Big East Conference teams may want to think twice about going over trick plays during walkthroughs this fall.
That is because Syracuse University has hired Steve Scarnecchia — the scorned video director of the Patriots, Jets and Broncos — to be the video coordinator of its football team this fall.
The son of Pats assistant head coach Dante Scarnecchia, Steve was fired by the Broncos after it was discovered he illegally videotaped a San Francisco 49ers walkthrough prior to the teams' contest in London on Oct. 31, 2010. The NFL fined the Broncos and head coach Josh McDaniels $50,000 each for the violation.
The walkthrough fiasco was not Scarnecchia's first incident in the NFL. As a video director for the Patriots in 2007, Scarnecchia was involved in the infamous "Spygate" scandal in which the Patriots were found to have illegally videotaped signals of New York Jets coaches during the Patriots' 38-14 victory over their rivals on Sept. 9, 2007.
Despite Scarnecchia's rocky past, SU head coach Doug Marrone said he has no doubts surrounding his most recent hire.
"I am 100 percent certain he is the right man for this job," Marrone told the Post-Standard in Syracuse on Friday. "Steve knows he made a mistake. He acknowledged his mistake and faced the consequences. I am convinced that he has learned his lesson. Steve is a Syracuse University graduate, and I am thrilled to have him back at his alma mater."
Scarnecchia earned his bachelor's degree in television, radio and film from Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2000.
