Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Get to know the Raiders' newest coach
1/20/2017 4:00:00 PM | Football
Shafer excited about opportunity
Middle Tennessee head football coach Rick Stockstill announced Friday that Scott Shafer, the former Syracuse head coach, has accepted the position as the Blue Raiders' new defensive coordinator.
Shafer, who takes over for Tyrone Nix, spent the 2016 season out of football. Before that, he was at Syracuse seven seasons, serving as defensive coordinator for four years then taking over as head coach for the last three.
As defensive coordinator for the Orange under Doug Marrone, Shafer took a defense that was ranked 101st in the nation in total and scoring defense in 2008, prior to his arrival, to the seventh-best total and 17th best scoring unit in the country in 2010. He was named a 2010 AFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year nominee.
Prior to Syracuse, Shafer had one-year stops at Michigan as defensive coordinator and Stanford as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator in 2008 and 2007, respectively.
He also oversaw the defense at Western Michigan from 2005-2006, served as the defensive backs coach at Illinois in 2004 and as the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois from 2000-2003. Prior to that he was the defensive backs coach at Northern Illinois and had stints at Rhode Island and Indiana in the early 1990s.
Shafer, a native of Painesville, Ohio, played quarterback for Ohio before transferring to Baldwin-Wallace. He and his wife, Missy, have a son, Wolfgang, who just completed his career as a quarterback at Ithaca College in New York, and a daughter, Elsa, a freshman at Maryland.
We got a chance to sit down with the Blue Raiders' new defensive mind on Friday, his first official day in office.
Why did you pick Middle Tennessee?
I had two criteria when I was trying to decide. What I was looking for was the best guy out there that needed someone to work for them that had the same type of value systems. I couldn't find anyone in the industry who had a bad thing to say about Coach Stockstill – the guy is highly respected in the business. The second thing was I wanted to go somewhere to win championships. Middle Tennessee, in my opinion, is just that place.
In my earlier days we used to go head-to-head with MT, and I got to know [former MTSU defensive coordinator] Manny Diaz in recruiting. I asked him a few weeks ago about this place, and he had nothing but unbelievable things to say and had a few comments that hit me about the players you can get here, Stock being the best guy to work with and for, and the community being wonderful.
Coach Stockstill has said he wants to be more aggressive defensively. Does that fit with what you want to do?
It really does. When I was young and decided to be on the defensive side of the ball, I thought about what type of defense I would run. A few years ago when I got my first shot with Coach [Joe] Novak at Northern Illinois, I decided I wanted to be multiple, play from a four-down and a three-down, have a diverse blitz package not just for the pass but for the run, force the quarterback's hand and I wanted to challenge all routes.
Kids like to play in the aggressive system, and it's all I know, it's what I've enjoyed coaching for years. I'm anxious to get back and put that aggressive, attack 4-3 defense on the field.
Is there one thing you want to accomplish in your first season on or off the field?
There will be a lot of things. When I step into a new position, I want to get a feel for the climate and culture and immerse myself in that. Then we get to putting a product on the field that our kids and our fans like to watch. The number one goal would be people walking away saying our defense plays their tails off and they're physical, they play fast and they get after that quarterback. To have the fans walk away after year one and for Coach Stockstill and the rest of the staff to say we did our part, we got them the ball back and we were physical and improved in a lot of categories, that would be the first tier.
What's your first step?
I'm going to hide away these next few nights before we hit the road for recruiting and watch last season, not even really for who is this guy and who is that guy, but more what it looked like and take away from where they were. You have to know where you were before you can go where you want to be.
We'll look at that and come up with a systematic plan for spring ball where we put enough on their plates where they're learning daily, but we don't restrict them from flying around and showing me who likes to run and hit. Schemes can be overrated, what aren't overrated are kids who play with fundamentals, unbelievable physicality and know what they're doing. As long as they know what they're doing and they play smart, they'll play fast.
What have you done on your first day on campus?
I had a chance to get up and they had a 6 a.m. workout, so I took a look at things and watched the kids work out from afar and had a chance to say hello to them. Coach Stockstill picked me up from the hotel at about 5:15 a.m., and we started off the day. Then I went back afterwards and grabbed things from my car and I'm in the process of unloading them and putting things in the office. I handled some paperwork then got back to the office to watch video and take part in a staff meeting. The simple things first.
What are your first impressions of the guys on the team?
They were just working out, but it looked like they were working hard. I like the fact that just about all of them came up and said hello, congratulations, welcome aboard, and they looked me in the eye and shook my hand. It's those little things that go a long way, but it's not surprising with the way Coach Stockstill does everything first class. It seems like a good group of kids.
Have you had the chance to look over the roster?
