John Wildhack discusses the firing of Dino Babers.
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00:00 - Thank you everybody for coming to today's press conference.
00:04 I'd like to introduce our Director of Athletics, John Wildhack.
00:07 - Sue, thank you.
00:13 Morning everybody.
00:14 So I just want to start by opening.
00:21 First of all, I just want to thank Coach Babers for his contributions and his commitment to
00:27 our program, our university, and our community.
00:31 He's a class act, a class act and a class person.
00:38 That made yesterday's decision more difficult, made the conversation more difficult, but
00:44 I want to thank Coach Babers for his contributions, what he's done for the program, and just the
00:51 way he's conducted himself.
00:53 He's represented our university and I think our community in a first class fashion.
00:59 The decision was not a knee jerk reaction, not an emotional decision.
01:06 I've evaluated the program on a consistent basis.
01:11 To me, one of the things it really boils down to is November.
01:17 We've not had the success in November.
01:20 Two years ago we were five and four, coming off momentum, road victory at Virginia Tech,
01:26 Boston College, lost the last three, five and seven.
01:30 Last year we started six and O.
01:32 We lose five in a row, have to beat BC to get to seven and five.
01:38 Same thing this year, start four and O, four and three.
01:41 So there's a consistent theme that we've not been successful in November.
01:46 We played meaningful games in November and that's what you want.
01:49 You want to be in a position where you play games in November that matter.
01:54 Matter in terms of your bowl position, matter in terms of your status within the conference,
01:57 your standing within the conference, etc., that type of thing.
02:01 We've not had the success that we need and that really is one of the things that stood
02:08 out to me.
02:09 I want to thank Coach Nunzio for stepping in.
02:14 He's done this before.
02:15 We've spent a lot of time with him in the past 24 hours.
02:20 Our emphasis on this week is kind of twofold.
02:23 Number one is let's prepare this team to play Wake Forest, to get bowl eligible, and if
02:29 we are six and six, if we win Saturday, we will go to a bowl.
02:34 Let's honor our seniors the right way.
02:37 We will do the senior walk after the game on Saturday night and it's a chance for the
02:42 community and I do hope that they come out and support our seniors for everything that
02:46 they've given to this program and this community.
02:51 Second is the staff has been in contact with all of our recruits, our commitments for this
02:57 year to reinforce that our commitments are solid and to hold this recruiting class together.
03:06 The search is underway.
03:09 It started yesterday after my meeting with Coach Babers, the coaching staff, support
03:16 staff and the team.
03:18 It will be thorough.
03:19 At the same time, we'll try to be as efficient as possible.
03:23 So with that, let me open it up to questions.
03:26 Right here across the mark, please.
03:31 Good morning.
03:32 I totally hear your points about November and his record, but what prompted you to make
03:37 the change with just one game remaining in this regular season?
03:41 Two things.
03:43 Number one, it gives us a week.
03:44 It gives us a head start.
03:47 And doing the due diligence and naming a successor.
03:50 So let's take advantage of that week.
03:53 Secondly, as I met with Dino before the season and I told him the benchmark was seven and
03:58 five.
03:59 We met after the Florida State game.
04:01 I reiterated that.
04:03 Once that obviously wasn't attainable, it was time to move and make a decision.
04:11 John, did you give Dino the option of coaching the final game or not?
04:19 I did.
04:20 Were you surprised at all that he opted not to?
04:24 No.
04:25 And I told him.
04:26 I said it's his decision and I didn't try to sway him one way or the other.
04:31 Why coach Campanelli as the interim guy?
04:35 Was there any, I guess, tactical decision looking forward in that or was it just get
04:40 through this game?
04:41 I think two things.
04:42 Number one, he's done it before.
04:43 He was an interim at Rutgers for a longer period of time, so he's had the experience
04:49 of that.
04:50 He's an experienced coach at the high school level, the assistant level.
04:56 Obviously New Jersey is a really important recruiting ground force.
04:58 We've got a number of verbal commitments from New Jersey, so that factored in as well, Emily.
05:05 Jesse?
05:06 John, what are you looking for the most in the next head coach of this football program?
05:12 You want somebody who's a really good leader.
05:17 It's a complex operation to be a head football coach.
05:21 You need someone who's a really good leader.
05:23 I think someone who's a really clear communicator.
05:27 Someone who can develop.
05:30 Most power five schools, we're developmental schools, right?
