Getting blown-out by Boston College is hazardous to one’s career.
Adding to the list of surprisingly unsurprising firings on Sunday in the ACC, Syracuse announced that defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brian Ward has been let go from his position after a 58-27 loss to the Eagles over the weekend.
“I want to thank Coach Ward for everything he’s done for Syracuse University and this football team,” head coach Dino Babers announced in a statement. “However I felt a change needed to be made at this time to give us the best opportunity for success moving forward. Coach Stanard is an experienced defensive coach. He’s been here for three years now and understands the culture of our program. I’m confident in his ability to lead that side of the ball.”
Former Nebraska defensive end and the Orange’s current line coach Steve Stanard will take over play-calling duties for the defense the rest of the season.
Syracuse currently ranks 92nd nationally in scoring defense, giving up just over 30 points per game in 2019. That’s not too far off from where the team was last season (27 ppg allowed) but the team’s record is obviously a far cry from what it was as they’ve slumped to 3-6 overall and remain winless in conference play.
It couldn’t have been easy for Babers to let Ward go as the two have been together since their Western Illinois days but the slippage on the field and the loss column was just too hard to ignore after the latest result for the team.