Item: Hype? What hype? It’s simple. After a roster overhaul of epic proportions, and recruiting talent at a level not seen in the program’s modern recruiting rankings era, Brown, his staff and most importantly the 112 player roster, are finally ready to roll, make noise, and most importantly channel their inner Al Davis (“Just Win Baby!”). The ride begins Saturday afternoon in the impressively renovated Dome against Ohio University (3:30 p.m. ET / ACC Network).
Sure, there was a lot of excitement heading into the 2001, 2009, and 2016 SU football seasons when, chronologically, Paul Pasqualoni’s fourth-to-last team began play at the N.J. Meadowlands falling to Georgia Tech, Doug Marrone returned to campus and his debut drew a huge loud crowd of 48,617 in an OT loss to Minnesota, and to a lesser extent prior to Dino Babers first game against FCS school Colgate.
But those season openers, with one successful longtime coach and two newcomers to the job, did not produce anywhere near the off-season enthusiasm and hoped-for large crowd (now sitting in actual seats) getting behind Brown as he makes his head coaching debut at age 41 after 13 years learning the craft.
With some prodding from those on hand at his inaugural game-week press conference Monday afternoon at the Lally Athletics Complex, Brown was transparent in short form and did not budge from two of his constant philosophies.
He capsulizes his job (and life) one day at a time, and is outwardly humble, deflecting credit and acknowledging all those surrounding him personally and professionally for their contributions to making him the person (and coach) he is.
“It’s not a lot of pressure when you focus just on today,” Brown explained Monday. “We just live for today. I can’t worry about Saturday. The game is going to come when the game comes. They (the players) have 15 hours of class this week that they’ve got to make sure they dominate. We’ve got practice during the day. There’s a lot that leads up to (the game). It’s a process, a process you have to follow to give you the best chance to come out on top.”
For Brown, the learning curve for that process came at the sport’s highest level with national championships at Georgia. It’s a model he’s following while adding his own personal touches including the program’s signature D.A.R.T. (Detail, Accountable, Relentless, Tough) mantra, and it’s a model that has prepared him for that start of his head coaching career.
“I’m still growing daily, but there’s a lot I have to get better at,” Brown said when asked about his coaching journey to this point and setting the tone for this week.
“I like to be around a room full of happy winners,” was Brown’s succinct way of stating exactly the environment he has established. “I’m having fun. I’m making sure the players around us are having fun, and that he coaches have fun. If everybody could come in here everyday and be happy when they’re here, then you’re going to maximize every person’s (contribution) to (success).”
Now Orange Nation wants to begin having fun in the refurbished Dome, and the patrons will also be channeling their own inner Al Davis and the Syracuse grad’s famous line about the bottom line in football - winning.
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