Syracuse Football Coaching Staff for 2021 Season

A look at the staff that will lead the Orange.

Note: Bios below via Cuse.com

Dino Babers - Head Coach: A proven winner and respected mentor, Dino Babers was named the 30th head football coach at Syracuse University on Dec. 5, 2015. He owns a 61-52 (.540) career record and boasts nearly 40 years of experience in the profession. Known for his innovative, ultra-fast offense, Babers is in his fifth season on the Syracuse sideline. Since his arrival on campus, Babers has reshaped the culture of Orange football by fostering an atmosphere of fairness, family and accountability. An adherence to those core values has allowed Syracuse’s assistant coaches, staff and student-athletes to reach their full potential. On the field, the Babers era has featured record-setting production and a 10-win season in 2018. In December 2018, Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack ensured the growth of the Orange would continue under Babers by announcing a contract extension that keeps the veteran coach at the helm of the program well into the future.

Sterlin Gilbert - Offensive Coordinator: Sterlin Gilbert is in his first season as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. A Texas native well versed in the veer and shoot, Gilbert has run offenses and coached quarterbacks at the FBS, FCS and high school levels. He was most recently the head coach at McNeese State prior to joining the Orange. Gilbert previously worked with Syracuse head coach Dino Babers for three seasons. They first joined forces at Eastern Illinois in 2012 and the pair transformed the Panthers into a fast-paced juggernaut behind the play of standout quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. In his first season, Gilbert directed an EIU offense that ranked sixth in the nation in passing (334.9 ypg), seventh in total offense (470.9 ypg) and eighth in scoring (36.5 ppg). Garoppolo was seventh in the FCS in total offense (318.5 ypg), while receiver Erik Lora set the championship subdivision record for receptions (136) and led the country in receiving yards with (1,664) en route to being named the 2012 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year.  EIU was even better the next season, leading to Gilbert’s selection as the 2013 FootballScoop.com FCS Coordinator of the Year. The Panthers led the nation in total offense (589.5 ypg), scoring (48.2 ppg) and ranked second in passing (372.4 ypg). EIU posted a 12-2 record and won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. Garoppolo, now the starter for the San Francisco 49ers, won the 2013 Walter Payton Award (the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) as the nation’s best player. He led the country and ranked second in FCS single-season history with 5,050 passing yards, while ranking second nationally and fourth in FCS history with 53 touchdown passes. Garoppolo, who was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, passed for 8,873 yards and 84 touchdowns in his two seasons under Gilbert.

Tony White - Defensive Coordinator: A disciple of defensive guru Rocky Long and the two-time Scout.com Mountain West Recruiter of the Year, Tony White was hired as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator in February 2020. He joined the Orange after serving as the cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator at Arizona State from 2018-19. White arrived in Syracuse after a short stint as the Sun Devils’ defensive coordinator, a position he was appointed to in December 2019. He ran the defense in ASU’s 20-14 victory over Florida State in the 2019 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, a game in which the Sun Devils shut out the Seminoles for nearly three quarters and scored a defensive touchdown. In White’s two seasons at Arizona State, the Sun Devils allowed just 13 passing plays of 40+ yards – a marked improvement over the 34 such plays ASU gave up in the two years before White got to Tempe. The Sun Devil secondary made dramatic gains in White’s first year, climbing 50 spots in the NCAA’s passing defense rankings. That growth continued in 2019, as Arizona State finished the year 12th in the country with 65 passes defended. Three of White’s cornerbacks – Kobe White (2019), Jack Jones (2019) and Aashari Crosswell (2018) – were All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selections.

Chris Achuff - Linebackers: A seasoned collegiate coach with an additional two years of NFL experience, Chris Achuff was named Syracuse’s linebackers coach in March 2020. Achuff joined the Orange after most recently serving as the defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals where he worked with former Syracuse superstar and 2019 NFL All-Pro Chandler Jones. Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Achuff spent the first 19 years of his career at the collegiate level, including stints as the defensive line coach at Baylor (2008-16), Tennessee-Martin (2006-07), Charleston Southern (2005) and Chattanooga (2004).

Reno Ferri - Tight Ends/Inside Receivers: A veteran coach with strong recruiting ties to New York, New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic Region, Reno Ferri is in his fifth year with the Orange. He was named tight ends coach by Dino Babers in January 2016 and began overseeing the inside receivers in 2018. Ferri arrived at Syracuse in 2016 after spending the previous five seasons at Towson where he worked with the running backs, fullbacks and tight ends. He was also the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers from 2011-15.

Mike Lynch - Running Backs: A versatile coach who has taught every position on offense, Mike Lynch is in his third season as Syracuse’s running backs coach. In addition to tutoring the team’s ball carriers, Lynch was Syracuse’s offensive coordinator from 2018-2019. He served as the Orange’s co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2016 and 2017. Overall, Lynch is in his ninth season working with Dino Babers and his fifth season with the Orange.

