Head Coaches' Reactions
Head Football Coach Paul Pasqualoni
On new athletic director Daryl Gross:
“I think we are fortunate to get a high level administrator with his energy and his background. I think everybody here is certainly going to miss Jake (Crouthamel) and everything that Jake did. I’m looking forward to Daryl coming in and picking up where Jake left off and carrying the ball and moving forward.”
On Daryl Gross’ coaching background:
“That is very good. He has played the game (of football) and he has coached. I think one of the nice things is that he has coached other sports too. I think that gives you a great perspective of teaching. In my career, being an elementary school teacher, a ninth-grade basketball coach and working with kids, you learn a great deal about teaching and people. He has that background and that is great for the University. The principles and the goals that Daryl has talked about are what Jake has always talked about. The goals and the principles of the program at the University of Southern California are very similar to those here.”
On Daryl Gross having to evaluate the football program:
“I think Daryl is going to come in and do his job. He has to make an evaluation and he will evaluate football, just as he will evaluate all aspects of the program. I would be surprised if it were any other way. What we have to understand with Jake is that there wasn’t a day that went by that Jake was not evaluating. Jake was never casually doing anything. I think we are used to evaluation and we expect it. We are constantly evaluating ourselves every day. I am looking forward to working with Daryl, I think he will be a terrific guy to work with.”
On what the football team has to do to get into a position to compete for a national championship:
“We have to get better at winning games on the road. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again. That is what we need to do. We are going to be more experienced next year, so that will help. We just have to keep on keeping on.”
On Daryl Gross coming from USC:
“USC is obviously one of the storied programs – all the Heisman Trophy winners and the great games against Notre Dame. I think it is just a very high-profile program and it helps to have a guy that has been involved with that kind of program.”
Head Women’s Basketball Coach Keith Cieplicki
On his reaction:
“It’s an exciting time. In my short conversation with Daryl, I think he has a lot of energy and thinks the world of Syracuse. We’ll go forward.”
On what the improvements he hopes to see:
“I haven’t been here that long and I’m pretty thankful for what we have. Even in his short conversation today, he spoke about some very substantial things. This is a process, a never-ending process, and the idea is just to keep moving in the right direction. I think Daryl sees that and I appreciate that.”
On how people are reacting to this change:
“I’m trying to follow the lead of some of the veterans here since I have not been here as long as a lot of the coaches. We know what we have here and there is a lot of good here. I appreciate Daryl’s comments because it is nice to hear from someone on the other side of the country about just how much of that ‘wow’ people have for Syracuse. It’s an exciting time and I think any change, as much as there’s a little unsettledness about it, I think there’s a lot of excitement.”
Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach John Desko
On how quickly the search went:
“Everything has happened so quickly. Just yesterday, Jake announced his retirement and we’re very happy for him and his success. All of a sudden, we have a new guy and I’m very happy to see Daryl here. I had a chance to talk with him a few times now. I love his energy, I love what he’s talking about and he knows what it’s going to take to maintain some sports and improve on others. We’re excited to have him on board.”
On what lists coaches may have for improvements:
“I’m sure people have their lists of priorities and what they feel they need to get going here. It has to be a huge learning curve for him since he was, basically, just hired. This search hasn’t been forever. It hasn’t been a six-month search where he has had time to research things here in Syracuse and find out things for himself. This is a whirlwind tour for him.”
On how the coaches have accepted Daryl Gross:
“I think he makes us feel comfortable. It seems like he has embraced the athletic department and coaches. We definitely want to embrace him here and make him feel comfortable here and give him as much input as possible to achieve his goals and our goals as an athletic department.”
Head Men's Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim
On the hiring of Dr. Daryl Gross:
“He is very knowledgeable about the athletic world and what you need to do. I think the Chancellor has hit a home run in the ninth inning with only one at-bat. To pull this off this quickly, which I think everybody thought was impossible, and to get a quality person like we’ve got, is really unbelievable. I think Syracuse and all the people in the Syracuse community are going to be tremendously impressed when they get to know our new athletic director. He is a tremendous guy and I think people are going to really embrace him in the community.”
On Dr. Gross’ football background:
“He does have a football background, but he understands basketball. He has hired basketball coaches and track coaches. He came in and told me that I was doing alright, and he was going to leave me alone. So, that is fine and I have no problem with that at all. He asked me what we needed and that is a great thing to hear from your new athletic director and your new boss. We are all excited. I think everybody in this building is excited about having a new athletic director come in this quickly with new ideas. Jake Crouthamel did as good a job as anybody could have ever done for 26 years and put this program in a great position and now we have a young guy who is going to come in here with new ideas and new points of view and I think that’s a great thing.”
