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Fran Brown set to become next head coach at Syracuse

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•11/28/23•

JakeMRowe

Fran Brown
Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown during Georgia’s practice session in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (Tony Walsh/UGAAA)

Georgia has a vacancy on its coaching staff. Based on intel gathered from multiple sources, DawgsHQ expects Fran Brown, the Bulldogs’ defensive backs coach for the past two seasons, to be named the next head coach at Syracuse, confirming an earlier report from DawgsHQ’s Rusty Mansell on Tuesday morning. Syracuse has not yet made an official announcement.

Brown is a New Jersey native and has proven to be a force on the recruiting trail in that region of the county. In the two seasons Brown has spent at UGA, the Bulldogs have gone 27-0 and they currently have the nation’s No. 5 pass defense, allowing just 5.6 yards per attempt. They finished No. 23 in that category a season ago.

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.)

Brown helped a pair of Georgia defensive backs get drafted in 2023. Kelee Ringo went in the fourth round to the Philadelphia Eagles while Christopher Smith went to the Las Vegas Raiders in the fifth round. Kirby Smart was effusive in his praise for Brown when asked about him in spring of 2022.

“He’s very charismatic and you really gotta spend time with Fran to get to know Fran and Fran has done a tremendous job in establishing relationships,” Smart said in March of 2022. “It was very evident when you talk to people who have worked on the staff with him about his charisma. I was very pleased with how hard he works, relationships with the players, he’s relentless in recruiting, the guy communicates so well and pushes so hard, I think he’s going to be a really good coach, I think he’s a rising star in this profession because of the energy he puts into it. He’s very coachable, he does what you ask, and if he doesn’t know what to do he asks, and that’s important. It’s just as important to ask when you don’t know as it is to know. He’s been really good thus far in that area.”

History tells us that there is a strong chance that Brown will remain on staff until Georgia is finished with its College Football Playoff run. Dan Lanning stayed with the team for the Orange Bowl and National Championship when he was hired as Oregon’s head coach in December of 2021. The Bulldogs have what amounts to a play-in game for the field of four this Saturday. They’ll take on Alabama in the SEC Championship game with kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on CBS.

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