Nick Monroe - Safeties/Nickels: Nick Monroe, who has won conference championships at each of his previous coaching stops, is in his fifth year with the Orange. He joined the staff in 2016 and served as Syracuse’s secondary coach for two seasons before narrowing his focus to the Orange’s safeties and nickelbacks in 2018. Over the past two seasons, Monroe has co-directed a Syracuse pass defense that has thrived on creating turnovers. The Orange have intercepted 31 passes in 25 games (1.24 per game) since the start of 2018, including a streak of 17 straight games with a pick from Aug. 31, 2018 to Sept. 21, 2019. The streak tied for the third-longest in major college football since 2004. 

Vinson Reynolds - Defensive Line: A dynamic recruiter and teacher, Vinson Reynolds was named the Orange’s defensive line coach in January 2016. He coached the defensive tackles exclusively from 2017-19 before assuming responsibility for leading the entire unit again in 2020. Reynolds’ work with Syracuse’s trenchmen has been a primary factor in the Orange’s rise to becoming one of the most disruptive defenses in college football. Syracuse has 56 takeaways the past two seasons (2.2 per game) and owns a +22 turnover margin over that span. The Orange are one of two FBS teams (Arizona State is other) to rank in the top 15 in average turnover margin in both 2018 and 2019. Syracuse was fifth in 2018 (+1.0) and No. 13 in 2019 (+0.75). 

Terrence Samuel - Wide Receivers: Syracuse head football coach announced the hiring of Terrence Samuel as the Orange's wide receivers coach on January 22. Samuel brings more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Syracuse staff, most recently serving as the passing game coordinator at UNLV this season following a nine-year tenure on the Michigan State staff.

Mike Schmidt - Offensive Line: Syracuse head football coach Dino Babers announced the addition of Mike Schmidt as ‘Cuse’s offensive line coach on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Schmidt has been coaching offensive line for over a decade at San Diego State, where he has mentored a unit that has paved the way for one of the nation’s top rushing attacks.

Chip West - Cornerbacks: Chip West was hired as Syracuse’s cornerbacks coach in February 2020. An award-winning recruiter with more than 20 years of college coaching experience, West came to Central New York after most recently serving as the cornerbacks coach at Marshall in 2019. Prior to joining the Thundering Herd, West was the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach at Charlotte in 2018 and held the same positions at Howard University in 2017. From 2010-15, West worked as the cornerbacks coach at Virginia.

Josh Bringuel - Defensive Graduate Assistant.

Adrian Brunori - Offensive Graduate Assistant. 

Kendall Coleman - Offensive Graduate Assistant. 

Jack Potenza - Defensive Graduate Assistant: Syracuse alum Jack Potenza is in his second season as a defensive graduate assistant. Potenza served as a recruiting office assistant and student coach for the Orange as an undergraduate. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Potenza was a two-sport athlete in football (quarterback) and lacrosse (midfielder) at St. Lawrence University before transferring to Syracuse. 

David Gettis - Offensive Quality Control: Former NFL receiver David Gettis is in his fourth year as a quality control coach for the Orange. Gettis played two seasons for the Carolina Panthers and also spent time with the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers during his pro career. A collegiate standout at Baylor from 2006-09, Gettis played for Syracuse head coach Dino Babers for two seasons when Babers was Baylor’s wide receivers coach.

Bryan Shepherd - Defensive Quality Control: Bryan Shepherd, who served as cornerbacks coach for North Dakota State’s 2017 FCS national championship team, is in his fourth season as a quality control coach at Syracuse. Since arriving at Syracuse, the Orange defense has produced numerous NFL draftees and had the most takeaways at the FBS level over the last-three seasons.

Blair Cavanaugh - Special Teams Quality Control: Blair Cavanaugh joined the Orange staff in February 2019. The son of Syracuse offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, Blair is in his second season as the Orange’s quality control coach for special teams. Before coming to Syracuse, Cavanaugh was a graduate assistant at Ball State from 2017-18. He helped coach the Cardinals wide receivers, including 2018 All-MAC selections Riley Miller and Justin Hall. Cavanaugh also made a brief stop at Nebraska as an offensive staff volunteer.

Travis Greene - Offensive Analyst: The all-time leading rusher at Bowling Green, Travis Greene is in his fourth season on the Syracuse staff. He was named an offensive analyst in the spring of 2021 after previously serving in graduate assistant and quality control positions. Greene joined the Orange program in 2018 and assisting in coaching the Orange’s most prolific scoring season in program history. 

Jeff Hammerschmidt - Special Teams Analyst.

Kevin McGarry - Defensive Analyst. 

Lanear Sampson - Offensive Analyst.