Syracuse football hiring Bowling Green’s Bob Ligashesky as special teams coordinator, per report

Monday was another busy day for the Syracuse Orange football team in terms of staffing moves. On the heels of the news that wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel was headed to Kansas, Yahoo’s Pete Thamel also reports that Dino Babers will bring on Bowling Green’s Bob Ligashesky as its new special teams coach.

Ligashesky’s current role at Bowling Green makes for some obvious tie-ins with Babers’s own previous employment with the Falcons, but this is far more than that. His Bowling Green special teams unit was ranked 53rd in SP+ this year — a marked improvement from an Orange group that struggled throughout the fall.

Prior to Bowling Green, Ligashesky was ran special teams from 2016 to 2020 with Illinois, where he had two top-40 squads by special teams SP+ rating: No. 7 in 2019 and No. 34 in 2017. He also had a group ranked 128th in 2018, but that seems like an outlier based on the other results.

Ligashesky has also worked with the Houston Texans (2013-15), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012), Oakland Raiders (2011), Denver Broncos (2010), Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-09), St. Louis Rams (2005-06) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2004) at the NFL level. Before that, he was also at Pitt, Bowling Green, Kent State, Arizona State and Wake Forest at the college level.

While not a recruiting-focused hire, Ligashesky has clearly gathered plenty of experience as a special teams coach over the years, and also has spent time coaching safeties and tight ends (hey, we have those?) of late as well.

Welcome aboard to Coach Ligashesky. And looking forward to seeing some improved special teams play (hopefully) next fall.

Update: Syracuse has since announced the hire of Ligashesky as the team’s new special teams coordinator.