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When Rex Culpepper mistakenly spiked the ball on fourth-and-goal in Syracuse’s last game of 2020, head coach Dino Babers officially entered his make-or-break season. Following the Orange’s worst season in over 15 years, Babers needed a bounce-back season in 2021 to keep his job.

Syracuse finished 5-7 this year, a four-win improvement from 2020. SU fans complained throughout the season about Babers’ decision-making and some pleaded for his firing. But on Monday, Director of Athletics John Wildhack defended the coach, announcing that Babers would return in 2022.

This was Babers’ make-or-break season. And he didn’t break. Sure, there were some questionable coaching decisions against Wake Forest, Clemson and Pittsburgh. In hindsight, SU should’ve run the ball on fourth down against Clemson instead of kicking the game-tying field goal, and it should’ve given Sean Tucker more than 13 carries against Pittsburgh. And sure, the Orange won’t be playing in a bowl game later this month.

But Babers did enough.

Syracuse showed improvement this season, and Babers helped develop a likely first-team All-American running back in the backfield. Babers transformed his once pass-heavy offense into a run-heavy one centered around Tucker and transfer quarterback Garrett Shrader — and he did it midseason. Shrader’s poor passing numbers hurt SU in November, but without him, Syracuse probably doesn’t beat Liberty or Virginia Tech, and it doesn’t compete against Wake Forest. With Shrader, Syracuse was only a few plays away from possibly going 8-4 or even 9-3.

The Orange exceeded preseason expectations and found a quarterback and running back who can lead their offense in 2022. Tony White’s defense generated 37 sacks, the second-most by a Syracuse defense since Babers became head coach, and three players were named to All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams. SU finished third in the league in rushing offense and had the third-best defense in yards allowed per game.

“I’m happy with how the team competed this season, we saw growth in a number of areas,” Wildhack said. “The best decision is for (Babers) to continue to lead this program.”

Wildhack said a potential buyout for the remainder of Babers’ contract didn’t play a role in his decision to bring him back next year. But Babers is likely under contract through 2024. He is the highest paid university employee, reportedly earning $3.5 million annually. Schools such as Michigan State and LSU recently signed coaches to contracts that will pay them $9.5 million per year. SU can’t do that.

“We’re not gonna pay a coach $8 million, $6 million, $7 million to coach football,” former Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson told The D.O. before the season. “We’re just not going to do that.”

Danny Kahn | Design Editor

Syracuse has to be patient when it comes to building a football program and it starts with Wildhack. In Dick MacPherson’s first six years as head coach, SU never won more than seven games, and had three losing seasons. In his seventh year, the Orange won 11 games. Nobody’s saying Babers is MacPherson. But Wildhack should take a lesson from then-athletic director Jake Crouthamel and be patient with rebuilding Syracuse’s football program.

Other coaches like Frank Beamer and Bill Snyder needed a few years to build their programs, too. A 10-3 season in 2018 showed Babers could succeed. Now, he just needs time to rebuild his team around its new offense.

Wildhack said that despite three straight losses to end the year, Babers was the right fit to lead the team in 2022 — and possibly beyond. Fans (and even players) criticized late-game coaching decisions and play-calling that fell on Babers’ shoulders. Those are valid criticisms, and there’s no arguing Babers must improve in-game management for his team to improve. This can start with ensuring more efficient communication from assistant coaches upstairs to the ones on the field, something Wildhack specifically mentioned as a point of improvement during his post-football season press conference.

Danny Kahn | Design Editor

But how many people expected Syracuse to win five games, be a play or two away from a bowl game and compete against the ACC’s top teams like Clemson? One year after going 1-10 thanks largely to a lousy offense, 2021 was the rebuilding year Babers and the Orange needed.

“I’d say (it was) definitely a success,” Tucker said. “We only won one game last year and now we won five.”

Fans seem quick to forget how terrible 2020 really was. Syracuse ranked 118th out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total team offense, and eight of SU’s 10 losses were by double digits. The Orange didn’t have a ACC-caliber starting quarterback after Tommy DeVito suffered a leg injury in early October, and the team’s top defensive players opted out of the rest of the year after seeing the terrible start. It looked like a season from the Greg Robinson era.

If there were a time to move on from Babers, last year would’ve been the time to do so. But not now, after an improved five-win season. Since Robinson became head coach in 2005, the Orange have had 10 seasons with four wins or fewer, as opposed to just four seasons with at least six wins. So comparatively, a 5-7 season isn’t that bad for Syracuse.

Five wins doesn’t get you to a bowl game, but it does at least put you in contention for one. Syracuse is far from competing for national championships or New Year’s Day bowls. Instead, SU needs to focus on getting to six wins, consistently. A season like this one proves the Orange are in the right ballpark for that.

For Babers, winning will start with the offense he runs. He let go of offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert on Sunday — a sound move by almost any measure — but the run-based offense the two installed this year should stay. It allowed Tucker to run for a program-record 1,496 yards and created the possibility of bringing No. 44 out of retirement.

Wildhack and Babers need to prioritize building a program within a reasonable budget that can start winning six or seven games per season, while focusing on developing a physical running game. The Orange needed a season that could get them closer to this goal, and 2021 brought that. It ensured that Babers will return for a seventh season and that Syracuse is on the right track to getting back to a bowl game.

Connor Smith is an asst. sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at csmith49@syr.edu or on Twitter @csmith17_.

Published on December 1, 2021 at 11:38 pm