Before Rich Rodriguez and his prolific offense made its way to the Old Pueblo, and before Ka’Deem Carey and Nick Foles broke nearly every team record in passing and rushing, Arizona’s offensive record book belonged to Dino Babers.
Babers spent 1995-2000 as a UA assistant before embarking on a coaching odyssey that’s taken him to Texas A&M, Pitt, UCLA, Baylor and, finally, head coaching stints at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse.
“I thought we did some really nice things out in Arizona,” Syracuse’s first-year coach said last week in a phone interview with the Arizona Daily Star. “I know offensively we had every offensive record in the Pac-10 record books until (USC’s) Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, LenDale White and all those guys came along and broke all of them.”
Babers served as the UA’s receivers coach from 1995-97 before he was promoted to offensive coordinator in the 1998 season.
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The Wildcats then posted the best season in program history, finishing 12-1 and winning the Holiday Bowl. The Desert Swarm defense was the headliner, but the Babers-led offense was prolific in its own right.
Arizona’s 1998 offense was the first in program history to exceed 5,000 yards in a season. The Wildcats set records in touchdowns scored (56) and total yards per game (444.9). Babers one-upped the yardage mark in 1999, when the Wildcats averaged 471.9 yards per game, third-best in the nation.
Trung Canidate rushed for 2,822 yards and 22 touchdowns in Babers’ two seasons as offensive coordinator and became a first-round NFL pick. In 1999, Dennis Northcutt posted the best receiving season in school history — 88 catches, 1,422 yards, eight touchdowns — and became a second-round pick. Tight end Brandon Manumaleuna turned his time at Arizona into a decade-long NFL career.
“You can always tell what coaches are going to keep going forward and which coaches are kinda just gonna stay there and be an assistant,” Manumaleuna said. “Just to see him move up the ranks is cool.”
Babers was let go when Dick Tomey resigned under pressure following the 2000 season. It took 12 years — and four stops — for Babers to get his first head coaching job. He was hired at Eastern Illinois in 2012.
The Panthers made it to the FCS playoffs in both of Babers’ seasons and went 12-2 in 2013 before Babers was hired by Bowling Green. Babers had a successful two-year run there, posting an 18-9 record. He was hired by Syracuse last December after Bowling Green finished 10-3 and played in the GoDaddy Bowl.
Babers has been something of a sensation. He was a star at last week’s ACC’s Media Day, comparing life in the cold weather at Syracuse to that of TV character Jon Snow in “Game of Thrones.”
Babers said he still remembers Arizona — and the heat — fondly.
“I loved it, you kidding me?” Babers said. “You know what, now I’m at Syracuse, but I love the heat, I love it. I’d roll around with my windows up I loved it so much.
“And how could you not love coaching for coach Tomey? And with the character of those players? I really enjoyed Tucson.”
