Syracuse football reportedly has its new special teams coordinator lined up.
Per a brief report from FootballScoop, the Orange is expected to hire Bowling Green special teams coordinator Alex Bayer in the same role at the 'Cuse. Assuming that occurs, Bayer would replace former Syracuse football special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield, who is now in the same position at Oregon State.
This offseason, following a rough 3-9 record in the 2025 season, head coach Fran Brown has made significant changes to his assistant coaching staff. New coaches who have come in lately to join the Orange include defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach John Scott Jr., offensive line coach Juan Castillo, defensive backs coach Perry Eliano and edges coach Jeremy Hawkins.
Bayer played tight end at Mid-American Conference ("MAC") member Bowling Green, and he earned All-MAC honors twice. He has been Bowling Green's special teams coordinator since January of 2022. Beginning in 2023-24, Bayer has also coached the tight ends for the Falcons, which went just 4-8 overall in the recently completed 2025 campaign.
Syracuse football appears to have hired its next special teams coordinator.
Bayer has worked at the collegiate level dating back to 2016, serving as an offensive graduate assistant at Otterbein University in Ohio until 2019. He was then a special teams analyst at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Wake Forest in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
In the 2021 term, Bayer coached special teams and tight ends at Valparaiso before moving to his alma mater, Bowling Green. While the Falcons didn't have a good record in 2025, Bayer guided a special teams unit that shined in several areas.
According to the Bowling Green athletics department Web site, in 2025, running back Cameron Pettaway was a FWAA freshman All-American as an all-purpose player after leading the nation with a kickoff return average of 33.0 yards.
Jackson Kleather, a junior kicker, was also a semifinalist for this past season's Lou Groza Award, which is awarded annually to the top placekicker in the country. He went 19-of-22 on field-goal attempts and converted all 26 of his point-after-touchdown tries.