05:34 Who has that eye for talent?
05:35 Who can develop that talent?
05:38 Someone who can communicate and build the staff, not only the assistants, but support
05:43 staff as well.
05:45 Someone who's going to represent the values of our university and our community as well.
05:50 Peter Brent?
05:52 John, will you be using a search committee?
05:57 You will be using a search committee.
05:59 Haven't finalized that.
06:00 Will you be using it?
06:01 It will be small.
06:02 Not only a search committee, but will you be using an outside consulting firm?
06:06 We're working with Bob Bodine.
06:08 Bob and I were on the phone yesterday numerous times.
06:15 Johnny?
06:17 Hey, John.
06:22 These connections to Syracuse and some background familiarity with the 315, is that going to
06:29 be an important characteristic in your search?
06:31 Tommy, I'm not sure it's got to be a direct connection to the 315, but I think experience
06:37 in the Northeast, I think either as a player, as a coach, as an assistant coach, I think
06:45 is important.
06:47 It's really hard, I think, if you take somebody from the East Coast and put them out in the
06:50 West Coast, right?
06:51 You don't have those relationships, those recruiting relationships, those relationships
06:55 with high school coaches.
06:57 It's not lost on me that our four most successful coaches, in a sense, Coach Schwarzwalder grew
07:03 up in Morgantown, right?
07:05 Northeast.
07:06 Coach Mack grew up in Maine.
07:08 UMass.
07:09 Coach Pasqualone, Connecticut.
07:11 Coach Marone, the Bronx.
07:14 So there is a little bit of history there, and sometimes history can be a really good
07:18 teacher.
07:19 Go ahead, Dan.
07:21 John, kind of going off of that, do you look to Syracuse Orange football alumni when you
07:27 do this search?
07:28 Is that important to you, to find someone who's been through the program, knows the
07:31 program, has lived it, and can share that?
07:36 That would be an attribute, but I want to hire the best person, and the best person
07:40 who I think can lead this program, and lead this program successfully.
07:45 So I don't want to narrow the pool, and I'm not, okay, they have to be an offensive specialist,
07:52 they have to be a defensive specialist.
07:54 You do that, you kind of narrow the pool of candidates.
07:58 So it's the best coach who I think has the attributes to lead this program, to take this
08:04 program forward to where we want to go.
08:07 I would also add to that, if there's candidates that have experience in special teams, special
08:13 teams is critically, critically important in football.
08:17 And special teams is kind of situational football as well.
08:21 Steve?
08:22 John, you talked about being thorough with the search, but also being efficient.
08:28 Right.
08:29 I know you know the transfer portal is, the next date is, what, December 4th?
08:34 Right.
08:35 Do you have a timeline in mind, and is it realistic to have things narrowed down by
08:40 December 4th?
08:41 Steve, I don't, you know, there's not a definitive date per se, but I'm aware December 4th.
08:51 So looking big picture, coaching style, coaching values, what are you looking for with the
08:56 next head coach of Syracuse football that will be, you know, markedly different than
09:00 Dino Babers?
09:01 You know, I'm not sure it has to be markedly different per se, but I'm interested in the
09:06 philosophy that this person has, right?
09:09 Their philosophy in terms of offense, their philosophy in terms of defense, I mentioned
09:13 special teams.
09:15 Recruiting philosophy, player development, evaluators of talent, absolutely critical.
09:21 I mean, one of the things that's important to any program in the recruiting process is
09:26 to minimize the misses, right?
09:28 If you do that, that's one way that you create more depth.
09:32 So someone who's done that, who's demonstrated they can do that.
09:36 Right here in the second row.
09:39 Hi, good morning.
09:41 The success of the football team will have a lot of ripple effects off campus as well.
09:46 If Dino's benchmark for this final season was seven and five, what will the goalposts
09:51 look like for a new coach over X number of years to be able to be nationally competitive,
09:57 to make CNY an attractive place for alumni to come back to, for people to fill bars in
10:01 the city, et cetera?
10:03 Well, I think, you know, I've said repeatedly numerous times is when you start a season,
10:08 the goal is to play that 13th game, right?
10:11 And depending on how good you do in the first 12, depends where that 13th game is and who
10:17 you play against it.
10:18 And if you play those first 12 really, really well, maybe you get 13 and more than that.
10:24 I expect us, and we can be a winning program.
10:28 We're not that far away.
