided its best route was to promote defensive coordinator Scott Shafer to the top job.

Multiple reports, including the first one from CBSSports.com, said Shafer had been picked to lead the program.

Shafer doesn't have head-coaching experience, though he spent 2007 as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with Stanford under Jim Harbaugh. He spent 2008 at Michigan's defensive coordinator before coming to Syracuse. He has been the Orange's defensive coordinator since 2009.

The promotion gives Syracuse, a program that was building and had a nice season under Marrone, some stability.

It isn't a big splashy hire, but at this point in the coaching carousel, Syracuse didn't have too many options to do that.

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