PITTSBURGH – Two rows back sat the man who hired him. As Doug Marrone tried to conceptualize Syracuse’s 37-10 loss to Pittsburgh, Daryl Gross held the stat sheet like it was contaminated. His eyebrows rose at the numbers bleeding off the page.

Three interceptions, six sacks allowed, five punts, 3-of-13 on third down, a partridge and a pear tree. Nothing new. Five years in, Syracuse’s athletics director is probably immune to this. But midway through Marrone’s postgame press conference, Gross’ eyes perked up to his new hire.

And SU’s first-year head coach provided the brutal truth.

‘Obviously, we don’t have a lot of depth on our football team,’ Marrone said. ‘But again, that’s a problem we have now, and I don’t see this as a problem at all for the future of this program.’

So enough hysteria. Yes, this past week was a low point for Marrone, punctuated by Saturday’s beat down. But more than anything, the implosion is raw proof of the mess Marrone inherited. Since the spring, Marrone has tried to relentlessly undo the carefree culture former head coach Greg Robinson created.

Rather than grip desperately to his minimal talent, Marrone uprooted the Robinson regime. Anybody expecting a Midas touch is foolish. The flaws were too engrained.

Marrone must rehabilitate the program at its most fundamental level – attitude.

It was 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 1. Mike Williams, Antwon Bailey, Andrew Tiller and Torrey Ball were in the midst of an all-nighter. And not the HST 401 kind, either. The four were driving near Turning Stone Casino – draw your own conclusions – when their car was hit. Marrone refused to turn the other cheek. He fought off the typical impulse in collegiate athletics.

Before a likely suspension, Williams bailed. The other three were suspended. And the quit count soared to 21.

After leaving, Mike Williams complained on his Facebook page about not being wanted. Tough. These coaches aren’t into pampering. The contrast between Robinson and Marrone is billboard-obvious.

‘Playing for one another, playing for your teammate,’ SU receiver Donte Davis said. ‘Not just yourself.’

Of course, this is the stump speech for so many coaches. A reflex, really. Every new head coach preaches the all-for-one, one-for-all battle cry. Only a fraction of them mean it.

Case in point, the No. 1 team in the nation. Last weekend, when Marrone was suspending three players, Florida’s Urban Meyer slapped his best defensive player on the wrist.

We’ve all seen the clip by now. Linebacker Brandon Spikes gouged his fingers into an opponent’s eyes and was suspended – hold your breath! – for a single half. Replayed on highlights at a Brett Favre rate of annoyance, everybody saw the disgusting act for themselves. There was no hiding Spikes’ stunt. Preferential treatment oozed out of Gainesville.

And here is Marrone, in weekly must-win situations, suspending players regularly. Without Williams, the passing game was hopeless. Without Bailey, the Stallion package was trashed completely. And without Tiller, Marrone manually sidetracked one of the season’s quietest success stories.

The temptation to coddle stars is naturally high. But to Marrone, establishing a precedent was more important.

‘I know that every decision that is made is made in the best interest of the program for now and for the future,’ said Marrone, with Gross watching 15 feet away. ‘It’s always easy to do the right thing. I don’t think anybody in this room would have a problem when they make the right decision.’

All of these exits are a blessing, really. Dead weight is cleared out. Now there are plenty of scholarships available for Marrone to stockpile his recruits. He won’t be bogged down by stage-five clingers.

Judging by Marrone’s six-week blitz back in February, signs are there that he’ll recruit well too. Five true freshmen – Shamarko Thomas, E.J. Carter, Philip Thomas, Alec Lemon and Brandon Sharpe – have all seen substantial playing time. Rebuilding 101.

Injuries, suspensions and quitters can be good for a program.

‘We’re going to learn a lot about the players that we have on this team and maybe we learn a lot about the players we need to get on this team,’ Marrone said.

Battered and abbreviated, what’s left of this Syracuse team trudged off Heinz Field and herded into a narrow tunnel. The three-hour migraine finally ceased. No one would admit how much Williams’ absence stung. No one acknowledged the elephant in the room.

Nor should they. Williams is gone. He is irrelevant. He couldn’t handle Marrone’s culture shock. So good riddance.

Here, the rebuilding process beats on.

‘We feel that if a person has left the team or not, it’s our job to move on,’ defensive end Chandler Jones said. ‘Maybe that person had better things to do or saw something different, but we have to move on and continue this journey, this path that we’re on.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on November 8, 2009 at 12:00 pm