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Syracuse Orange Head Coach Dino Babers has fired defensive coordinator Brian Ward, per multiple reports.
Defensive ends coach Steve Stanard will be the interim defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season.
Ward has been on Babers’ coaching staff since his final season at Bowling Green in 2015, serving as both a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. In his tenure, SU’s defense set multiple program records of futility, including most yards allowed in a single game (496 in Saturday’s loss to Boston College) and most points allowed in a single game (76 vs. Pitt back in 2017).
Calls amplified for Ward’s dismissal after Saturday’s 58-27 loss to Boston College, particularly since Eagles head coach Steve Addazio says he quite literally ran the same play over and over again with SU unable to answer.
Stanard has served as a defensive coordinator in many of his stops along the road to Central New York, including multiple years in that role at both Tulane and Wyoming. He also won two FCS titles as a linebackers coach at North Dakota State in 2012 and 2013.