Syracuse has yet to formally announce the coaching staff that will work under the newly-hired Dino Babers. But several of his former Bowling Green assistants have been on the recruiting trail since yesterday, and others have changed their Twitter bios to reflect their new positions with the Orange. Other coaching hires will likely be named in the coming days and weeks.

Sean Lewis — co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach

Lewis spent the last four years as an assistant to Babers at Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois before that. He was a quarterback at Wisconsin in 2004 before switching to tight end the three years after that. In 2010, he served as the tight ends coach at Nebraska Omaha.

Brian Ward — defensive coordinator

Ward will coach Bowling Green as the interim head coach through its bowl game on Dec. 23. He is in his first year with the Falcons and has coached at Western Illinois, where he turned one of the worst FCS defenses into one of the best in the Missouri Valley Football Conference before joining Babers’ staff.

Mike Lynch — co-offensive coordinator, offensive line and running backs

Lynch has been on the recruiting trail since Monday. He has worked with Babers for the past four seasons, including two season at Eastern Illinois, where he was a longtime assistant. Before that, he coached at Utah State from 2000-2004.

Kim McCloud — wide receivers and assistant head coach

McCloud was formerly a defensive coordinator for Babers, but was promoted to assistant head coach. The two worked together at Baylor, before Babers went to EIU. McCloud played in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers in 1991.

Nick Monroe — secondary

Monroe has been an assistant at Bowling Green for the past six seasons, but will leave that job to be an assistant with the Orange. He has been contacting recruits on behalf of Syracuse. He played college football at St. Cloud State for four years and was a cornerback.

Tom Kaufman — special teams and defensive line

Kaufman worked for Babers at Eastern Illinois and followed him to BGSU. He worked with linebackers for three seasons before moving to the defensive line this past season. From 2009-11, Kaufman spent time at Mississippi State, Kansas and Texas as either a quality control coach or graduate assistant.

Published on December 8, 2015 at 10:34 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3