Nunzio Campanile to be Interim Head Coach (Report)
Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile will be the interim head coach for Syracuse football's regular season finale against Wake Forest after the Orange fired Dino Babers has head coach on Sunday, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel. Campanile was interim head coach at Rutgers in 2019 for eight games after Chris Ash was fired from the Scarlet Knights. He was 1-7 for Rutgers during that stretch.
Dino Babers was relieved of his duties following Syracuse's 31-22 loss at Georgia Tech, which dropped the Orange to 5-6 on the season and ensured it would not be a winning regular season. Syracuse is still looking to earn bowl eligibility with Wake Forest on the docket this coming Saturday.
Babers compiled a record of 41-55 at Syracuse, including 20-45 in ACC play.
Consistency, or lack thereof, was the biggest issue of the Dino Babers era. While the first couple of seasons being subpar were expected as he looked to build the program, the 2018 season gave many hope that the Orange had finally arrived under coach Babers. Syracuse went 10-3 that year, won the Camping World Bowl and finished ranked 15th in the nation.
Syracuse would go 5-7, 1-10 and 5-7 over the next three seasons, however, before starting the 2022 campaign strong. The Orange raced out to a 6-0 start, was ranked in the top 15 again, before a five game losing streak would turn what started as a stellar year into a ho-hum one.
In 2023, Syracuse started strong once again, winning its first four games. Then another five game losing streak, three by 28 points or more and four by at least 17, ultimately led to the decision to move in another direction. The Orange lost its game at Georgia Tech on Saturday 31-22, which must have been the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak.
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