After demoting Elijah Robinson from the defensive coordinator position earlier this week, the Syracuse University football team has hired Vince Kehres as its new defensive coordinator.

He had been serving as the defensive coordinator at Toledo and is the former head coach at Division III power Mount Union.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel on social media:

Sources: Syracuse is hiring Toledo DC Vince Kehres as the school’s new DC. He’s a two-time national championship winning head coach at Division III Mount Union.

Toledo ranked No. 3 nationally in total defense this year and No. 4 in scoring defense. Kehres both consistently produced high-end defenses at Toledo and also helped recruit and develop players for the NFL, including Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Alexander.

An interesting point to note

While it doesn't necessarily mean anything, Toledo head coach Jason Candle just left to take the head coaching job at Connecticut and Kehres didn't go with him, nor did he stick around at Toledo and try to get the head job there.

About Kehres

He spent six years at Toledo as the defensive coordinator and linebacker's coach. He had been at Mount Union for 21 years prior to Toledo, including seven as the head coach. He won the national title in 2015 and 2017, and he made seven D-III NCAA Tournament apparances.

He is a graduate of Mount Union who won national championships in both 1996 and '97.

About Syracuse in 2025

The Orange are coming off a horrific 3-9 season that went sideways when quarterback Steve Angeli was hurt in the fourth game of the season. Syracuse lost eight consecutive games to end the season.

The offensive woes that followed put both the defense and special teams units in a bind, and Syracuse's defense allowed 34.9 ppg, the seventh-worst in the nation.

Despite those struggles, Robinson helped lead the Syracuse defense to a solid 2024 that saw them win 10 total games. He's now the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, though it's unclear if he'll remain in the fold.

Also on campus

The Orange women's basketball team moved to 7-1 on Wednesday by beating Auburn in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Dominique Darius led the way with 20 points while Uche Izoje had 16 and Laila Phelia had 14. 

They'll open up ACC play on Sunday afternoon at SMU (3:00 p.m. ET).

The Orange men's basketball team is now 5-3 after beating No. 13 Tennessee on Tuesday night, and they'll be off until Dec. 11 when they play against St. Joseph's at the JMA Wireless Dome. We'll have on-site coverage of that game.

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