John Wildhack details process of firing Dino Babers, what’s next for SU
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A day after Syracuse Athletics announced that it was firing head coach Dino Babers, effective immediately, Director of Athletics John Wildhack held a press conference, answering questions about the decision and where the program stands as it searches for its 33rd coach in program history. In a world of name, image and likeness where Syracuse has dealt with losing depth to larger programs through the transfer portal, the Orange are set — as of Nov. 20 — to have one of their best recruiting classes in the eight years since Babers took over the team.
Babers finished his time with SU with a 41-55 record, including a 20-45 record against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. Former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone, former assistants Sean Lewis and Tony White and James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti have emerged as candidates to replace Babers. Wildhack, who took over as the Director of Athletics for Mark Coyle in July 2016, will be looking for a new football coach for the first time at SU.
“It came down to November. There’s been a consistent theme that we’ve not been successful in November,” Wildhack said.
Here are some takeaways from Wildhack’s press conference following the firing of Babers:
What went into the decision to let go of Babers
Wildhack said he met with Babers before the start of his eighth season at Syracuse and told him that the benchmark for the year was a 7-5 record. The Director of Athletics was happy with how the team went from 5-7 in 2021 to 7-5, earning a berth in the Pinstripe Bowl last season, but wanted to see if the program could come back with a similar or better record this season. He also spoke with Babers about that goal after the Orange’s 41-3 loss to then-No. 4 Florida State.
“Once that obviously wasn’t attainable, it was time to move and make a decision,” Wildhack said.
Wildhack detailed how the last two seasons have gone, a similar hot start against nonconference opponents followed by a midseason slide in October and November that led Syracuse to struggle to earn bowl eligibility. SU’s slide from 5-4 to 5-7 in 2021 was also mentioned as something that Wildhack was unhappy with. He was not pleased with the same storyline happening in two straight seasons and felt the need for a change at head coach.
Wildhack said that he felt like games against Boston College and Georgia Tech, both losses of fewer than 10 points for Syracuse, were winnable games. He said if the Orange won both of those, “we’re not here today.”
Wildhack also gave Babers the option to coach SU’s final regular season game against Wake Forest, much like they did when they fired Scott Shafer in 2015 before the final regular season game, but Babers declined to do so. He also said that Babers’ buyout, which is estimated to be around $4 million for the final year of his contract, has been factored in internally and that it will not affect the hiring process of the next head coach.
He also said that tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile was tapped as the interim head coach because he has experience doing so over a longer period of time at Rutgers. Campanile took over for Chris Ash four games into last season after he was fired and led the Scarlet Knights to a 1-7 record. Wildhack also noted that Campanile’s ties to New Jersey, a place the Orange have many recruits and verbal commitments, were important in maintaining.
Looking for a Northeast coach
When asked about whether or not the next head coach would have a connection to central New York, Wildhack pointed to where the four most successful coaches in program history came from. Ben Schwartzwalder was from West Virginia, Dick MacPherson came from Maine and UMass, Paul Pasqualoni moved from UConn and Marrone grew up in New York City.
“It’s not lost on me that our four most successful coaches in a sense. Sometimes history can be a really good teacher,” Wildhack said.
He said that experience in the northeast, which includes the bulk of names that have been rumored to be in the running for the job, is crucial to Wildhack in the hiring process. The relationships that someone has built either as a player, assistant coach or head coach in the northeast, Wildhack said, will be crucial to maintaining connections within a four-and-a-half-hour recruiting radius that the Orange want to target. Wildhack said he won’t limit the coaching search to certain criteria, but said that head coaching and coordinator experience at the Power Five level is important.
“If you can keep that nucleus together, enhance that nucleus, enhance our recruiting efforts, our player development efforts, we can win,” Wildhack said. “We can be very competitive in the ACC. We’re not that far away.”
Wildhack also mentioned that a “small” search committee is forming to find the new head coach, but has yet to be formalized. He’s looking for someone who can recruit and develop talent, especially a coach who can “minimize the misses,” another way to reinforce depth within a program. Wildhack said that there’s no set timetable for the hiring process, but that he is aware of a crucial Dec. 4 date when the transfer portal initially opens.
“We can be a winning program. We’re not that far away. Are there areas that we need to address? Yes, but it’s not like this is a total rebuild,” Wildhack said.
Is Syracuse still an ascendant brand?
In September, during the initial breaking ground ceremony of the Lally Athletic Complex, Wildhack called Syracuse “an ascendant brand.” At the time, Syracuse was coming off the heels of a nonconference road win against Purdue. Since that comment, the Orange have gone 2-6, leading to the firing of Babers. There have been questions about Syracuse’s commitment to NIL and the investment in the football program, with many calling for concern about SU’s reactionary approach to the new landscape of college football.
Wildhack said that narrative is “false” and said that there have been significant donations from private donors over the last 48 hours. “Do we have the NIL pool that some schools have? No. Can we be competitive with our peers? Yes,” Wildhack said. He pointed to the renovated football center, upcoming renovations to the JMA Wireless Dome and the updated Ensley Fieldhouse as evidence of Syracuse being a program with significant investment.
Wildhack also noted that the transfer portal has been a give-and-take for Syracuse. He named Duce Chestnut and Ja’Had Carter as players who transferred to larger programs and have seen a significant decrease in playing time. Jowar Jordan, whose injury led to the emergence of Sean Tucker, has been the only player to see consistent success at the Power Five level that’s transferred out of Syracuse, Wildhack said. He also noted that after the loss of Chestnut, Jayden Bellamy transferred in from Notre Dame and had a pick-six in the win over Pittsburgh.
“Look at some of the guys that went in the portal,” Wildhack said. “Where did they go? How much are they playing?”
Wildhack said that he’s received more calls over the last two days than he’s likely gotten during his eight years at Syracuse. He said his pitch to potential head coaches is based on the renovated facilities and financial commitments over the last few years to the football program.
“The programs that have the most money, that doesn’t always necessarily equate to success,” Wildhack said.
