Dino Babers fired: Why was the Syracuse HC dismissed? Predicting potential reasons behind the move

The end for Dino Babers as Syracuse Orange coach came after the humiliating 31-22 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Week 12 of college football action to make it a woeful 5-6 season.

ESPN analyst Pete Thamel revealed Sunday that Syracuse had chosen to part ways with Babers, who had coached the school's football program for over seven years.

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Why was Dino Babers fired?

Dino Babers has been on the hot seat for a while now, and as the season slid into disaster, the heat was turned up on the Orange coach. The team lost six of Baber's last seven games and looked hapless every weekend. This season's alarming form mirrored the one from last season and compounded the coach's troubles.

Saturday's loss to Georgia Tech likely tipped the balance against Babers and caused his firing as the Orange fell to 1-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season.

The Babers era was not going anywhere fast, and needing a win against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to secure bowl eligibility would have been scant consolation for the Orange fans, highlighting another major reason why Babers was sacked.

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The Dino Babers era at Syracuse

Dino Babers joined the Syracuse Orange in 2016 after a promising season with Bowling Green, where he won the MAC (Mid-American Conference) title.

He had plenty of goodwill in the bank after leading the Orange to a 10-3 season in 2018, a bowl win against the West Virginia Mountaineers, and after they almost upset the then No. 1 Clemson, his project was deemed to be promising.

In October, he explained why the Orange job was so difficult due to the school's propensity to lose players to the wealthier teams via the transfer portal. The Orange lost 12 high-profile players to the portal.

“It’s the same old thing: Depth is gone,” Babers said. “Our depth is in the transfer portal. You know how many guys we lost. You know what schools they play at. Schools like us, we’re not going to have a lot of depth because it gets bought away.

“Last year’s game (against Florida State) showed me exactly what name, image and likeness can do. Because the year before that, we went down there, and they kicked for a field goal in the very last play to beat us.”

He leaves the Syracuse Orange with a 20-45 ACC and 41-55 overall record, explaining the apathy his tenure has inspired among the Orange faithful.