Syracuse Football: Dino Babers signs long term extension with Orange

The Syracuse football team has finally signed their head coach Dino Babers to a long term extension the school announced on Wednesday evening.

Earlier today we were begging Syracuse Athletic Director John Wildhack to put pen to paper to keep Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers here in the Salt City for the long term.

John delivered on that promise and some late on Wednesday evening, the school announced. Here’s what Babers had to say about why he wanted to stay with the Orange for a long time, per cuse.com:

"“A little over three years ago, I arrived at Syracuse University inspired by the great opportunity to coach at an institution with such a rich football legacy, hungry student-athletes, good facilities and a storied tradition of academic distinction,” Babers said. “It was a true honor to have accepted the head coach position then and I consider it a privilege today to be able to extend my time coaching at Syracuse. I am grateful to have the support, faith and trust of University leaders, the Orange community, our student-athletes and our fans. I am excited about what the future holds for Syracuse Football and look forward to our continued improvement and growth.”"

This provides everything and some that Syracuse fans were hoping for: stability, love, and commitment.

Wildhack proved that he is committed to making Syracuse football great again by extending head coach Dino Babers, even though he didn’t have too. He also sends a clear message to the recruits who have committed that Dino is here to stay and to the recruits who were on the fence that the Orange mean business.

Here is what Athletic Director John Wildhack had to say about getting this deal done, per cuse.com:

"“Dino has led an exhilarating resurgence of the football tradition at Syracuse University,” said Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “On the field and off the field, Dino has demonstrated his deep commitment to our football program, our student-athletes, our communities and our fans. Not only is he an incredible leader, coach and mentor with great integrity and heart, he is also a tremendous ambassador for Syracuse University and the broader Central New York community.”"

Now this does not mean that Babers will never leave the Orange. Syracuse ultimately will never win a bidding war with a USC or UCLA, but what this does say is that Syracuse believes in Dino Babers.

Because Syracuse is a private University, we have no idea how long his original contract offer was nor do we know how long this new extension adds. Although Sports Illustrated reported his initial deal was for six years.

In an interview with Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com, Wildhack said that talking contract extension now would be a “distraction” considering the Camping World Bowl appearance on December 28th and the recruiting going on for the future.

We countered Wednesday morning suggesting it would be distracting for incoming recruits, but in Babers own words to Cuse.com, now they can focus on the future and their is still much work to be done:

"“I couldn’t be more proud of the work our guys have done – in the classroom, on the field and in the weight room. Their dedication, grit and perseverance got us to where we are today. Now, we need to focus on where we want to go and how we get there. This is only the beginning,” Babers said."

Babers came to Syracuse three years ago and promised belief without evidence and to visualize what the Carrier Dome could become, the greatest advantage in all of college football, now everything is starting to come together. Dino Babers and Syracuse are now tied together for the foreseeable future and that’s big trouble for the rest of the ACC.