During the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference on Wednesday morning, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer addressed the comments George McDonald made Tuesday night about his demotion from offensive coordinator to solely wide receivers coach, which was announced Monday.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday night, McDonald said he never would have left Arkansas to join Syracuse before the start of the 2013 season if he knew he would be demoted and replaced by Tim Lester after 18 games in charge of the offense. Shafer had previously praised how professionally McDonald was handling the coaching shakeup.

“Just like any relationship any of us have with people, you’re going to have emotional times. George was emotional,” Shafer said. “This morning, we sat. We spoke. He apologized to me and we decided that we wanted to move forward together. There’s truly a sense of excitement to do so.”

After speaking with McDonald, Shafer said, the coaches sat around the room, discussed the matter “like a family” and concluded that they needed to move forward.

When asked if he had any regrets about how he informed McDonald of the demotion, Shafer said it wasn’t over the phone, although McDonald said Tuesday night that it was. McDonald and Shafer have now both told The Post-Standard that the staffing change was made in person.

Shafer also said he had no regrets about the situation or how he informed McDonald.

“As you look back, you don’t want to live in the 20-20 hindsight mode because that’s not reality,” Shafer said. “… But at the end of the day, George and I and the whole staff are united. We’re united today and we agree to move forward and work hard together for the betterment of the team.”

Shafer said the situation presents an opportunity for the SU coaches to set an example for the players by “making reparations.”

“George and I, together with the rest of the staff and this team, are fighting to win the day,” Shafer said. “And understanding that you can’t look too far down the road and you can’t look too near behind yourself to move forward. You’ve got to win every minute.

“If I had to go through a difficult time like this, I would do it again with George McDonald.”

Published on October 8, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb