Champion College Football Coach Fired After Eight Seasons With Team

Dino Babers is no longer the head coach of the Syracuse Orange football program.

By Brian Jones

A college football coach is looking for a new team. On Sunday, the Syracuse Orange football team announced that head coach Dino Babers had been fired after eight seasons with the program. The announcement comes after the Orange have lost six of their past seven games. Last year, Syracuse lost six of its last seven games and just played in one bowl game in the last five years. 

"I appreciate everything Dino, his wife Susan, and their family have done over the last eight years for Syracuse Athletics, Syracuse University and most importantly, our student-athletes," Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in a statement. "Thanks to Dino's leadership, our student-athletes have performed at the highest levels in the classroom, have dedicated countless hours to supporting our communities and have gone on to achieve great success, both professionally and personally. As we embark on a change in leadership at the helm of Syracuse Football, on behalf of Syracuse University I thank Coach Babers for his leadership, character and dedication, and wish him well in his future endeavors."  

In his eight seasons with the Orange, Babers posted a 41-55 record and only recorded two winning seasons which were in 2018 and 2022. The 2018 season was Babers' best at Syracuse as he led the team to a 10-3 record and a No. 15 ranking in the final polls. In 2022, Babers finished 7-6, and the Orange lost to Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl. 

Before coaching at Syracuse, Babers was the head coach at Bowling Green for two seasons. And in that time, Babers led the Falcons to two MAC East championships and the MAC Championship in 2015. From 2012 to 2013, Babers was the head coach at Eastern Illinois and led the Panthers to two Ohio Valley Conference titles. 

Babers was a longtime assistant coach before landing his first head coaching gig at Eastern Illinois. Some of the schools Babers coached at were Eastern Illinois, UNLV, Northern Arizona, Purdue, Arizona, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, UCLA and Baylor. As a head coach, Babers has tallied a 78-71 record and won two of his three bowl game appearances. From 1979 to 1983, Babers played college football at Hawaii and was a running back and defensive back. 

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