John Wildhack is undermining Orange by delaying Dino Babers extension

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers is being undermined by his Athletic Director John Wildhack and it’s costing the Orange big time.

Enough is enough already, how much more should Syracuse fans have to take? Why is Dino Babers not extended yet?

The regular season ended Saturday November 24th at Boston College.

Syracuse does have a bowl game (for the first time since 2013) on December 28th at 5:15 p.m. in the Camping World Bowl. You know the bowl game that is usually designated for the second best team in the ACC, which spoiler alert was the Orange.

Syracuse is 9-3 this year, with a chance at a 10th win for first time since 2001. Which is coincidentally the last time Syracuse was ranked in the top-25 prior to this season. The Orange were also undefeated at home for the first time since 2001 this year. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Dino Babers checked off almost every box he could’ve this year and what does he get? Nothing.

But don’t worry while Athletic Director John Wildhack is twiddling his thumbs, Babers is balancing an additional 15 practices for earning his way into a bowl berth and recruiting for the future.

That’s where the real problems exist for the Orange. Just a few weeks ago when Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer stepped down he said one of the big factors in that decision was when recruits started asking him will he still be there in four-five years.

What is Babers saying when recruits are asking him that question?

via GIPHY

No clue because Babers hasn’t been extended yet which is sabotaging his ability to recruit. You can’t tell me other Universities aren’t jumping in Syracuse’s kiddie pool telling other recruits how long is Dino even going to be around?

Because Syracuse is a private University, Babers contract length isn’t public information, but Sports Illustrated has previously reported it was a six-year deal. Here’s some more information we know about Babers’ contract:

"In a piece by Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com we learned that Babers received $2.4 million in his first year leading the program. That would rank Babers 49th on USA Today’s list of head coaches in the country. In that same report Carlson’s findings put Babers at 10th in the ACC out of 14 possible jobs."

Here’s a real question, when is the last time Syracuse coughed up money for a coach? Or even for a coach’s assistants?

Let’s just say it has been a while, which means hopefully Syracuse has been saving their pennies for this moment. What else do you need to know?

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Dino Babers is the guy to turn around Syracuse. Rome wasn’t built in a day and prior to this magical 9-3 year, Syracuse had two straight 4-8 seasons under Babers’ leadership. It would be unfair to provide zero context of course to those records because Dino dealt with a variety of major injuries including his starting quarterback Eric Dungey.

Wildhack is sitting on his hands with a decision. This was only one good year from Dino, maybe I can wait and see if he can do it again next year. That wouldn’t be wise because if Babers has another good year, then he’s gone.

Dino has preached belief without evidence since he stepped on campus at Syracuse. He has shown evidence of what he can do when provided the right tools, it’s time for Wildhack to not be reactionary and be proactive about his program’s future in football by fulfilling the hashtag “PayDino”, before it’s too late.

What’s the delay for?

When Wildhack was asked this after the bowl game announcement he pulled a “Bill Belichick” according to Niko Tamurian and wants to focus on celebrating the bowl announcement.

Wildhack has taken so long that Boston College decided to lock up Steve Addazio for another two years. Guess what? Addazio HAS NEVER HAD A nine win season in his Eagles tenure. The only nine win season he ever had was his first year at Temple in 2011.

"In a conversation with Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com on Tuesday morning, Wildhack said the main reason an extension isn’t happening right now is: “I don’t want to introduce a lot of distractions at this point in time.”"

I would counter saying not knowing the future of a coach is “distracting” for recruits. If Wildhack would just get the extension done it would tell recruits that Dino is here for long haul which would immediately help on that front. Plus this would sell a ton of season tickets, it’s an ultimate win-win.

Some other highlights from Wildhack’s conversation with Carlson include:

• The negotiation with Babers to get a deal done could take 10 minutes or six months, every negotiation is different.
• A message continued to reverberate through the conversation that Wildhack wants Dino here long term, but when he was pressed up against it he pointed to the bowl game, the extra practice, the stadium renovations etc as excuses.

Talk is cheap, actions speak far louder than words. Syracuse fans have heard enough talk about this extension they just want to see it get done as soon as possible.

It’s time to send a good will message to Dino that Syracuse believes in him with a contract extension and also pays his assistants. Syracuse will never win a bidding war if another prominent school wants him, but it would be a good message to proactively pay Dino for what he has done and confirm that they want him here for a long time before another school forces him to. I think from a genuine standpoint, a contract extension offered because another team forced you to lacks its’ luster, as opposed to going out of your way to get it done on your own.