10:29 Are there areas that we need to address?
10:31 Yes.
10:32 Are they be addressed?
10:33 Absolutely.
10:34 But it's not like this is a total reboot.
10:36 You know, we're a two in 10 team and you got to totally reboot this.
10:41 There's strengths.
10:44 We've got to analyze our areas where we need to improve upon and take the necessary steps.
10:49 And that's one of the things the next head coach is going to have to do is, all right,
10:53 what are the areas that we need to refine and we need to get better so that we can have
10:57 the success that we all covet?
10:59 So, you know, in terms of this area, I think this is an attractive area.
11:04 I mean, if you look at the momentum that this community has, right, you know, look at it
11:09 from a micro perspective.
11:10 And you can start with micro.
11:14 But I think, you know, there's a lot of momentum in this community.
11:18 And for a coach, you know, this is a great place to raise a family.
11:21 So there's a lot of attributes here.
11:24 And I'm going to emphasize that.
11:27 John, what does the athletic department and the university need to continue improving
11:35 outside of the head coach to make this a competitive program that's on the rise in the ACC?
11:41 I think, Emily, is -- and we've done this -- is we're continued strategic investment
11:46 in the program and do it in a smart way and do it in a way where you get the best ROI
11:51 on that investment, too.
11:53 You know, just because the programs that have the most money, that doesn't necessarily
12:01 always equate to success.
12:04 And if you look around the country this year, Emily, you can identify some examples of that,
12:08 right?
12:09 So it's, you know, what are the resources that you have?
12:12 What are the resources that you need that could be most impactful to get your program
12:16 where we want it to be?
12:19 John, another money question.
12:24 And in terms of areas to improve in the program, in response to a question about depth several
12:29 weeks ago, Coach Babers said that the problem is that his depth is being bought off by other
12:34 programs.
12:35 The implication there is that Syracuse can't compete on the NIL landscape.
12:41 Can you address that?
12:42 And did his comment rankle you at all or ruffle your feathers?
12:44 Were you surprised by that?
12:46 Let me answer this two ways.
12:48 Is, number one, look at some of the guys who went in the portal.
12:58 Where did they go?
12:59 How much are they playing?
13:01 Right?
13:02 You know, Deuce Chestnut, I'm not even sure he's on the active roster at LSU, right?
13:07 He was a starter here, a two-year starter.
13:10 Could have been a three-year starter.
13:13 Deuce leaves, all right, we get Jayden Bellamy, right?
13:17 He's moved himself to a starting position, playing pretty good football.
13:20 Had a pick six against Pittsburgh.
13:22 You look at Jihad Carter, was a starter.
13:25 Last half of the last season, played really, really well.
13:27 Goes to Ohio State, doesn't play much.
13:30 The only person who's really left us and gone to the portal and had great success is Jawar
13:36 Jordan.
13:37 Well, Jawar got hurt.
13:39 In the year Jawar got hurt, Sean Tucker was a freshman.
13:42 And the rest is history in that perspective.
13:45 So there are guys that are going to go in the portal, but we've also gotten the guys
13:49 out of the portal who've helped us with our depth as well.
13:52 In terms of NIL, we've had donors step up and we've had donors step up the next 48 hours.
14:00 They've done so quietly, but in a significant way.
14:04 So I think the narrative is that we're way behind.
14:07 That's not accurate.
14:09 Do we have the NIL pool that some schools have?
14:13 No.
14:14 Can we be competitive with our peers?
14:17 Yes.
14:19 Tommy.
14:21 John, bouncing right off that, have you thought about what that NIL pitch is going to be?
14:27 Because it is a piece that I'm sure coaches are going to be asking you about.
14:32 Absolutely, Tommy.
14:33 And again, that's the work that's been done and the commitments that have been made is
14:37 we can tell the coach this is where we are in this space and that we can be competitive.
14:43 But again, NIL, and I've said this repeatedly and our coaches have said this repeatedly,
14:49 it's most important from a retention perspective.
14:53 Regardless of the sport, when you have players that are ACC, all ACC caliber, all America
14:58 caliber, it's important to retain those.
15:02 If you retain those players, then an offshoot of that will help in your recruiting as well.
15:09 Over to Dan.
15:12 John, what is it about this football program specifically?
15:16 Why come to Syracuse?
15:17 Why should a coach take this job over another job?
15:20 What is the key element or elements here for Syracuse?
