College football: Syracuse promotes Beck to offensive coordinator after Anae, White depart
Dec. 9—Jason Beck was confirmed as the new Syracuse University football offensive coordinator Friday afternoon after coaching staff shuffling extended into the late hours Thursday night.
Robert Anae left his post as SU offensive coordinator to accept the same position at North Carolina State, as first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel, who broke news earlier Thursday that SU defensive coordinator Tony White was leaving for Nebraska.
Beck has officially been elevated from SU quarterbacks coach to the 'OC,' role vacated by his mentor.
Anae and Beck were hired by SU head coach Dino Babers last offseason after six year together at Virginia and three prior seasons as the coordinator-QB coach tandem at BYU.
"My family and I have enjoyed our time at Syracuse and I'm thankful for this opportunity from coach Babers," Beck said in a statement released by the team. "I appreciate the years I was able to spend with coach Anae and how he helped prepare me for this opportunity. I'm excited to get to work."
Syracuse (7-5 overall, 4-4 ACC) will face Minnesota (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) in the 12th annual Pinstripe Bowl at 2 p.m. on Dec. 29 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
There was no indication as to who will guide the defense for the upcoming bowl game as of Friday afternoon.
The Orange finished 89th in total offense and 67th in scoring offense but ranked as a top-30 scoring unit during the team's first 6-0 start in 35 years.
Under Beck's tutelage, SU quarterback Garrett Shrader averaged 210 passing yards per game and completed 65 percent of his passes, improvements from 120 on average at a 53 percent clip last season. SU's pass efficiency rating rose from No. 108 to 31st in the FBS this year.
Syracuse improved to the No. 76 passing offense after ranking as a bottom-10 unit among the 131 FBS programs last year before the arrival of Anae and Beck.
The 42-year-old Beck last served as offensive coordinator in 2012 for NCAA Division II Simon Fraser before joining Anae at BYU the following season. He has served as Anae's QBs coach for the past decade.
Over that 10-year span, Beck's quarterbacks have averaged 3,300 passing yards and 509 rushing yards per year.
"We're excited to have Jason as our new offensive coordinator," Babers expressed in a released statement. "In his time here, he's already shown that he's capable of leading our offense, as well as recruiting and developing players at Syracuse."
The pair of SU coordinator exits came days after the team received a commitment to return for 2023 from Shrader and amid other looming decisions from key players.
Most notably, NFL prospects such as running back Sean Tucker, offensive tackle Matthew Bergeron, and linebacker Mikel Jones had yet to indicate their plans for next year or the upcoming bowl as of Friday afternoon.
Several players reacted with shock and disappointment on social media amid word of the coaches leaving Thursday night, including expected returning defensive standouts like cornerback Darian 'Duce,' Chestnut, linebacker Marlowe Wax, and defensive lineman Caleb Okechukwu.
Beck played QB at BYU, mostly in a backup role, and joined his alma mater as an offensive intern in 2007, moving into the same position at LSU under Les Miles the next year. He then spent three seasons as QBs coach for Weber State before his one-year stint as 'OC,' at Simon Fraser.
Beck took that program from last to first in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference rankings for passing offense, scoring offense, and total offense in his year at the helm before pairing up with Anae back at BYU.
