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That was my first reaction upon hearing that Doug Marrone was no longer going to be running the Syracuse offense and instead he would turn the reins over to 30 year old Nathaniel Hackett.  Too harsh?  Not in my book.  Is this an experiment doomed to fail?  I guess we will see when some results start coming in, but it will take a lot of arguing to convince me that this move is all about a promotion for Hackett.   Marrone did not leave himself a safety net when he decided he would be his own offensive coordinator.

Marrone knew early on that he would be running his own offense when he fired Rob Spence and never adequately went searching for a replacement because there would be none.  He hired Hackett, who by all accounts has a bright future, strong coaching genes and a few seasons on the NFL level as quality control coach.  Now he is in charge of the offense, whether he is the title of offensive coordinator or not.  Hard to say with certainty that he is up for the task of calling plays and installing a game plan.

Yes, Marrone will be there every step of the way, but he obviously felt like he was spreading himself too thin and not giving proper time to the other areas that require his attention.  Kudos for him to realize now, too bad it wasn’t a few months ago.  To say that Hackett had somehow proven himself as a play caller in the spring game is like saying I am coaching material because of my play calling in NCAA 2011 on Playstation.  Calling a play against your own defense, in a quiet stadium is not the same as 3rd and 3 late in a close game in Morgantown (I can dream, can’t I?)

Let us hope that Hackett is a revelation and he grows into the role and flourishes.  Let’s hope that the season isn’t a yo-yo between Hackett calling plays, then Marrone giving it a try, then back to Hackett and on and on.  It is fair to say that it hasn’t been a banner year in terms of offensive stability, the good news is that it can only get better from here. 

I hope.