The Syracuse University football program has made meaningful additions over the last few days, hiring defensive coordinator Vince Kehrles of Toledo and offensive line coach Juan Castillo, formerly of Michigan.

Well, on Monday, the other shoe fell, as the Orange are losing an assistant coach.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reports that Orange edge coach Nick Williams is leaving Central New York for the same position at conference rival Florida State.

Sources: Syracuse edges coach Nick Williams has agreed to become the next edges coach at Florida State. He’s been at Syracuse two seasons coaching the edges, including seventh-round pick Fadil Diggs.

About Williams' career

In addition to coaching with the Orange, Williams has coached at Colorado under Deion Sanders, as well as Texas A&M and Georgia. Williams played at Georgia as a safety and a linebacker, while also playing at North Alabama. He also played in the Canadian Football League.

Where Syracuse goes from here

Syracuse can certainly find another edge coach, and the biggest question for the Orange currently centers around the future of Elijah Robinson.

Robinson served as the defensive coordinator for the last two seasons, but was demoted to co-defensive coordinator last week by head coach Fran Brown. He's reportedly being courted by Lane Kiffin for a coaching spot at LSU, and we discussed his situation in this piece.

If Syracuse were to lose him, they'd also be losing their assistant head coach, which could be a notable loss for Brown's staff.

About the Orange in 2025

Syracuse is coming off a dreadful campaign that saw them go 3-9 and lose eight straight games to end the season.

The season spiraled downhill when quarterback Steve Angeli was lost for the year to injury, but with him set to return for 2026, the hope is that Syracuse can improve in a meaningful way in 2026. In addition to some positive coaching hires, the team also just signed Calvin Russell, the No. 2 wide receiver in the entire high school class. He should make a meaningful contribution to the offense.

Also on campus

The Syracuse University women's basketball team opened up Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday with a win against SMU in Dallas, Texas. They are now 8-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play.

The SU men will be back in action on Thursday night when they take on St. Joseph's at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange are 5-3 and haven't played since since Dec. 2.

More Syracuse stories

Syracuse women's hoops wins first ACC game, beating SMU

Syracuse freshman basketball player to redshirt

Fran Brown makes history with SU recruiting class, but it's time to capitalize

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