CHARLOTTE, N.C. –Three years ago Dino Babers took the stage for the ACC Kickoff media days with some gallows humor. While introduced as Syracuse’s new coach, it was pointed out the conference has a foursome of newcomers.
“You know, I’m one of the four new coaches in the ACC, but the other three went to the Coastal and I’m the only one in the Atlantic,” Babers said. “I think I have a high IQ. I’m not sure. I’m going to have to go back and check.”
Everyone laughed, understanding the self-deprecating punchline.
That’s not to say the ACC Coastal isn’t soft, but there isn’t a heavyweight like Atlantic top dog Clemson – national champions in 2016 and 2018 — or Florida State – the 2013 national champs that still qualified as a heavyweight entering 2016.
Meanwhile, six different Coastal schools have won the last six Coastal titles. The division is wide open.
As 2019 dawns with another ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, one of those 2016 four new head coaches is gone – Miami’s Mark Richt resigned – while Babers, Virginia’s Bronco Mendenhall and Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente have rejuvenated their school’s program.
But Babers has done more than thrive among the 2016 first-year head coaches — he’s outlasted himself. He enters his fourth Syracuse campaign coming off a double-digit victory season (10-3) without changing jobs.
“I’m usually not around the next season for the backslapping,” he said. “This is new to me.”
At Eastern Illinois, his 12-2 record in his second season earned a step up from the Football Championship Subdivision school to Bowling Green, a Football Bowl Subdivision member in the Mid-American Conference.
Bowling Green’s 10-3 record his second season drew an offer from Syracuse, this time taking Babers’ career a step up to a Power 5 school.
But after Syracuse’s 10-3 mark his third season, he’s staying put for now at the private school named for its city. Babers has lifted Syracuse out of its typical preseason predictions in the bottom half of the Atlantic to second by some only to Clemson.
“Syracuse is a small town,” he said. “I like a small town. I like being able to drive to work, to walk around and not got gobbled up by all the busy-ness. I’ve been in big towns before; I really enjoyed Syracuse.”
In fact, his fourth year at Syracuse is not only longer than his two previous head coach positions, his only longer stay in his 36 seasons has been six at Arizona (1995-2000).
Babers, 58, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1984 at his alma mater, Hawaii. Coaching is a nomadic profession and Babers was soon on the move to Arizona State, Eastern Illinois, UNLV and Northern Arizona before a three-year stay at Purdue.
His crisscrossing the nation that later included stops at Purdue, San Diego State, Texas A&M, Pitt, UCLA and Baylor was by design, he explained a year ago. It broadened his resume as a head coach candidate.
“I moved to different conferences because I didn’t want someone to say, ‘Well, he’s never coached in this league or this part of the country so let’s hire somebody else.’ That opened doors for me to become a head coach. No one could say, ‘He’s a West Coast guy.’ No, I’ve been in the Midwest; I’ve recruited in Florida.”
The head coach opportunity finally arrived at Eastern Illinois in 2012. After a 7-5 record in his debut as a head coach at the FCS member, the 12-2 record in 2013 included his FCS team routing FBS member San Diego State 40-19 in the opener.
That was the same SDSU program that passed on Babers as a head coach candidate in 2002. That year, when the Aztecs primary target, Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, took the Cal job over SDSU, the Aztecs’ second choice was Tom Craft.
He was fired after four years and replaced by Chuck Long. He was dismissed after three seasons before Brady Hoke turned the program around in his two-year stay. Hoke left for Michigan while succeeded by his defensive coordinator, current head coach Rocky Long.
But Babers, enjoying the advantage of hindsight, believes San Diego State did him a favor passing on him. Then 41 years old and the offensive coordinator at Arizona, since then he has seen other young coaches fail to succeed at their first job.
For many, there is no second chance, including Craft and Long after their hire at San Diego State.
“Sometimes you get the job and you’re just too young,” Babers said.” Now, as a young eager beaver, you’d never hear me say that. But I’ve cut my teeth on so much stuff after that date (2002). So many things happened to me after that date I really believe it’s calmed the water so to speak on what I’ve been able to do.
“I have stayed calm and moved on smoothly through difficult times. That has been part of the success we’ve had. Not making some of the decisions a young whipper-snapper would make compared to understanding (with experience) that the most thing is culture. A coach who might have to tell a player who can help you win a game or two you can’t stay here because you’re damaging the culture.”
Part of that culture at Syracuse has been accepting Babers’ standards of hard work. His conditioning program prepares players to compete at his fast-paced offense’s tempo; three years ago that resulted in players bending at the stomach to fill trash cans.
The veterans have adjusted, according to Kendall Coleman, a fourth-year starting defensive end.
“Lots of freshmen spending time in the trash cans right now,” Coleman said at the ACC Kickoff. “Other than that, everybody is getting where they need to go, making their times.”
Added Babers:
“The trash cans — there were a lot in the beginning, but there are not a lot in the end. I can’t remember the last time I saw — well, freshmen don’t count. Freshmen throwing up, that doesn’t count. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an upperclassman do something like that in practice. The young men are in a lot much better shape. They’re really embracing the conditioning program, which is helping them.”
Enough so that Babers is the only ACC coach to beat Clemson in the past three seasons other than Pitt’s fifth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi (in 2016).
In 2017, Syracuse defeated No. 2 Clemson 27-24. The Orange nearly upset the Tigers again last season, this time at Memorial Stadium, before then-No. 15 Syracuse fell 27-23 to then-No. 1 Clemson.
That had the media asking Babers to reveal the secret to competing with Clemson, which last year beat its opponents by an average of 31.2 points a game. That included 28 over Alabama (44-16) in the national title game.
“I just think back that our young men compete very well,” Babers said. “We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to win a game two years ago. When you win a game, you always feel like you have the belief that you can win another. You’ve seen the mountaintop, OK? You’ve seen what it looks like. You know how difficult it is.
“I think that gives us a little bit of an edge that we know we can. That doesn’t mean you will. I mean, the last time that those young men at Clemson lost, the year was 2017. It’s 2019 now. They’re very good at what they do. They have fantastic personnel, and they’re always getting better.”
That was insight from a coach whose team finished last season ranked No. 15 and is picked again among the Top 25 and as high as second in the ACC Atlantic to Clemson.
Dino Babers, comfortable in his new home, is long past the identify of a first-year ACC coach asked about surviving in the Atlantic Division.
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Tom Shanahan, Author: Raye of Light http://tinyurl.com/knsqtqu
— Book on Michigan State’s leading role in the integration of college football. It explains Duffy Daugherty’s untold pioneering role and debunks myths that steered recognition away from him to Bear Bryant.
http://shanahan.report/a/the-case-for-duffy-and-medal-of-freedom
Don’t believe the myths at Duffy Daugherty’s expense about Bear Bryant’s motivation to play the 1970 USC-Alabama game or myths about the Charlie Thornhill-for-Joe Namath trade. Bear Bryant knew nothing about black talent in the South while he dragged his feet on segregation.
http://shanahan.report/a/myths-that-grew-out-of-1970-alabama-game-with-usc
http://shanahan.report/a/mystery-solved-in-thornhill-and-namath-myth
David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize winner and biographer; “History writes people out of the story. It’s our job to write them back in.”
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