Syracuse A.D. defends decision to fire coach Dino Babers due to November woes, failing to reach regular-season benchmark, but insists it’s “not a total rebuild.” Wildhack took into account Babers’ failure to hit a 7-5 regular-season record, noting it was a consistent theme that led to his departure. After an encouraging 4-0 start to this season, the Orange have dropped six of their last seven, including a 41-3 loss to Florida State.
Syracuse has struggled in November in recent years. Last year, they started 6-0 but finished 1-6, and this season, after an early 4-3 record, they lost their next three games. Even though the team has experienced success under Babers, including a 10-3 season in 2018, it has struggled to maintain that level of performance consistently.
The university is now searching for a new head coach and has appointed tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile as the interim head coach. Wildhack indicated that candidates with ties to the northeastern United States might have a better chance of being selected due to the historical success of previous Syracuse coaches from that region.
Despite the recent coaching change, Wildhack remains optimistic about the program’s future, citing enhancements being made to existing facilities and the commitment made in the infrastructure of the program, including the construction of a new football operations center. He believes that Syracuse has the potential to compete at a high level.