Offensive Coordinator Rob Spence Press Conference Transcript
Opening Statement:
“When I was finishing my college career, I remember going into my stepdad’s office and finding a bunch of boxes of Syracuse memorabilia. His brother, Thomas Allen Spillett played 1958-60 on the team at Syracuse University. When I opened those boxes up, I saw history unfold in front of my eyes. In one box there was a letterman’s jacket from Syracuse University, and then there were playbooks from when Ben Schwartzwalder was the head football coach. There were different diagrams, different formations and there were scouting reports. I was just in another world. I started to get excited about someday coaching. I remember at the point in my life, Syracuse University was the mecca of coaching. I got excited about someday arriving here and coaching here.
“When I was finishing my college career, I remember going into my stepdad’s office and finding a bunch of boxes of Syracuse memorabilia. His brother, Thomas Allen Spillett played 1958-60 on the team at Syracuse University. When I opened those boxes up, I saw history unfold in front of my eyes. In one box there was a letterman’s jacket from Syracuse University, and then there were playbooks from when Ben Schwartzwalder was the head football coach. There were different diagrams, different formations and there were scouting reports. I was just in another world. I started to get excited about someday coaching. I remember at the point in my life, Syracuse University was the mecca of coaching. I got excited about someday arriving here and coaching here.
I saw this as a great opportunity to fulfill a dream, to coach with someone I admire as much as Doug Marrone, to coach with someone I respect as much as Doug Marrone and to collaborate on offense with someone who has been the architect of one of the better offenses in the NFL the last couple of years.
“That day I was studying those different artifacts from Syracuse, I thought someday that maybe this would have. Dreams can and do happen, obviously. There’s a quote above my office from T.S. Elliot that says, ‘Tradition cannot be inherited. It is obtained through great labor.’ This program has great tradition. Doug has gone about the business of hiring people who will labor to rebuild it, and rebuild the tradition in a way that people can be proud of it. I’m proud to be a part of that tradition and the process that is about to unfold.
“This is an exciting moment for me and my family. It’s a chance to come back home. Just miles down the road, my stepfather’s family grew up in Solvay. I feel a real kinship and affiliation with the people here because of that. I know that they’re excited today as I stand here. In many respects, they’re also living a dream.”
On whether his family is still in the area:
“My stepfather, Micky Spillett, his mom is in a home here about 10 minutes from campus. She’s already excited about this. I think she may have already purchased season tickets.”
On what he can do different as SU’s fifth offensive coordinator in six years:
“I have to evaluate the talent that is here now. You have to do a good study of the personnel that’s on the team and make the best use of the personnel you have. That takes a lot of study and creativity. What we’re about to undertake is not going to be easy. We have to start with what’s here and then recruit to create a balance, recruit explosive athletes, recruit character and recruit toughness. This is Syracuse University and it’s a special place. At one time, they were tough, physical and fast. It happened once and it can happen again.”
On whether he identifies with any particular system:
“Doug and I are going to collaborate on that. We’re very close in our philosophies on football. We’ve known each other since 1992. I had the opportunity to go study and research at the different venues where Doug has coached. He’s a master of offense. I welcome the opportunity to work for a head football coach who has coached so much offense and particularly the offensive line. I think that’s really vital. He’s a definite resource for me and we’re together on what we’re going to do. I wouldn’t put a label on what we’re going to do. It’s going to be a multiple offense. In this day in age the game is based on the ability to attack and push the ball down the field, not necessarily with a long ball on a forward pass, but to attack and have a mentality and a tempo in the approach to the game.”
On how he’ll use the time during the recruiting dead period:
“Yesterday I began with assessing the talents of the quarterbacks we have on our team. I spent most of the last day and a half watching the film and getting familiar with the current players. That’s what I plan on doing the rest of the day. I also start to look at some prospects and recruits at certain positions, starting with the quarterback position. I’ll start to analyze that and see who we can get involved with now. I’ll start to also get a feel for what our greatest needs are on the offensive side of the ball.”
On having the Dome as a tool:
“I think the Dome is an attractive feature of this University. I think it’s a great selling point to anyone looking to play in this part of the country because it’s a controlled environment. The Dome is about speed. There’s not wind, there’s no ice, there’s no rain. Talk to any quarterback and any skilled athletes, and one of the things you can’t control is the weather. In the Dome, the element is controlled. That can play into your favor time and time again. I know having coached in the Dome before, it’s loud and that helps our offense, our team and our program. It is a venue that is a traditional venue and an exciting place to play. When it’s packed, there aren’t many places like it in the country. It’s a great surface and it should be an advantage in the recruiting process.”
On whether Syracuse being in transition is a different kind of challenge from Clemson:
“There is a difference. The transition from a no-huddle offense and that style of communication will be a drastic difference. That will be fun and exciting. There needs to be more recruiting and talent brought in. That will be a factor in what we accomplish in the next few years, and that’s why Coach Marrone has put such an emphasis on that. That’s what the game of football is about, personnel.”
