Syracuse hiring Fran Brown as next head football coach
Syracuse is hiring Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown as its next head football coach.
“I am incredibly proud to be leading Syracuse Football at a university with a rich and storied tradition of academic and athletic excellence,” Brown said in a release. “Syracuse Football has outstanding talent, great facilities and passionate alumni."
Brown will be officially introduced as head football coach at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 4, at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex.
Brown, who has had stops at Temple, Baylor and Rutgers, is widely considered one of the best recruiters in college football. He has not, however, ever held a head coaching position.
Georgia currently has the No. 1 rated recruiting class in the 2024 cycle according to Rivals. They finished No. 2 behind Alabama in 2023.
"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 said. "My immediate area of focus is building relationships with my current players and putting together an elite staff, while also having fun on the recruiting trail. I’m ready to get to work and look forward to building something special for our fans.”
Brown replaces the outgoing Dino Babers, who was dismissed on Nov. 19 following Syracuse's loss to Georgia Tech.
Babers finished with an uneven 41-55 at Syracuse, including just 20-45 in ACC play. While the Orange went 10-3 in 2018, just two seasons later, SU fell to 1-10.
Syracuse made just two postseason appearances in his eight year tenure.
Various names have come up during SU's coaching search, including former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney and Toledo coach Jason Candle.
“Fran is an outstanding coach, recruiter and person, and exactly who we need to take Syracuse Football to the next level,” Syracuse athletics director John Wildhack said. “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.”
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