A look at the last 4 Syracuse football head coaches before Dino Babers
Logan Reidsma | Photo Editor
Dino Babers is the fifth Syracuse head coach since 1991. After Paul Pasqualoni held the position for 14 years, the Orange has cycled through three head coaches in the last 10. Greg Robinson failed in his four years, Doug Marrone raised the program’s profile from 2009-12 and Scott Shafer’s tenure slowly declined in his three seasons.
Babers now inherits a team that’s missed two straight postseasons and only won seven of its last 24 games. Here’s a brief look at the tenure’s of each of the last four Syracuse football coaches.
1991-2004 – Paul Pasqualoni
In Pasqualoni’s 14 years as head coach, he led Syracuse to four Big East titles and a 6-3 record in nine bowl games. He led the Orange to two double-digit-win seasons in his first two years and another in 2001. He finished his tenure as the second-winningest coach in Syracuse history with 107 victories. Six of those wins, though, were vacated as part of the NCAA investigation into SU.
2005-08 – Greg Robinson
In two of Robinson’s four years, Syracuse suffered the only double-digit losing seasons in school history. He compiled 10 wins in four years, but five of those were vacated. Robinson was fired with two games left in the 2008 season. At his farewell press conference, he read excerpts from the children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could.”
2009-12 – Doug Marrone
Marrone’s tenure began with a lackluster four-win season, only one more victory than Robinson’s last year. But eight wins the next year was the most since 2001, and the Orange topped Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. After a 5-7 2011 season, Marrone led SU to another Pinstripe Bowl win against West Virginia in 2012. He left Syracuse for the Buffalo Bills after the bowl win.
2013-15 – Scott Shafer
Shafer led the Orange to a Texas Bowl victory against Minnesota in his first season as head coach. Syracuse only won seven games in his next two seasons, and Shafer was fired with one game left this season. SU won his finale, 20-17, against Boston College and Shafer was carried off the field.
Published on December 5, 2015 at 11:56 am
Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman