Syracuse hires offensive coordinator, QB coach from Virginia

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse coach Dino Babers has added a pair of former Virginia coaches to his staff, hiring Robert Anae as offensive coordinator and Jason Beck as quarterbacks coach.

Both served in those positions for the Cavaliers for six years under coach Bronco Mendenhall, who suddenly resigned four weeks ago.

Anae also spent nine years in two stints as offensive coordinator at BYU, his alma mater. He replaces offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert, who was fired in November after two seasons with the Orange.

“Coach Anae has proven to lead a number of successful offenses in his career, including in the ACC,” Babers said in a statement Thursday. “We’re excited to welcome him and his family to Syracuse and look forward to him getting started with our team.”

Anae and Beck, also a BYU alum, enjoyed considerable success together in their tenure at Virginia with quarterbacks Kurt Benkert, Bryce Perkins and Brennan Armstrong. They are the only quarterbacks in program history to throw for 20 or more touchdowns in multiple seasons — Armstrong in 2020-21, Perkins in 2018-19, and Benkert in 2016-17.

With Armstrong at the helm this past season, the Cavaliers finished third in total offense among 130 FBS schools with an average of 515.8 yards. Armstrong passed for 4,449 yards in 11 games, an average of 404.4, accumulated 4,700 total yards, and threw 31 touchdown passes, all program records.

Syracuse finished 5-7 with dual-threat quarterback Garrett Shrader under center for the final eight games. The Orange focused more on the run game, averaging 213.5 yards behind tailback Sean Tucker (1,496) and Shrader (781). Shrader was 123 for 234 for 1,445 yards and nine TDs with four interceptions and averaged just 120.4 yards passing.

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