I've looked at it a little bit. I try not to over diagnose early. I like to let the kids make the impression they will make with me.
I think it's hard, because, in the past for me, at least, anytime you're in a situation, you don't want to go in and make too many conclusions or determinations on who these guys are. For some of them, this will be a clean slate. For others, this will be a situation where they will be in a position where they get to compete and prove themselves over and over again.
I kind of look at it like a clean slate – all positions are open and ready for competition. Different kids will fit into different positions, so we'll iron that out in winter conditioning then in spring ball.
Have you had the chance to explore Murfreesboro or the campus?
I drove around a little bit Thursday, trying to get a good feel for the place, but it was hard because the rain yesterday was tremendous. Today is great weather-wise but I have to hit the ground running.
When is your family coming here?
Pretty soon; we have a house we're getting ready to sell that's been on the market about a week. Missy is excited to get out here. We're empty-nesters – my daughter is at Maryland and my son is finishing up at Ithaca College – so the plan is to get Missy down here as soon as possible.
Are you excited to move to the South?
It's interesting. I've loved everywhere we've lived. Every spot has its highs and its lows. I really enjoyed the people in Syracuse – their support was unbelievable, through the highs and the lows at the end.
I've been everywhere. It's funny, my wife and I have always said it would be nice to be in a place that's a little warmer. So much of our career was in the frigid cold of upstate New York, so it's pretty cool to be down here.
I've always enjoyed recruiting the kids from the South, there's something about them. Football is important down here.
You played quarterback in college, how did you switch to a defensive coordinator?
It's an interesting story. I was a quarterback GA for Coach [Bill] Mallory at Indiana University for two seasons, and I actually thought after that I was going to the University of Rhode Island to coach quarterbacks. My boss told me when I was halfway there he was going to have to coach QBs because we had eight assistants instead of nine in Division I-AA, and Coach Mallory told him I would make a good secondary coach.
I said alright, I can coach the secondary, and drove without thinking about where I was going. I probably got lost three or four times because I was thinking about coverages and techniques. I was scared to death, but it turned out to be the best thing for me.
You and your son both played quarterback, and here we have Coach Stockstill and Brent Stockstill. Who would win in a QB competition between the fathers and sons?
I think genetically they have us beat, but the Shafers would compete. It would be a hell of a contest. Maybe it would be horseshoes this time around rather than football.
It is interesting to see the similarities in our families. We both have a boy and a girl, and the way he talks about Emily, his daughter, and how I talk about my sweet Elsa, it's really similar and kind of interesting.
Shafer, who takes over for Tyrone Nix, spent the 2016 season out of football. Before that, he was at Syracuse seven seasons, serving as defensive coordinator for four years then taking over as head coach for the last three.
As defensive coordinator for the Orange under Doug Marrone, Shafer took a defense that was ranked 101st in the nation in total and scoring defense in 2008, prior to his arrival, to the seventh-best total and 17th best scoring unit in the country in 2010. He was named a 2010 AFCA National Assistant Coach of the Year nominee.
Prior to Syracuse, Shafer had one-year stops at Michigan as defensive coordinator and Stanford as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator in 2008 and 2007, respectively.
He also oversaw the defense at Western Michigan from 2005-2006, served as the defensive backs coach at Illinois in 2004 and as the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois from 2000-2003. Prior to that he was the defensive backs coach at Northern Illinois and had stints at Rhode Island and Indiana in the early 1990s.
Shafer, a native of Painesville, Ohio, played quarterback for Ohio before transferring to Baldwin-Wallace. He and his wife, Missy, have a son, Wolfgang, who just completed his career as a quarterback at Ithaca College in New York, and a daughter, Elsa, a freshman at Maryland.
We got a chance to sit down with the Blue Raiders' new defensive mind on Friday, his first official day in office.
Why did you pick Middle Tennessee?
I had two criteria when I was trying to decide. What I was looking for was the best guy out there that needed someone to work for them that had the same type of value systems. I couldn't find anyone in the industry who had a bad thing to say about Coach Stockstill – the guy is highly respected in the business. The second thing was I wanted to go somewhere to win championships. Middle Tennessee, in my opinion, is just that place.
In my earlier days we used to go head-to-head with MT, and I got to know [former MTSU defensive coordinator] Manny Diaz in recruiting. I asked him a few weeks ago about this place, and he had nothing but unbelievable things to say and had a few comments that hit me about the players you can get here, Stock being the best guy to work with and for, and the community being wonderful.
Coach Stockstill has said he wants to be more aggressive defensively. Does that fit with what you want to do?
