Syracuse head basketball coach Jim Boeheim weighed in on head football coach Paul Pasqualoni’s firing Thursday night at his post-game news conference.Though he did not take a stance on the appropriateness of the decision, which incoming Athletic Director Daryl Gross announced Wednesday, Boeheim strongly criticized the local media’s handling of the event.

Boeheim laced into local talk-radio hosts for what he characterized as disrespectful treatment of Pasqualoni, and he criticized one jock for laughing on the air at the coach’s misfortune.

‘Don’t you have some compassion for people who get fired at Christmas time?’ Boeheim asked.

During his 10-minute tirade, Boeheim became visibly upset and defended himself against what he called ‘personal attacks’ that one host made against him. He praised Pasqualoni personally and disputed many of the ways the firing has been justified, most of which he attributed to talk radio.

The first: attendance. Boeheim argued that shrinking attendance numbers at football games shouldn’t have been a catalyst for the coach’s dismissal, noting that big-name teams like Virginia Tech and Miami weren’t scheduled at home this season.

‘If you want to use firing somebody by attendance, three years ago I should have gotten fired,’ he said. ‘We dropped 34 percent in attendance; football dropped 30 percent. Everybody in this town has used that to justify firing the coach. That’s not the right answer.’

He went on to demolish the perception that Pasqualoni’s salary made his firing inconsequential.

‘It was justified as, ‘He’s a millionaire. It’s OK,” Boeheim said. ‘What about the 10 assistant coaches? Are they millionaires?’

Boeheim became most passionate when he discussed current Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel’s management style. Crouthamel has been criticized, Boeheim said, for his unwillingness to fire coaches. Boeheim defended Crouthamel, even arguing the point directly with one radio reporter in attendance at the news conference.

‘That’s bullshit. He’s fired people since I’ve been here,’ Boeheim said at the outset of a terse exchange with the reporter.

‘He has,’ Boeheim said. ‘He just won’t fire the guy you want him to fire.’

He reiterated several times that, as a coach, he supports the efforts of other coaches and appreciates Pasqualoni’s accomplishments during his 14-year career at SU.

‘I think Paul’s a great man. I think he had a great run here. I think obviously they haven’t done as well as they would have liked the last two or three years, and if that’s a reason for a change, so be it.’

Gross said Wednesday that ‘restlessness’ among the Syracuse fan base played a role in his decision to fire Pasqualoni. But he insisted the firing was based on a combination of factors, including SU’s 51-14 loss in the Champs Sports Bowl and the team’s inconsistency during the season.

Boeheim blamed the talk-radio hosts for much of Pasqualoni’s plight, lamenting that they have been calling for his head for six years.

‘I respect what he does,’ Boeheim said of Pasqualoni. ‘I respect the kind of person he is. I know and he knows that if you graduate all your players and you’re a great guy, talk radio is going to get you fired.’

Published on January 5, 2005 at 12:00 pm