Continuing my coach debate series, we head to the ACC where two coaches with up-and-down tenures at their schools face off: Boston College’s Jeff Hafley and Syracuse’s Dino Babers.
The case for Hafley:
Boston College is one of the tougher jobs in the Power 5 to begin with, and Hafley has been dealt an incredibly tough hand. His first season was the pandemic year of 2020, taking over for Steve Adazzio, and he did an admirable job finishing over .500 and then winning six games again in 2021 despite a lot of offensive woes. Hafley’s calling card is his defense, and he’s been able to put together some really good units, especially against the pass, as both a DC and as head coach.
The case against Hafley:
2022 was a disaster, and while injuries (especially along the offensive line) can be blamed for some of it, there were still serious issues with the offense at large. They finished in the bottom ten nationally in total offense and dead last in rushing. In 2023, without multi-year starter Phil Jurkovec, the Eagles need to find a way to get some semblance of an offense.
The case for Babers:
When things are clicking for Babers, their offense is a sight to behold, moving up and down the dome with ease. He’s done a good job at making it work at one of the toughest schools to recruit to in the entirety of the Power 5, finding diamonds in the rough like Sean Tucker and turning them into all-ACC players.
The case against Babers:
Outside of the miraculous 2018 season, the Orange under Babers are 26-46 with a 12-37 in-conference record. His teams routinely finish at the bottom of all the recruiting rankings, and now in the transfer portal era, they’re losing top talent more and more easily, just like star defensive back Duce Chestnut. Yes, it’s tough to recruit to Syracuse, but there is zero juice on the trail for the Orange.
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The verdict:
At the end of the day, I think that Hafley has the higher floor as both a recruiter and overall coach, so he’s my call. It’s a tough choice because both coaches are at programs that do not have as many built-in advantages as the teams they’re competing against, but Hafley’s defensive acumen and upside as a recruiter give him the edge.
