Syracuse Football: Dino Babers Releases Statement, Wolken Hints at Done Deal

When we last saw the Syracuse Orange HIRE-A-COACH EXTRAVAGANZA, Ohio State's Chris Ash withdrew himself from consideration for the gig, making Bowling Green's Dino Babers the odds-on favorite to be hired by the Orange. Since then, not much has been said -- until some notes yesterday and this morning, that is.

Following the report from USA Today's Dan Wolken about Babers and Syracuse, Babers himself issued a statement Thursday saying he was focused on the MAC Championship Game right now. As Syracuse.com's Stephen Baily points out, that's a bit different from his statement denying any link to the UCF job (since filled by one-time Orange target Scott Frost).

When asked if his mindset might change after tonight's game against Northern Illinois, he responded, "sure it does."

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Now obviously there's plenty that still needs to happen if we want Babers to be named the next Syracuse football coach. But according to the very plugged-in Wolken, the "naming" part is just a formality, since the deal's already in place:

@JacobsDj082167 That's my understanding

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 4, 2015

We can hold off on the celebrations for the time being. But this is a pretty encouraging sign that not only has the SU coaching search come to a close, but it's concluded with the Orange getting one of the more exciting names on the market. Once he's in the door (hopefully Sunday or Monday at the latest), he'll have until December 13 to speak with recruits, before the dead period which runs for the next month thereafter.

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If you weren't already planning on watching the MAC title game tonight, now you've got some extra motivation to do so. To be nice, maybe we root for the Falcons too? Should be an interesting weekend...