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Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile was named interim head coach Sunday after the Syracuse Orange fired Dino Babers earlier in the day. Campanile will oversee the team's season finale against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons this Saturday. SU said a search for Babers' successor is underway.
But who exactly is Nunzio Campanile, and what should we expect of him? Let's take a deeper dive into the coach and discuss what we should expect going forward out of the Syracuse Orange.
Who is Nunzio Campanile?
Nunzio Campanile is a young and emerging coach in college football. He began coaching at the collegiate level in 2018 as the running backs coach for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. In 2019, the Fair Lawn, New Jersey native was elevated to offensive coordinator and eventually became their interim coach for the final eight games of the season on top of being the tight ends coach.
For the 2020 season, he returned to being only the TE coach until last season, where he became the interim offensive coordinator. Before the 2023 season started, Campanile signed to be the tight ends coach for the Syracuse Orange before now becoming the interim coach. In his career, he is 1-7 as a coach during his interim status.
What should we expect out of the Syracuse Orange in their final game?
The Syracuse Orange fell to a 5-6 record after Saturday's 31-22 defeat to Georgia Tech before parting ways with Dino Babers the next day. Creating a new program with Nunzio Campanile, 46, should be something to look forward to.
However, in this single game to wrap up the regular season, they are facing off against a Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-7) team that has been even worse than Syracuse this season.
The team could feel reinvigorated with a new head coach at the helm, as we have seen countless times throughout the history of football. The Orange should be able to control this game and prove that they are not pushovers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the loser will end with a conference-worst record.
Expect to see Campanile coach the team up and not leave too much on the field, as he is coaching for a potential head coaching position. If things go right, he may just get the interim tag removed after the game.