It really does. When I was young and decided to be on the defensive side of the ball, I thought about what type of defense I would run. A few years ago when I got my first shot with Coach [Joe] Novak at Northern Illinois, I decided I wanted to be multiple, play from a four-down and a three-down, have a diverse blitz package not just for the pass but for the run, force the quarterback's hand and I wanted to challenge all routes.
Kids like to play in the aggressive system, and it's all I know, it's what I've enjoyed coaching for years. I'm anxious to get back and put that aggressive, attack 4-3 defense on the field.
Is there one thing you want to accomplish in your first season on or off the field?
There will be a lot of things. When I step into a new position, I want to get a feel for the climate and culture and immerse myself in that. Then we get to putting a product on the field that our kids and our fans like to watch. The number one goal would be people walking away saying our defense plays their tails off and they're physical, they play fast and they get after that quarterback. To have the fans walk away after year one and for Coach Stockstill and the rest of the staff to say we did our part, we got them the ball back and we were physical and improved in a lot of categories, that would be the first tier.
What's your first step?
I'm going to hide away these next few nights before we hit the road for recruiting and watch last season, not even really for who is this guy and who is that guy, but more what it looked like and take away from where they were. You have to know where you were before you can go where you want to be.
We'll look at that and come up with a systematic plan for spring ball where we put enough on their plates where they're learning daily, but we don't restrict them from flying around and showing me who likes to run and hit. Schemes can be overrated, what aren't overrated are kids who play with fundamentals, unbelievable physicality and know what they're doing. As long as they know what they're doing and they play smart, they'll play fast.
What have you done on your first day on campus?
I had a chance to get up and they had a 6 a.m. workout, so I took a look at things and watched the kids work out from afar and had a chance to say hello to them. Coach Stockstill picked me up from the hotel at about 5:15 a.m., and we started off the day. Then I went back afterwards and grabbed things from my car and I'm in the process of unloading them and putting things in the office. I handled some paperwork then got back to the office to watch video and take part in a staff meeting. The simple things first.
What are your first impressions of the guys on the team?
They were just working out, but it looked like they were working hard. I like the fact that just about all of them came up and said hello, congratulations, welcome aboard, and they looked me in the eye and shook my hand. It's those little things that go a long way, but it's not surprising with the way Coach Stockstill does everything first class. It seems like a good group of kids.
Have you had the chance to look over the roster?
I've looked at it a little bit. I try not to over diagnose early. I like to let the kids make the impression they will make with me.
I think it's hard, because, in the past for me, at least, anytime you're in a situation, you don't want to go in and make too many conclusions or determinations on who these guys are. For some of them, this will be a clean slate. For others, this will be a situation where they will be in a position where they get to compete and prove themselves over and over again.
I kind of look at it like a clean slate – all positions are open and ready for competition. Different kids will fit into different positions, so we'll iron that out in winter conditioning then in spring ball.
Have you had the chance to explore Murfreesboro or the campus?
I drove around a little bit Thursday, trying to get a good feel for the place, but it was hard because the rain yesterday was tremendous. Today is great weather-wise but I have to hit the ground running.
When is your family coming here?
Pretty soon; we have a house we're getting ready to sell that's been on the market about a week. Missy is excited to get out here. We're empty-nesters – my daughter is at Maryland and my son is finishing up at Ithaca College – so the plan is to get Missy down here as soon as possible.
Are you excited to move to the South?
It's interesting. I've loved everywhere we've lived. Every spot has its highs and its lows. I really enjoyed the people in Syracuse – their support was unbelievable, through the highs and the lows at the end.
I've been everywhere. It's funny, my wife and I have always said it would be nice to be in a place that's a little warmer. So much of our career was in the frigid cold of upstate New York, so it's pretty cool to be down here.
I've always enjoyed recruiting the kids from the South, there's something about them. Football is important down here.
You played quarterback in college, how did you switch to a defensive coordinator?
It's an interesting story. I was a quarterback GA for Coach [Bill] Mallory at Indiana University for two seasons, and I actually thought after that I was going to the University of Rhode Island to coach quarterbacks. My boss told me when I was halfway there he was going to have to coach QBs because we had eight assistants instead of nine in Division I-AA, and Coach Mallory told him I would make a good secondary coach.
I said alright, I can coach the secondary, and drove without thinking about where I was going. I probably got lost three or four times because I was thinking about coverages and techniques. I was scared to death, but it turned out to be the best thing for me.
You and your son both played quarterback, and here we have Coach Stockstill and Brent Stockstill. Who would win in a QB competition between the fathers and sons?
I think genetically they have us beat, but the Shafers would compete. It would be a hell of a contest. Maybe it would be horseshoes this time around rather than football.
It is interesting to see the similarities in our families. We both have a boy and a girl, and the way he talks about Emily, his daughter, and how I talk about my sweet Elsa, it's really similar and kind of interesting.
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