15:26 Number one, I think there's a commitment from the university to this program.
15:33 And I thank the chancellor, I thank the board for that.
15:36 We've had success here.
15:38 Have we had as much as we want?
15:40 No, but we've had success.
15:42 Again, I don't think, as I said earlier, this is not a total reboot.
15:47 We've got really good players.
15:51 And if you can keep that nucleus together, add to that nucleus, enhance our recruiting
16:00 efforts, our player development efforts, we can win.
16:03 We can be very competitive in the ACC.
16:07 We're not that far away.
16:10 So that's my pitch.
16:14 And if you look at also in terms of the investment that we've made, right?
16:17 I mean, you look right outside there.
16:19 New Football Operations Center.
16:21 We've not made an investment like that in Syracuse athletics in I don't know how long.
16:26 If you look at what we've done with the Dome, if you look at the Ensley Indoor Practice
16:29 Facility, we have a package of facilities which is competitive with our peers.
16:37 We're in a good recruiting area, maybe not within a 50-mile radius per se, but within
16:45 a four and a half hour radius, right?
16:49 New England, downstate New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the mid-Atlantic states.
16:57 We're an hour, 45-minute flight from Atlanta, an hour and a half from Charlotte.
17:01 You look at our roster, we have players who are contributing now from those states.
17:06 Atlanta as well.
17:07 So there's a lot to sell here.
17:11 And there's a lot I think a coach can look at.
17:13 And one of the things that I've been enthused about over the past 24 hours is the number
17:21 and also the quality of some people who've reached out to me directly because I know
17:26 some coaches directly or indirectly through the representation.
17:30 There's interest in this job.
17:33 Chris Carlson.
17:36 John, the buyout money, was that something you had to raise from donors or is it institutional
17:41 funds?
17:43 We've worked hard internally to deal with that.
17:51 Does it impact your ability to pay the next coach?
17:53 Do you anticipate being around that $4 million number still?
17:57 It depends who the coach is.
17:59 And it's not only the coach, it's your support staff, right?
18:02 What your assistant pool is, your support staff and the recruiting department, player
18:08 personnel department across the board, strength and conditioning, all of it.
18:11 So the fact you have to pay him, but it shouldn't be a problem.
18:16 We've already accounted for that.
18:18 Let's go to Jonathan from Newshouse.
18:22 John, you'd mentioned the importance of a 13th game.
18:26 You said about the 7-5 benchmark.
18:28 I was just wondering, what's the difference to you between 6-6 and 7-5 and how important
18:34 is it?
18:35 I just think 6-6, again, I go back to what I said at the outset, right?
18:40 You look at November.
18:42 We haven't had success.
18:43 Boston College was a very winnable game.
18:46 Didn't win it.
18:47 Saturday Night was a very winnable game.
18:48 We didn't win it.
18:50 You win those two, we're not here today having this conversation.
18:57 That's the difference.
19:05 As you mentioned, it's been a tough November and even a bit of a tough October for the
19:10 fan base.
19:11 A bit frustrating.
19:12 What is your message to fans ahead of Wake Forest and even a potential bowl game?
19:17 Well, I think for Wake Forest, I would hope our fans would come out and support our seniors
19:22 for what they've given to this program and what they've given to the university and the
19:27 community.
19:28 In terms of going forward, I will do everything I can to hire the right coach who can lead
19:34 us to the success that we all covet.
19:37 Over to Jordan from WJBZ.
19:42 Have you spoken to the players about the firing of Coach Bavers yesterday and the program
19:47 moving forward?
19:48 I did.
19:49 I spoke.
19:50 I met with the assistant coaches.
19:52 I met with the team.
19:54 I met with the support staff as well yesterday.
20:02 John you've mentioned this as an ascendant brand in the ACC and in college football.
20:07 Tell me how you relate that to the coach you're talking to.
20:10 How do you sell this as an ascendant brand?
20:14 What are the prerequisites you want from that coach?
20:16 What are some things that before they walk in the door they have to have on their resume?
20:22 Well again, I think either head coach experience or coordinator experience at the Power 5 level
20:30 I think is important.
20:31 It doesn't mean that a position coach can do it, but that's a really big leap for a
20:36 position coach to a head coach position.
20:41 So I think again, head coach experience, coordinator experience.
20:44 Again somebody who's got the leadership skills, who's got the vision, who can communicate.
