Syracuse Football Head Coach Hot Board 1.0
With Syracuse firing Dino Babers on Sunday, here are some potential options for his replacement as head football coach of the Orange.
Tony White - Defensive Coordinator, Nebraska
White makes sense due to his previous ties to the school being the defensive coordinator for a few years under Dino Babers. White knows the school, the program, its strengths and its weaknesses. He has been a successful assistant and coordinator everywhere he has been. White is ready to be a head coach. This would make sense to be where he takes that step. The question is does he view Syracuse as a spot he can be successful and would he want to take over for Babers, who he respects?
Sean Lewis - Offensive Coordinator, Colorado
The offensive coordinator at Syracuse under Dino Babers when the offense was at its best during the Babers tenure. Lewis did a nice job at Kent State as head coach, gaining experience leading a program, and had a nice start to the season as Colorado's offensive coordinator before the wheels fell off there. However, Lewis is still a highly respected coach and offensive mind. Perhaps looking for a new opportunity after inexplicably being demoted at Colorado.
Jim Knowles - Defensive Coordinator, Ohio State
A well respected defensive mind who is running one of the best defenses in the country at OSU. He is a former head coach at Cornell for six seasons (2004-2009), but was just 26-34 during his tenure with only one winning season. Still, he is a respected coach with head coaching experience. He has ties to Central New York and is coming from a big program.
Dan Pitcher - QB Coach, Cincinnati Bengals
Dan Pitcher has ties to Central New York (from Cortland, played and coached at SUNY Cortland) and has been an NFL assistant with the Bengals since 2016. He is a highly respected quarterbacks coach and has done a great job developing Joe Burrow. In fact, Pitcher is likely to be a candidate for vacant offensive coordinator jobs this offseason in the NFL. The question is would he be willing to go to the college ranks?
Dan Mullen - Former Head Coach, Florida
Mullen is a former Syracuse assistant (1998) and has extensive experience as a head coach in the SEC at both Mississippi State and Florida. He has a career record of 103-61 as a head coach including 7-3 in bowl games and was SEC Coach of the Year in 2014. Mullen was fired from Florida following a 5-6 2021 season and has been an analyst ever since. If Mullen wants to get back into coaching, this could be a good spot to resurrect his career.
Bob Chesney - Head Coach, Holy Cross
Holy Cross was 4-7 in back to back seasons before Chesney took over in 2018. After a losing season in year one, Holy Cross has had five straight winning seasons including winning double digit games in 2021 and 2022. He is a young, up and coming coach that appears to be ready to make the jump to the FBS level.
Curt Cignetti - Head Coach, James Madison
Cignetti is a well respected head coach that has won everywhere he has been, compiling a 118-34 record. As James Madison transitioned from FCS to FBS, he led the Dukes to an 8-3 season in 2022 and 10-1 so far this year. He is likely to be a hot name among power five programs, so Syracuse will certainly have competition. But it is worth a call at the very least.
Doug Marrone - Offensive Line Coach, New Orleans Saints
The former Syracuse, Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach has been an OL coach at the collegiate and NFL ranks since getting fired from the Jaguars. The former Orange player may want to be a head coach again, and coming back to his alma mater would allow him to do that. He was successful in his first stint at Syracuse, but would he be willing to come back?
Jason Candle - Head Coach, Toledo
Candle has done a great job at Toledo, as they have been of the MAC's best teams. He is 64-33 as a head coach, including 10-1 this season. He has eight winning seasons in nine campaign as leader of the Rockets. He has been at Toledo in various capacities since 2009, however. Would he want to leave?
Fran Brown - Defensive Backs Coach, Georgia
Here is an outside of the box candidate. Brown has only been a co-coordinator for one season and has no head coaching experience. However, he is considered one of, if not the, best recruiting assistants in the country. Brown has extensive ties to New Jersey and is a young, energetic coach. It would be a big jump from a position coach to a head coach, but from a recruiting perspective, it would be a home run. He has spent time at Baylor, Temple and Rutgers in various roles, recruiting well at each stop.
Liam Coen - Offensive Coordinator, Kentucky
Coen is a young, up and coming coach with experience as an assistant in the NFL and power five level of college football. He has ties to the Northeast from playing at UMass and coaching stops at UMass, Rhode Island and Maine. He has never been a head coach, however.
Teryl Austin - Defensive Coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers
Austin is a Northeast guy who was an assistant at Syracuse from 1996 to 1998. He has been in the NFL since 2011, however, and never been a head coach. Austin has led one of the NFL's best defenses the last two season, and has won a Super Bowl as an assistant.
Bronco Mendenhall - Former Virginia/BYU Head Coach
Mendenhall is a respected head coach with a 135-81 career record. He abruptly retired from Virginia following the 2021 season and has not gotten back into coaching since. Could he be looking for a fresh start to his coaching career?
Manny Diaz - Defensive Coordinator, Penn State
Considered an elite recruiter, Diaz has always had strong defenses everywhere he has been. He has experience as a head coach from his time at Miami, where he went 21-15 in three seasons. He knows the Northeast and knows the ACC.
Mike Tressel - Defensive Coordinator, Wisconsin
Tressel has a strong background as a defensive coach and is well respected on that side of the ball. He has never been a head coach but perhaps could be ready for that challenge.
Jesse Minter - Defensive Coordinator, Michigan
Minter has coached really good defenses and has experience as an assistant at both the collegiate and NFL ranks. However, he has never been a head coach. At 40 years old, he is a young, up and coming coach that could be an intriguing hire.
Charlie Weiss Jr. - Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, Ole Miss
Just 30 years old, Weiss Jr. has been the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss for the last two seasons. The Rebels have had one of the better offenses in the SEC during that time. He was just 24 years old when he got his first offensive coordinator job (FAU). It is only a matter of time before he becomes a head coach somewhere. A young, successful offensive coach could be intriguing.
Ed Orgeron - Former Head Coach, LSU
Orgeron is a former Syracuse assistant who previously expressed interest in coming back to SU to be the head coach. He coached one of the best teams in college football history at LSU before a couple of down seasons led to his firing. He has a reputation as an ace recruiter. He has a 67-47 career record as head coach.
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