Syracuse hires former Nebraska offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, per report

The Syracuse Orange made a move to fill one of its two open football coaching staff spots on Monday -- a positive development just a few weeks before National Signing Day.

According to Football Scoop, SU has hired former Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh for the same role. That likely removes that duty from current offensive coordinator Mike Lynch, who had split OC and O-line duties for the past two years at Syracuse.

Cavanaugh had been at Nebraska for the last three seasons under Mike Riley. The Huskers’ rushing attack started that stretch ranked among the top 50 or so teams in the country. However, they faded all the way to the bottom of the country by 2017. Nebraska is a much better pass protection team, however. They were top-50 for the last three years, and in the top 20 in terms of fewest sacks allowed in both 2016 and 2015.

Before he was at Nebraska, Cavanaugh coached the offensive line at Oregon State (Riley’s previous stop) from 2005-14, and Hawaii for the five seasons before that. He’s also coached the O-line for the San Diego Chargers, and a bunch of other smaller colleges in the Midwest and Northeast -- including Albany. He played at New Haven from 1981-82.

247Sports attributes a handful of blue-chip recruits to him over the course of his career, including several at Nebraska. Along with helping SU’s young offensive line improve, you’d have to think recruiting is a big part of his role for the Orange -- especially after Sean Lewis left to take over at Kent State.

Syracuse still has one more full-time staff position to fill. It’ll likely be a quarterbacks coach, which was part of Lewis’s responsibilities.