Just when you thought the coaching carousel was over, the horses bob up and down one more time in a circle. ESPN College Football analyst Pete Thamel reported yesterday that SU is making another addition to its staff and it’s a big one.
Syracuse has yet to officially announce Campanile’s hire but that could be coming shortly. The former Rutgers coach spent five seasons in New Jersey between the Chris Ash and Greg Schiano regimes. The assistant coached the running backs for a few seasons, then spent a couple more with the tight ends -which he will coach at ‘Cuse – and then actually served as the interim head coach for the Scarlet Knights in 2019. Campanile filled the void of Ash when he was fired four games into the year. The interim finished with a 1-7 record.
This is a huge hire for SU because Campanile is a complete package coach. Yes, he has the experience of coaching his projected position group, but he also figures to be a massive help in recruiting. Syracuse needs that too, especially with the departure of Nick Monroe to Minnesota and the reported departure of Chip Long to Wake Forest.
Campanile coached at Bergen Catholic High School (a NJ powerhouse) for eight seasons. The 22-year coaching veteran led his team to a state championship in 2017. Bergen has produced talent like Javonte Jean-Baptiste (4-star>Ohio State), Jordan Morant (4-star>Michigan), and Tywone Maline (4-star>Ole Miss).
Campanile also spent his first nine years in coaching at Don Bosco Prep which is another talent hotbed for Atlantic coast recruiting. So the Garden State native and coach knows the state and its talent inside and out. If SU’s next tight ends coach can use his connections to steal some NJ talent from the likes of Rutgers and Penn State then the Orange could really start to see some long-term consistency. Perhaps that once every four years bowl game could become an annual thing.
All in all, this is a terrific hire for Syracuse. The Orange get an excellent coach for the sideline or the booth and a stellar recruiter with some invaluable connections in a talent hotbed.
