CBS Sports ranked all 14 ACC football coaching jobs this week, and surprisingly, the Syracuse Orange came in all the way at No. 8. That may not seem super high, but considering the factors weighing against us, it’s a pretty good deal to finish in the middle of the pack.
Writer Tom Fornelli explains:
“See North Carolina, but in upstate New York rather than the southeast. Also, the Carrier Dome may be functional, but it's not exactly a selling point. The good news is that with so many Syracuse grads in the media, if you do well, there won't be a shortage of people willing to tell people about it. See: Northwestern.”
The media call-out there is a fair point, and one that explains why the basketball program is always covered, no matter what it does (along with the Orange’s history of success, of course). And until the Carrier Dome gets a facelift, it will continue to hamper SU a bit.
Still, eighth almost seems kind of high, when you think about it.
We’re a private school in the Northeast located in a Southern conference. We don’t have recent success to point to. And we don’t really pay our football coaches much. In general, there’s a football resource problem that’s been getting better, but still probably lags behind several more programs than just the seven above us here.
The six names listed below us: Pittsburgh, NC State, Georgia Tech, Duke, Boston College, Wake Forest.
(there are fans in Pittsburgh and Raleigh who are absolutely apoplectic at this juncture)
Of those, I’d automatically move all three private schools ahead of us, begrudgingly. Tech’s biggest inhibitor right now is the system, not its program. They’re Virginia Tech in a city, basically -- that’s a good thing. And not just any city. Georgia Tech is in Atlanta, which is a hotbed for talent (inside of a state that’s also a hotbed).
Pitt and State probably move past us based on history (the former) and resources (the latter). Fan support for Wolfpack football is far better than both Syracuse and Pitt’s situations as well.
None of this is to say that SU is a bad football job by any means. And if Dino Babers and smarter scheduling yield wins, then the program’s ceiling continues to rise. However, looking realistically, it’s tough to see coaches leaving Pitt or NC State or Tech for Syracuse. And I’m not even sure a BC or Wake coach would either (though I still think Syracuse is a better job than both of those schools).
But what do you think? Am I just a #disloyalidiot here? Or is Syracuse really a job near the top half of the conference?