Floyd Little stands by the decision to fire head coach Scott Shafer as Syracuse head coach, he said after Syracuse’s 20-17 win over Boston College on Saturday afternoon. Little stood in a back corner of the postgame interview room, taking questions after Shafer walked out of his one-minute, 40-second opening statement teary-eyed.

Little provided some insight into the coaching search, expressing what he’d like out of the next in charge and that the hole should be filled sooner rather than later.

“I don’t think it should be an offensive or defensive guy,” Little said. “I think you find the best guy.”

Little will be part of the search, which is already underway, in some capacity. He’s been in Las Vegas with the SU women’s basketball team and hasn’t spoken extensively with anyone about the search since Tuesday. He was on the committee that brought Doug Marrone back to Syracuse, but is unfamiliar with the current interview process since they interviewed Marrone on a conference call when he was being considered.

Little also maintained that it’ll be up to the next head coach to keep current assistants or not. After Saturday’s game, offensive coordinator Tim Lester said he has no insight as to whether he’ll be staying or leaving. Little added that it’s not important that the next head coach has Syracuse ties, just that he’s the best possible candidate.

“I don’t think schemes and systems play the game. I think people do,” Little said. “I think a guy who’s community-oriented, he’s a good CEO and he controls pretty much the team, what they do, how they do it.”

On Saturday, Sports Illustrated reported that Director of Athletics Mark Coyle and Chancellor Kent Syverud have already flown across the country to interview candidates. Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost is a name popping up often, as he was favored by Coyle when he was interviewing candidates for the Boise State head coaching vacancy in 2013.

Little didn’t name any specific targets and said he wasn’t part of the decision to let Shafer go. He praised the former head coach for bringing in playmakers and inspiring his youth. In the end, Little doesn’t regret moving on. He’s only looking forward, with whatever head coach he helps bring in.

“It can’t go any place but up,” Little said.

Published on November 28, 2015 at 5:23 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman