Fran Brown describes his transition from Georgia to Syracuse

Syracuse hired Fran Brown to be its next head coach on Nov. 28. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind. During Syracuse’s matchup against USF in the Boca Raton Bowl, Brown pulled back the curtain on his wild past few weeks.

“Everything’s moving. Everything’s fast,” Brown told ESPN from the sidelines. “Getting a chance to wrap things up down there in Georgia and then being able to come here and take over the team, it’s been fun. The fans of Syracuse and alumni and all of them, they’ve really embraced me. They make it pretty simple and easy to understand for my staff.”

Brown spent two seasons with Georgia, serving as the prestigious program’s defensive backs coach. While with the Bulldogs, Brown never suffered a loss. While the program’s success stole the spotlight, Brown produced no shortage of individual talent, including NFL defensive backs Kelee Ringo and Christopher Smith.

In the 2023 campaign, Georgia ranked No. 12 in pass defense, allowing just 176.5 yards per game through the air while pulling down 12 interceptions — both of these figures led the SEC. Brown intends to use what he learned while at Georgia to push Syracuse into a new era.

“We’re going to compete at everything we do,” Brown said. “Compete on the football field. Our guys are going to compete in the classroom. I just went and got a bunch of competitive kids that want to come to school, they want to play and they want to win championships. We’ve got guys that I know are winning. I’ve watched a lot of these guys win since little league football.”

Fran Brown has high hopes for Syracuse

Syracuse’s hire has already paid dividends. Syracuse signed 16 recruits, including two four-star prospects. Additionally, the Orange are ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3 Industry Rankings.

Since December, the program has added former Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord and former Georgia wide receiver Yazeed Haynes. Brown has a vision for his program and is excited to take fans along for the ride.

“We’re going to be detailed, accountable, relentless and tough,” Brown said. “If you’re a fan, we’re going to ask you the same thing we ask the players: are you committed? Do you care? Can we trust you? Because there are gonna be ups and there’s gonna be downs, but understand and know that we’re here to compete. We’re going to have some fun.”