Dino Babers stepped back from the podium where his hands rested, his left now in his pocket and his right motioning to the mass before him.

“Close your eyes for me,” he said. “Stay with me.”

A sharp cutoff met almost each phrase that followed. A tone gaining edge pierced the silent room, with clicks of cameras replacing the pounding of keyboards and sporadic laughter as the only audible noise. Brief downward thrusts of Babers’ right hand gave emphasis to every part of the picture he painted.

A packed Carrier Dome. Deafening noise. A no-huddle offense. Electric feeling.

“Open your eyes,” Babers said. “That’s going to be a reality.

“That’s going to be Syracuse football.”

In front of a packed auditorium on Monday morning, Babers spoke publicly for the first time as Syracuse’s head coach. He’s the fifth in the past 24 years, a 54-year-old tasked with providing stability to a team that’s lacked it. He brings an enticing offensive pedigree to a group that’s averaged only 22.25 points per game since 2013, almost 15 less than what Babers’ teams averaged during that span.

And exactly two weeks after the firing of a head coach who opened up his tenure with similar gusto, Babers momentarily injected optimism into Syracuse football.

“Why Syracuse?” Babers asked rhetorically. “Why not Syracuse? … You tell me why not.”

Flanked by former SU running back Floyd Little and Director of Athletics Mark Coyle, Babers looked up at a crowd dotted by family members, current and former players, football staff members, other SU head coaches and even a Carrier Dome concessions worker.

The group broke into laughter when Babers admitted his nerves after accidentally saying “this is not a destination job for me.” They erupted when Babers confessed his love for movies, claiming he’s likely to be in a theatre when the lights go down. They chuckled when he pledged his loyalty to water because he can’t afford the calories of Hawaiian Punch — he was born in Hawaii — or orange juice, a symbol used by Scott Shafer at his introductory press conference.

The event had the feel of a happy-go-lucky meet-and-greet, far from the aura given off by rows of cameras and chunks of significant SU figures.

The tension surrounding SU football was nonexistent when Babers began speaking. Syracuse had found its coach, no longer competing on a market that was dwindling by the day. He was now charming a congregation, some of which will play for him, that is looking for a revival.

“This is going to take an entire Syracuse nation to get this done,” Babers said. “I can’t see any reason why we can’t be at the top of the (Atlantic Coast Conference).”

Babers coached wide receivers under Art Briles at Baylor from 2008-11. For 12 years prior to Babers’ arrival in Waco, Texas and two years into his tenure with the Bears, the team had a losing record. Briles repeatedly told Babers that fans will come, but only if the team wins.

In Babers’ last two years, Baylor slowly ascended, finishing with a 10-3 record in 2011. Even at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, he never began a season with expectations of a division title, he said, but each of the last four seasons resulted in one. Now he’s tasked with pulling Syracuse from similar depths.

“I really believe special things are going to happen here,” Babers said. “I really believe that we’re going to start something that people are going to be talking about for a long, long time.”

Before Babers was hired, Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost was rumored to be the top contender before he took the Central Florida job. Then Chris Ash, the defensive coordinator from defending national champion Ohio State, appeared the favorite, but he reportedly withdrew his name.

The sexy names were gone, but Syracuse snatched a coach who’s guided offenses to astronomical numbers with a foundation based in faith.

He spoke with conviction about giving fans what they deserve. He promised a brand of football faster than anybody has seen on turf — not mincing words to bring life to a team that lost eight straight games before its season-ending win.

“I wanted someone who was innovative and had an exciting brand of football,” Coyle said.

Excitement is what Syracuse lacked after missing the postseason and losing its coach.

And even if it dissipates as football season creeps farther away, Babers brought it back for now.

Published on December 7, 2015 at 10:13 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman