Syracuse has found its man to lead its football team, and his name is Fran Brown.
Brown has spent the last two seasons in Georgia as the Bulldogs defensive backs coach. Before that, the New Jersey native was the secondary coach at Rutgers and also spent time at Temple and Baylor.
Now Brown becomes the Orange’s 31st head coach in program history.
“I am incredibly proud to be leading Syracuse Football at a university with a rich and storied tradition of academic and athletic excellence,” said Brown on Tuesday. “Syracuse Football has outstanding talent, great facilities and passionate alumni. The success of the players is my No. 1 priority—on and off the field. I want my guys to succeed in life, because they played football at Syracuse.”
Brown is not only a great coach but he’s also recognized as a great recruiter. 247Sports ranked him as the no. 1 recruiter in the nation for the 2024 class. The Camden, NJ native has deep ties in the tri-state region, and that’s something he’ll need to rely on in order to bring talent up to northern New York.
“Fran is an outstanding coach, recruiter and person, and exactly who we need to take Syracuse Football to the next level,” said Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “Fran has clearly articulated a vision for the future of our football program, and he is a powerhouse recruiter with deep ties to the geographies from where we need to draw consistently. Fran has had tremendous success recruiting to a variety of programs—in the South, Southwest and Northeast, and I have no doubt he will bring that track record here to Syracuse. I am looking forward to welcoming Fran and his family to the Orange community. The future is bright for our football program.”
During Brown’s time at Georgia, the Bulldogs fielded one of the best defenses in the nation and produced two first-team All-Americans.
His head coach, Kirby Smart, praised Brown’s talents.
“Fran is excellent,” said Smart. “No ego, he’s trustworthy, smart and he’s worked really hard during his two seasons here to earn an opportunity like this. He has built great relationships in our building, our players love him and we couldn’t be more excited for him, Teara and their family.”
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano echoed Smart’s praise for Brown.
“I am proud of Fran and thrilled for him to have this opportunity,” said Schiano. “Syracuse University is getting both a dynamic coach and a great addition to their community. I’m elated for Fran and his whole family.”
Fran Brown takes over for Dino Babers, who went 41-55 in eight seasons at the helm for Syracuse.
