Former Syracuse football head coach Scott Shafer will return to the Carrier Dome on Sept. 9 as defensive coordinator for Middle Tennessee State.

Shafer served as SU’s head coach from 2013-15, finishing 14-23. He was hired to replace Doug Marrone at the end of the 2012 season after the Orange won its second Pinstripe Bowl in three years. Before taking over as Syracuse’s head coach, Shafer served four years as the school’s defensive coordinator. He was fired in November 2015 with one game remaining.

Just under four months after Shafer was hired as the defensive coordinator at Maryland, he stepped down due to personal reasons. After taking 2016 off from coaching, he will return to the college football landscape this fall.

When Shafer returns to the Dome, Syracuse will play its first ever Conference USA opponent, Middle Tennessee State. The MTSU contest is one of four non-conference games Syracuse has scheduled in 2017 and comes one week before the Orange host Central Michigan on Sept. 16 and two weeks before SU visits Louisiana State on Sept. 23. The full 2017 schedule has not yet been released.

SU will play Atlantic Coast Conference foes Boston College, Clemson, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest at home in 2017. On the road, the Orange will play Florida State, Louisville, Miami and North Carolina State.

In March, Syracuse men’s basketball advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 75-50 win over the MTSU Blue Raiders.

Published on January 20, 2017 at 10:06 am

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21