5 Dino Babers replacements who can put Syracuse football back on the map

3. Curt Cignetti could get his first Power Five opportunity with Syracuse

If his alma mater of West Virginia opened up, I would guess that James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti could be in line to lead the Mountaineers. However, with Neal Brown having won seven games this season and another likely one coming up vs. a bad Baylor Bears team, WVU is probably not making a move. Cignetti has made the entire college football world care about JMU in the meantime.

While James Madison is Cignetti's third job as a college football head coach after having achieved great success at IUP and Elon previously, it may be a Power Five gig he covets. Cignetti turns 63 years old in June, so it may be now or never for him. As far as having Power Five or ACC coaching experience is concerned, Cignetti has worked at places like Alabama, NC State and Pitt previously.

JMU may be a different kind of job than the one Cignetti could theoretically take over at SU. However, I think Syracuse could be a great transfer portal destination for players who want to play and get better at the Power Five level while he figures out his new recruiting strategy. Being a dominant head coach in the state of Virginia could mean Cignetti might be able to exploit the Tidewater region a bit.

If we are looking for a program-altering head coach at Syracuse, it may be hard to top Cignetti here.