20:50 It's so important in coaching today to be a good communicator and be able to relate
20:54 and communicate to the young men that they're going to be leading.
20:57 In terms of an ascendant brand, obviously we wish our record was better.
21:00 But again, when you look at the investment that we're making, that we're committing,
21:06 I think that speaks volumes in terms of it can be done here.
21:17 When it comes to bringing this new person in, what does the overall budget look like
21:21 and how involved is the chancellor or the board when it comes to obviously wanting a
21:27 name and a program that will raise recognition and get more people in the dome?
21:31 Obviously any decision that I make will have the approval of the chancellor.
21:43 Again I think I've already addressed that.
21:45 I think we'll be in a position where we can be competitive.
21:53 Looking to learn a little bit more about the coaching search, are you working on scheduled
21:58 calls and meetings with agents?
22:00 Have you ever just gotten a number and done a cold call?
22:03 I've not done a cold call, Tommy.
22:08 It's been more people calling me.
22:11 I probably received more calls yesterday than I have since I've been here on a single day.
22:22 Could you talk a little bit about what the morale of the team is as they head into this
22:27 final game with a pretty big change happening?
22:33 It's hard, right?
22:35 Coach Babers was their coach.
22:36 He was their leader.
22:38 They looked up to him.
22:39 He ultimately was the person who recruited them because he had his final say on who's
22:44 in this program.
22:45 I respect and acknowledge, yesterday was a tough day for our team.
22:51 I'll be interested to see how they respond.
22:55 One of the messages I gave them yesterday is take care of each other.
23:00 Take care of your brethren.
23:03 You know what, and play and show out for the seniors and send them out the right way.
23:10 That was my two messages to the team yesterday.
23:12 We have time for a few more questions.
23:13 We'll go to Mark Frank first.
23:14 Thanks for patience with my questions.
23:20 To play off of Brent's question, when you broke ground, you did categorize the Syracuse
23:26 football brand as an ascendant brand.
23:28 In the wake of how the season has gone and firing Dino with one game to play, how would
23:33 you describe the football brand on November 20th?
23:37 I still think there's ways that we are an ascending brand.
23:41 From a record perspective, I get it.
23:44 Five and six, not acceptable.
23:47 That's why I made the decision that I made.
23:49 I go back in terms of the investment and the commitment that we've made, the investments
23:52 that we've already made in the infrastructure of the program.
23:56 I think it is.
23:57 Is there a lot of work to do?
24:00 Absolutely.
24:01 And I acknowledge that, but we will do the work.
24:04 Go to Chris and then Brent.
24:09 John, a lot of times after a bowl game, AD will extend a coach.
24:14 Why didn't you extend Dino sort of after last year?
24:19 What were you seeing?
24:21 Last year?
24:22 Yeah, after the bowl game.
24:25 I was pleased with the progress that we made, right?
24:28 21, we were five and seven.
24:30 Seven and five last year.
24:32 But I wanted to see more, candidly.
24:35 Can we put back-to-back seven and five or better seasons together?
24:39 We didn't do that.
24:40 Do you think you lost any of the assistant coaches last year with a lot of turnover because
24:44 of a lack of certainty?
24:45 No, I don't.
24:47 Brent, for the final question, please.
24:50 John, I just want to circle back.
24:52 You mentioned within the last 48 hours you've had some people step up in terms of donations.
24:58 Are these new donors?
25:01 Some are new.
25:02 Some are existing donors.
25:03 But people who are passionate about Syracuse athletics, passionate about the football program,
25:09 and want to step up and help us.
25:12 And you mentioned they wish to remain anonymous at this point, which I respect that.
25:15 But I guess what's the advantage of that, given that NIL is a very public game?
25:20 It's not just NIL, but the whole process.
25:23 Any time a donor contributes, it's up to the donor if they wish to be recognized or not.
25:30 We've got capital gifts to the Lally Athletics Complex that are anonymous, because that was
25:35 the request of the donor.
25:36 We're always going to honor the donor's request.
25:39 And NIL is no different in that.
25:40 John, thank you for your time today.
25:41 Thank you very much.
25:42 All right.
25:43 Thanks, everybody.
25:44 Happy Thanksgiving.
25:45 Thank you.
25:45 Thank you.
25:47 Thank you.
25:49 Thank you.
25:51 Thank you.
25:53 Thank you.
25:55 Thank you.
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