Scott Shafer Scott Shafer ( born January 6 , 1967 ) is an American football coach and former player . He currently serves as the head coach at Syracuse University . He was a high school and college quarterback in Ohio at Riverside High School , Ohio University , and Baldwin - Wallace College . He has held various positions including defensive coordinator , assistant head coach , and secondary coach at major universities such as the University of Rhode Island , Northern Illinois University , the University of Illinois , Western Michigan University , Stanford University , University of Michigan , and Syracuse University . He was officially named the head coach of Syracuse on January 9 , 2013 . Early life and education . Shafer ' s father Ron was a high school football and track coach at Riverside High School in Painesville , Ohio . His father ultimately died at age 53 after coaching 28 years at Riverside High . As an Ohio native , Shafer attended school in Painesville , Ohio where he received his high school diploma in 1985 . He attended Baldwin - Wallace College in Berea , Ohio where he received his Bachelor ' s Degree in Education in 1990 . He went on to study at Indiana University in Bloomington , Indiana where he was awarded a Master ' s Degree in Education in 1993 . Playing career . Shafer played football for Riverside High School , Ohio University , and Baldwin - Wallace College . While at Riverside , he played quarterback and was the 1984 Northeastern Conference Most Valuable Player . He went on to play quarterback at Ohio University in the Mid - American Conference . During the 1985 season , he suffered a knee injury that required him to have surgery and miss the remainder of the season . After the 1985 season , Shafer transferred to Baldwin - Wallace College , where he played quarterback for the Yellow Jackets from 1987 - 1989 . Playing in the Yellow Jackets ' " run - and - shoot " offense , Shafer was ranked 17th in the nation in passing efficiency and earned team MVP honors . In 1989 , he led the Yellow Jackets to a 5 - 2 - 1 record . In the final game of the 1989 season , Shafer was 16 - for - 31 passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns , throwing a 55 - yard touchdown pass to Jerry Wrobel with 2 : 52 left to play for a 25 - 19 win over previously unbeaten John Carroll University . He finished the 1989 season with a 139 . 39 passing efficiency rating , best in the Ohio Athletic Conference . Coaching career . Shafer has held numerous positions within Division I colleges , including the University of Rhode Island , Northern Illinois University , the University of Illinois , Western Michigan University , Stanford University , the University of Michigan , and currently Syracuse University . Early career . Shafer began his coaching career as a graduate assistant to Bill Mallory at Indiana University from 1991 to 1992 . For the 1991 season , the team finished with a 7 and 4 record with 1 tie . The team also graduated a first round pick in Vaughn Dunbar who was taken 21st overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1992 NFL Draft . Shafer also earned his Master ' s Degree from in Education from the university while coaching football . He next coached the secondary at the University of Rhode Island from 1993 - 1995 . Northern Illinois . Shafer spent eight years as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University , the first four as secondary coach , before adding defensive coordinator duties to his resume in 2000 . Throughout his career at Northern Illinois , Shafer ' s players earned 13 All - MAC selections . and the team was ranked among the top three teams in MAC scoring defense in 2002 and 2003 . His 2002 unit led the MAC in interceptions , takeaways , scoring defense , run defense and pass sacks . During the 2003 season , Northern Illinois was ranked as high as No . 12 in the AP poll , recorded its first 10 - win season in 20 years , and had three victories over BCS teams while holding them to an average of 15 points per game . The team started 7 - 0 with victories over Maryland , Alabama , and Iowa State . During his time with the Huskie Football Program , Shafer also spent time with the local community including speaking at numerous coaching clinics . Illinois . Shafer was hired as the secondary coach at the University of Illinois in 2004 , after four straight winning seasons with Northern Illinois . Working with Illinois head coach Ron Turner , Shafer coached cornerback Kelvin Hayden , who led the Big Ten Conference in interceptions and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the NFL Draft . While Shafer was coaching at Illinois , the team ' s defensive coordinator was former Michigan linebacker , Mike Mallory who also worked with Shafer at Northern Illinois . Mallory noted that Shafer ' s experience as a quarterback helped him as a defensive coach : " He knows how to get into quarterbacks ' heads and what to do to throw them off their game . " Western Michigan . In December 2004 , he was hired by Bill Cubit at Western Michigan University , where he was the defensive coordinator from 2005 - 2006 . Western Michigan was 1 - 10 the year before Shafer arrived , then went 7 - 4 in 2005 and 8 - 5 in 2006 . In 2006 , the Broncos ranked first in the nation in interceptions ( 24 ) and sacks ( 46 ) , sixth in run defense , seventh in turnover margin and 11th in total defense . The Broncos ' rush defense ( 76 . 1 yards per game ) in 2006 set a MAC record for fewest rushing yards allowed per game . Shafer was a nominee for the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the nation . He also coached two players who won the MAC West Division Player of the Week . Ammer Ismail and Dustin Duclo won the award twice in 2005 and Ismail was named to the First - Team All - MAC Defense . In 2005 , his defense forced 13 fumbles and intercepted 15 passes . Stanford . Jim Harbaugh was hired as the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal in December 2006 . As part of his coaching staff , he hired Shafer as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach . Harbaugh was quoted as saying Shafer being " one of the most creative and innovative defensive minds in college football . " While at Stanford , he was part of the Cardinal ' s October 6 , 2007 upset of USC . The Trojans were favored in the game by 41 points but the Cardinal scored a touchdown in the final minute to win the game 24 - 23 . The upset was considered by some to be the greatest upset in the history of college football . Shafer ' s defense at Stanford ranked fifth in the nation with 37 sacks and posted 101 tackles for loss , which was good for 11th in the country . The numbers were the Cardinal ' s best since their Rose Bowl season of 1999 . Michigan . Shafer was hired as the defensive coordinator for the University of Michigan by new head coach Rich Rodriguez in 2008 . In Shafer ' s only season as Michigan ' s defensive coordinator , the team was ranked 68th in total defense , 87th in pass defense and 80th in scoring defense among all Division I teams , allowing 28 . 9 points per game . Coach Rich Rodriguez announced on December 16 , 2008 that Shafer had resigned after one season as defensive coordinator . Syracuse . Shafer was hired by Syracuse University head football coach Doug Marrone in 2009 . He was hired as the defensive coordinator for a team that allowed 32 . 7 points per game in the 2008 season . Shafer quickly took over and changed the defense from being one of the most porous defenses in the country and made them a respectable group of players . The defense went from being 101st in the country to the top 20 under Shafer . Under Shafer , Syracuse ' s defense ranked 7th in the nation in 2010 in total defense ( from 37th ) , 12th in the nation in first downs allowed ( from 27th ) , 10th in pass defense ( from 85th ) , 14th in pass efficiency defense ( from ( 113th ) , and 13th in scoring defense ( from 81st ) . While at Syracuse , he coached 2012 1st round draft pick Chandler Jones , who was the highest draft pick from Syracuse since Dwight Freeney in 2002 . Shafer was officially named the head coach of the Orange on January 9 , 2013 after Doug Marrone left to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills . Coaching and defensive philosophy . Shafer said his father was his greatest coaching role model . He noted : " My dad always said a good coach can coach any position , and a good coach can coach any scheme . We ' ll come up with an excellent scheme that is simple enough to let the kids attack and play with great aggression . " Shafer explained his defensive philosophy this way : Similarly , he told the " Detroit Free Press " : Shafer ' s defense philosophy has also been published to DVD . He is the author of eight instructional videos that are distributed by Coaches Choice and teach lessons such as tackling , press coverage , and different defense packages . Family . Shafer and his wife Missy have a son , Wolfgang , and a daughter , Elsa .