Fran Brown done at Georgia, will not coach Orange Bowl

Fran Brown was officially introduced as the Syracuse head coach Monday morning, and with it, his time at Georgia has come to a close. Asked whether he intends to stay on staff in Athens and help the Bulldogs with their prep for the Orange Bowl against Florida State, Brown said he’s all in with Syracuse.

“I told them last night, I told my wife that right after we got done with the SEC Championship – which just sucks – after we got done with that, I was like, ‘I’m the head coach at Syracuse.’ I won’t go back. I’m here to support my guys and do everything possible. I hope they still give me my check because I did help make the game, but I’m completely here,” Brown said during his introductory press conference. “I’m locked in here, I’m recruiting, we’re trying to have official visitors coming up this weekend, we’re full tilt.”

Brown spent two seasons on the staff at Georgia coaching defensive backs alongside Will Muschamp. Brown worked primarily with the cornerbacks while Muschamp was with the safeties. During his two years in Athens, the Bulldogs went 27-1, winning the 2022 national championship with a perfect record and going undefeated in the 2023 regular season before falling in the conference championship. Georgia’s pass defense finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the SEC for yards per game allowed while the Bulldogs were tied for an SEC-high number of interceptions.

“You asked about my relationship with those guys and how it was leaving, it was tough, it was hard, I really grew my relationship with Muschamp,” Brown said. “I grew a good relationship with Muschamp, Glenn Schumann was the guy that made the call and we had a running joke, when we would walk by, I’d be like, ‘I’m glad you made that call. I was losing at this other school and I got to come here and win a championship.'”

“Kirby Smart, he’s just one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around. He taught me so much in two years,” he added. “When I first got there, I tried to sit as far away from him as possible, and he said, ‘No Fran, you told me you were going to get the best players, and I told you I was going to help you become a head coach. Sit right here buddy.’ So I literally sat right next to him for two straight years. I’ve got a section in here that says Smart Notes, it is battered and beaten and really good. His wife is an amazing lady, Miss Mary Beth, she did an amazing job with my wife showing here stuff. His son little Andrew and the twins. That relationship and relationships with all the other guys on the staff, I’ll always keep them because it was genuine. There’s some relationships where it wasn’t real, but it’s always hard to leave, but when you’re leaving for better, to better yourself, it becomes simple.”

Brown is a New Jersey native and has proven to be a force on the recruiting trail in that region of the county. In his first and only full recruiting cycle with the program, Brown has helped Georgia land a commitment from the nation’s No. 1 cornerback in Ellis Robinson, a five-star prospect. He also played a key role in UGA getting pledges from New Jersey standouts Nyier Daniels (offensive tackle) and Jordan Thomas (defensive tackle) as well as four-star defensive backs Demello Jones (Swainsboro; Swainsboro, Ga.) and Ondre Evans (Christ Presbyterian Academy; Nashville, Tenn.). He also helped get a pair of Bulldog defensive backs drafted in 2023 as Kelee Ringo went in the fourth round to the Philadelphia Eagles and Christopher Smith went in the fifth to the Las Vegas Raiders.

“He’s an incredible person, human being, beautiful family. Nobody is more upset than my 11-year-old son who one of his best friends was Braden. When he first came down, they got to be buddies. Now they spent a year, two years together,” Smart said while addressing the topic of Brown on Sunday during a Zoom press conference to kickoff festivities for the Orange Bowl. “Fran is just an incredible person. Anybody that met Fran knows the impact he has on people. He has great relationship strengths. He’ll be awesome for Syracuse. They’re getting a great recruiter, leader. He’s going to do a great job. He knows everybody in the Northeast. Better watch out up there because he knows everybody in Philly.”

Brown, prior to coaching for the Bulldogs, spent time in the northeast both at Temple (2011-2016, 2019) and Rutgers (2020-21). He was also on staff at Baylor (2017-2018) and played collegiately at Western Carolina where he was an All-SoCon selection and team captain. Brown was on the roster on the Cincinnati Bengals during both the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Brown takes over a Syracuse program that went 6-6 in 2023 and will play South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl. Nunzio Campanile, who won the final game of the season over Wake Forest to make the bowl, will act as the interim head coach.