ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – One of the most decorated coaches of all-time from the region is eyeing a big opportunity.

Horseheads native and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line coach Joe Gilbert is expressing great interest in the Syracuse head football coaching opening. Gilbert, in his fifth season in Tampa Bay, won a Super Bowl in 2021 with the franchise and has a career that’s spanned decades in both college and the NFL.

Sunday, Syracuse Athletics announced they were parting ways with longtime coach Dino Babers who was the leader of the Orange since 2015. Babers and Syracuse dropped a hard loss at Georgia Tech Saturday 31-22, leaving Dino’s all-time record at just (41-55), and with only two winning seasons in his eight years.

Syracuse (5-6) will face Wake Forest this Saturday at 2 pm and with a win, the Orange could be bowl eligible. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile will take over as interim head coach for the rest of the season at Syracuse.

Gilbert, who was born in the same city as Syracuse football legend Ernie Davis from Elmira, has strong roots in the upstate region and connections to recruiting throughout his successful college career. With assistant coaching stops at Illinois, Houston, Arizona, Toledo, UCF and others Gilbert took that experience to the NFL where he landed as an offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts in 2012.

Joe was also the head coach at Mansfield University in 2000, one year after serving as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at The University of Maine for three years.

Gilbert tells NBC Elmira that he would love the opportunity to come back to New York and help take Syracuse back to success. This is developing story, NBC Elmira will have more on this as it develops.