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Syracuse Offensive Line Coach Hot Board

A look at potential replacements for the expected departure of Mike Cavanaugh
Mike McAllister|
Syracuse Offensive Line Coach Hot Board
Syracuse Offensive Line Coach Hot Board

Mike Cavanaugh is reportedly expected to leave Syracuse for Arizona State. Who will fill the void at offensive line coach left by Cavanaugh's departure? Here are a look at some potential options. 

Candidate: Matt Mattox

Current Position: Offensive line coach/run game coordinator at UTSA

History: Assistant strength coach at Houston - 2005 

Graduate assistant at Houston - 2006

Offensive line/tight ends coach at the JUCO level 2007-12

Offensive line coach at Eastern Illinois - 2013

Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Bowling Green - 2014

Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Tulsa - 2015

Offensive line coach/run game coordinator at Texas - 2016

Offensive line coach/run game coordinator at USF - 2017-18

Offensive line coach/offensive coordinator at McNeese St - 2019

Offensive line coach/run game coordinator at UTSA - 2020

Why it Makes Sense: Mattox has eight years of experience coaching offensive line at the collegiate level. Several of those seasons were coaching with Syracuse head coach Dino Babers and/or offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. Mattox was the offensive line coach under Babers at Eastern Illinois in 2013 and Bowling Green in 2014. He coached with Gilbert subsequently at Texas, South Florida and McNeese State. Given that experience and connection to the current staff, it makes a lot of sense. 

Candidate: Scott Fuchs

Current Position: Offensive line coach at Buffalo

History: 

Offensive line coach at Valley City State - 1997-98

Defensive line coach at Wisconsin-Eau Calire - 1999

Offensive line coach at Minnesota-Crookston - 2000-02

Offensive line coach at Nebraska-Omaha - 2003-06

Offensive line coach at Grand Valley State - 2007

Offensive line coach at Southern Illinois - 2008

Offensive line coach at North Dakota State - 2009-13

Offensive line coach at Wyoming - 2014-18

Offensive line coach at Buffalo - 2019-20

Why it Makes Sense: Fuchs has more than 20 years of experience coaching the offensive line, and has done a terrific job at Buffalo over the last two seasons. He has to coach at the power five level, and the move would make sense for his career trajectory. Given that he is already in Upstate New York, the recruiting ties would make some sense as well. The Bulls only allowed eight sacks in 2019 and just one in 2020. Both set school records for fewest sacks allowed in a season. Buffalo also ran for over 2,000 yards in just seven games, averaging over 287 yards per contest. 

Candidate: Macky MacPherson

Current Position: None

History: Graduate assistant at Louisiana Tech - 2015

Graduate assistant at Syracuse - 2016-17

Running backs coach at Kent State - 2018-19

Why it Makes Sense: MacPherson is the grandson of former Syracuse coaching legend Dick MacPherson. Macky played for the Orange from 2010-13 and spent two years as a graduate assistant under Dino Babers. Given his knowledge of the offense and connections to Syracuse as a player and coach, this move would not only make some sense but would generate some fan buzz. The downside is that he does not have experience coaching offensive line directly at the collegiate level. 

Candidate: Mike Lynch

Current Position: Running backs coach at Syracuse

History: Tight ends coach at Montana - 1999

Graduate assistant at Utah State - 2000-01

Tight ends coach at Utah State - 2002-04

Tight ends coach at Eastern Illinois - 2005

Wide receivers coach at Eastern Illinois - 2006-11

Running backs coach at Eastern Illinois - 2012-13

Running backs coach at Bowling Green - 2014

Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Bowling Green - 2015

Co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Syracuse - 2016-17

Offensive coordinator at Syracuse - 2018-19

Running backs coach at Syracuse - 2020

Why it Makes Sense: Lynch has coached several positions during his coaching career, including the offensive line under Dino Babers. His knowledge of the Orange offense, experience at the position and experience coaching under Babers makes him a candidate here. 

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Mike McAllister
MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting.  EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans.  After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years.  Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports.  Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. 

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