Fran Brown introduced as Syracuse football coach
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — He was a ninth grader in Camden, N.J., and had never seen a college football game in person.
Fran Brown’s first college game on Aug. 24, 1997, however, left an indelible impression as 17th-ranked Syracuse defeated Wisconsin 34-0 in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.
The Orange defense, which included fellow Camden native and soon-to-be NFL defensive back Donovin Darius, held future Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne to a career-low 46 yards on 13 attempts.
More than 26 years later, Brown was formally introduced Monday as the 31st coach of the very same program that impressed him so much on that late-August day.
“Why Syracuse? Got to meet (Syracuse quarterback) Donovan McNabb and that is my vision of Syracuse. We are going to bust our butt to get back to that way," Brown said. “Now I get a chance to mimic that. Growing up, it was Syracuse, Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech. They were all winning. Now I get a chance to bring it back to where it was.”
He also laughed at people asking why he’d want to coach at Syracuse.
“Do you see how much this man is paying me?” Brown said, looking at athletic director John Wildhack, a reference to growing up in Camden with few material possessions.
Former Orange basketball coach Jim Boeheim, and Syracuse staff, faculty, coaches, alumni and former players packed the team’s football auditorium to meet the coach succeeding Dino Babers, who was fired with one game remaining in his eighth season at the school.
The 41-year-old Brown, who spent the past two years with Georgia as defensive backs coach, has never been a head coach, but Wildhack said Brown helped build the Rutgers program, was a large part of Georgia’s success, and has done game-planning along the way.
It’s Brown’s reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, however, that has Orange Nation most excited.
“He’s a dynamic recruiter with strong ties to the northeast and DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia) region and other areas of the country,” Wildhack said.
Brown helped the Bulldogs hold the No. 1 spot in 247Sports’ 2024 recruiting rankings and he was named a Top 10 recruiter by 247Sports at Baylor.
Brown’s ability to attract top players — and coaches — seemed to be already paying dividends.
Brown announced that Texas A&M interim coach Elijah Robinson will become Syracuse’s defensive coordinator. Robinson had been with the Texas A&M since 2018 and coached the defensive line all six seasons with the Aggies. In 2022, he was promoted to also be assistant head coach and run game coordinator. Texas A&M was No. 9 in the FBS in total defense this season.
Robinson and Brown worked together at Temple and Baylor, and both are from Camden.
“You guys should be clapping about that,” Brown said. “He was expensive, but we’re all in … This guy can recruit.”
Also, four-star edge rusher KingJoseph Edwards from Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Ga., has scheduled an official visit to Syracuse. One recruiting service has already predicted a commitment to the Orange. Call it the Brown effect.
While he’ll recruit Florida and other areas, Brown said he plans to start in Syracuse’s northeast “backyard,” hoping to achieve the success of former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni and offensive coordinator George DeLeone. Brown said he wanted to “bring that era back.”
Brown will not be returning to Georgia to coach in the Orange Bowl. Rather, he will hit the recruiting trail and observe Syracuse practices as the team prepares for the Boca Raton Bowl against South Florida. Syracuse interim coach Nunzio Campanile will coach the bowl game.
Brown said he would be at Syracuse “for life,” win national championships, and added he saw similarities between Syracuse and his hometown, which added to the attraction.
“This is the neighborhood I need to be in. This is the neighborhood I can make a change … where I’m from, it’s just like this,” Brown said, adding, “we’re going to make this community the best community in the world.”
As far as the team on the field is concerned, Brown said there’ll be a focus on running the ball and stopping the run.
“We’ll run whatever they can’t stop,” he said.
Before joining coach Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia, Brown spent most of his career in the northeast at Temple and Rutgers. He also spent two years at Baylor working for current Nebraska coach Matt Rhule.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
