New York City high school football coaches aren’t going to be too broken up over this news.
Syracuse wide receivers coach Rob Moore, a former Jets and Cardinals standout, has left the school to take the same job with the Buffalo Bills and former Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, the team announced.
Last June, Moore took a swipe at the area’s coaches and players, saying many felt they were too big-time for Syracuse.
“The thing I tell kids all the time, take those kids that leave New York City and really, really evaluate how well they do,” Moore told Syracuse.com. “It isn’t very good, I can tell you that.”
Moore was put in charge of recruiting the area when John Anselmo joined Marrone with the Bills, but was replaced by Tim Daoust.
New Orange coach Scott Shafer’s second recruiting class is the school’s highest rated class in a long time: 53rd in the nation and 11th in the ACC, according to Scout.com.
This is the first time in several years the Orange aren’t bringing in a high school player from the five boroughs – junior college defensive tackle Wayne Williams from Brooklyn’s ASA College is an early enrollee — and the city was flooded with impressive prospects, including All-Americans Thomas Holley (Florida) and Curtis Samuel (Ohio State), of Lincoln and Erasmus Hall, respectively, and a pair of Notre Dame signees, defensive tackles Jay Hayes of Poly Prep and Peter Mokwuah of St. Joseph by the Sea.
Syracuse felt it had a shot at Holley – his former high school classmate, Terel Hunt, is the Syracuse starting quarterback – but the defensive tackle went with the bigger-name program.
A 12-year NFL veteran, Moore spent five years with the Jets and seven with the Cardinals and was a two-time Pro Bowler.