It was an up-and-down tenure for Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers and it came to an end Sunday morning. Babers and the Orange fell 31-22 to Georgia Tech last night, putting them at 5-6 (1-6 ACC) with one game remaining. The timing of the hire speaks to the university’s displeasure with the 2023 season, even if it ended in a bowl game with a win over Wake Forest next week. Babers ended his Syracuse career with a 41-55 overall record and a woeful 20-45 in ACC play.

The height of Babers’ tenure was in 2018, when the Orange went 10-3 and finished the season with a Camping World Bowl victory over West Virginia. Since then, the best season for Syracuse was last year when they finished 7-6 and lost the Pinstripe Bowl to Minnesota. 2018 was also the only season in which Syracuse finished with a winning ACC record under Babers.

The story of Babers’ tenure were hot starts and slow finishes, often beating up on inferior non-conference opponents and tanking in conference play. This season, the Orange started 4-0 with their best win being over Purdue before dropping five straight ACC games. This pattern was similar to 2022, when Syracuse reached a 6-0 start for the first time since 1987 and proceeded to lose five straight.

One big knock against Babers was his inability to recruit. The best player under him was QB Eric Dungey, who was brought to Syracuse by previous head coach Scott Shafer as a diamond in the rough prospect. The 2023 Syracuse recruiting class ranked dead last in the ACC and 73rd nationally according to 247 Sports. One defense of Dino is the school’s alleged lack of interest in putting big money into football NIL, which he pointed out earlier in the season.

From a fan’s perspective

Time to take off the Big J hat and go fanboy. Growing up in Syracuse, there really aren’t crazy expectations for the football team. 2018 was the best year I ever had rooting for the Orange and was a special time to be a season ticket holder. The early season 30-7 win over Florida State in the Dome and the postgame locker room speech by Babers had me all the way convinced Syracuse had finally found their man. All I really ever want is a consistent 7-8 game winner with some occasional seasons like 2018, paired with fun bowl games. Unfortunately, Babers really fell off after that. Maybe it’s his fault, maybe it isn’t, but running a tight end at quarterback the last two weeks speaks to a lack of depth and recruiting, especially at the all-important quarterback position. Dino had promised the fastest offense on turf and frankly didn’t recruit the pieces to do that. The offense became boring and vanilla, really only showing life when Sean Tucker was in the backfield. I will give credit to Dino for building a solid defense year in and year out, culminating with several NFL draft picks. But the lack of offense ultimately lead to his demise.

I will always be grateful to Dino for the 10 win season, the 2017 win over No. 2 Clemson, his postgame speeches, and his genuine kindness towards the media and the fans. I wish him nothing but the best going forward because he truly is a great guy and I wished it could have worked out better. Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall and it is time for Syracuse to start a new chapter.

What’s Next?

The frustrating part about the job opening at Syracuse is there’s no reason the Orange shouldn’t be able to be a 7-8 win team consistently. Duke has figured it out quickly under Mike Elko, Jeff Brohm turned around Louisville overnight, and even Georgia Tech has shown new life under Brent Key. The question is, will AD John Wildhack be willing to put the proper money into the football program? It’s 2023. NIL and the transfer portal are a real thing and the Orange have to get with the times.

Some interesting names to keep an eye on early are coaches that have excelled in G5 programs. These include coaches like Kane Womack (South Alabama), Charles Huff (Marshall), or Jason Candle (Toledo). Candle presents an interesting option because the Orange have gone down the MAC route before with Babers coming from Bowling Green. Candle has done an outstanding job turning Toledo into the best team in the MAC and is just 43 years old. One other option would be Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell. Chadwell just started at Liberty and the Flames are a perfect 11-0. The one issue is Liberty is willing to put money into their program and it would probably cost a pretty penny for Chadwell, something that seems unrealistic for Syracuse.

Hiring from within is also an option. DC Rocky Long has a lengthy history of head coaching, but is 73 years old. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck is 43, but has mostly been a QB coach. He may be too green for a job like this. At the end of the day, Syracuse will need to find someone that can recruit the Northeast and beyond. The next man up will have a lot of pressure to get Orange football back to being competitive at the ACC level.