Turning Potential into Reality: Syracuse AD John Wildhack Sets Expectations for Dino Babers in 2021

Syracuse head football coach Dino Babers survived the 2020 season. To keep his head above water in 2021, AD John Wildhack says he'll need to continue developing young players.

Syracuse, NY  — 

Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said last week in a conversation with syracuse.com that head football coach Dino Babers would not be "on the hot seat" in 2021. Wildhack reiterated those comments on Friday in a virtual press conference with assembled media.

"The proverbial hot seat, just take that and just delete it, OK? Dino's going to be our coach in 2021. I hope he's our coach for a long time; he knows that. I want him to be, the university does, so he doesn't enter 2021 in any kind of hot seat or anything like that. I'm supportive of Coach Babers, and I have no regrets in terms of the decision that I made two years ago."

Babers has a combined record of 24 wins and 36 losses as Orange head coach, mounting just one winning campaign in five tries (10-3 in 2018). Babers's most recent 1-10 effort is his worst production to date and is optimistically viewed as rock bottom, with nowhere else to go but up.

"Nobody's pleased with the 1-10 record," Wildhack clarified on Friday. "We all know that. We all have higher expectations. Our fans have higher expectations. And it's all about how we get this thing turned around and what we need to do to accomplish that.

"We know areas that we need to work on. We struggled mightily on offense; that's no secret. We've got to fix that. We've got to be able to run the ball better, we've got to be able to stop the run better. And we've got to be able to throw it more consistently. There's no secret in terms of where we need to improve upon. Part of it is addressing our deficiencies. We know where we struggled this year. Those issues, they need to be addressed, and they need to be corrected."

To successfully "turn things around" in 2021, Wildhack believes the point of emphasis for Babers and his staff should be centered around one word: "development."

"The keyword is 'development,' right? Because we've shown that we've got a number of young players on offense and defense that played and played quite well. And when you start six freshmen against the number two team in the country, that's daunting, to say the least."

Several freshmen stepped in to play pivotal roles on both sides of the ball out of necessity and they didn't disappoint. RB Sean Tucker led the team in rushing with 626 yards and four touchdowns. S Ja'Had Carter led all Orange defenders with 57 tackles. CB Garrett Williams secured the secondary with a team-best seven pass break-ups. Now that talent has been identified, Wildhack says the next step is taking it to the next level.

"How do we develop their football skills, the freshmen into sophomores? The good news is they don't lose a year. In a sense, they come back as redshirt freshmen. They still have four years. And just developing in terms of the mental aspects of the game, as well as the physical aspects of the game."

A critical first step in cultivating budding talent will be completing an unabbreviated offseason program, a luxury the Orange were not afforded last season.

"I think the offseason is going to be incredibly, incredibly important," Wildhack said. "If we can get them through a traditional year of strength and conditioning, if we can get through spring football... Last year we had three of fifteen practices. That's it. We need time to develop this team.

"There's a caveat attached to everything, as we all know right now. But yes, we are planning [to have] spring practice."

The unusual nature of a pandemic season likely gifted Babers the "asterisk" he was hoping for. And while shortcomings deserve scrutiny, so do accomplishments deserve recognition. Being only one of two ACC teams to play all 11 games as scheduled is no small feat, especially in the eyes of athletic director John Wildhack. Babers has survived the 2020 season. If he wants to outlast 2021, Wildhack suggests he focuses on one word.

"I think the keyword, and I think it's really critical for the staff, is the development of these young players. The potential's there. We need to turn that potential into reality."