Syracuse football: Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh joins Arizona State, per report

The Arizona State Sun Devils have had a wild ride with their recent offensive line coach vacancy, and they’ve turned to Central New York now to fill that position. Syracuse offensive line coach is set to take that job in Tempe, per multiple reports (from FootballScoop and 247Sports). He’s set to be the second assistant coach to leave the Orange this offseason.

Arizona State needed a new offensive line coach after Dave Christensen retired after the 2020 season. The Sun Devils initially hired Klayton Adams from the Indianapolis Colts, but Adams backed out of the job after reportedly taking more money to stay with the Colts. Cavanaugh had reportedly interviewed for the position prior to the initial hire of Adams.

While Cavanaugh’s initial campaign with Syracuse saw a successful offensive line in 2018, the Orange blocking has regressed since that season. That culminated with blocking numbers that graded in the bottom half of the ACC in 2020 according to Pro Football Focus. Cavanaugh did help coach three Orange offensive linemen to sign with an NFL roster during his time in the Salt City.

The Syracuse Orange now search for another new assistant coach after Justin Lustig left the program to join former SU assistant Clark Lea at Vanderbilt. Dino Babers filled that vacancy with the hiring of Terrence Samuel. He’ll need another new assistant to fill in Cavanaugh’s position.