It’s time to talk about Dino Babers, his future at Syracuse

How should the Orange handle Babers going forward?

Now I am in no position to make any guarantees about what move the school intends to make with Babers or when said move will be made, but if I were a Syracuse fan, I would expect/want it to have a mindset along the lines of the following:

• If 2023 sees the Orange miss the postseason, they move on from Babers.
• If 2023 sees the Orange make the postseason but still finish with a losing record, they’ll give Babers one more year and take it from there.
• If 2023 sees the Orange make and win a bowl game, Babers will have likely secured his position for the foreseeable future (assuming his guys don’t stun us with another “1-win wonder” too soon afterwards).

This is a model that I feel is more than fair to Babers when observing his team’s current condition. If the best a coach can give me in a 4-season span is a bowl-losing run that had every ounce of potential choked out of it, there is no good reason as to why he shouldn’t be feeling some heat.

Most coaches are unable to build a team in their image overnight, so I don’t want to understate my appreciation for Syracuse giving Dino Babers the time that it has. However, one fluke season from almost five years ago shouldn’t be enough to win anyone’s hearts.

I understand the Orange’s fear of returning to the coaching carousel, but taking that risk for a chance at climbing the ladder is much better than committing to a guy everyone knows isn’t the right choice.

Syracuse is clearly willing to give Babers at least one more chance, and I’m all for it. But, if it results in anything less than a 6-win season, I’d find it impossible to justify keeping him around any longer.