Georgia DB coaching search comes to close with Dawgs hiring Fran Brown

Georgia’s search for its last assistant coaching opening is finally over. According to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, Rutgers secondary coach Fran Brown has accepted the open spot on staff. DawgsHQ has independently confirmed the information that Brown will lead the cornerbacks while co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is expected to work with the safeties. Together they’ll fill the position vacated by Jahmile Addae when he left for the defensive backs job at Miami earlier this offseason.

Brown spent the last two seasons on staff under Greg Schiano at Rutgers, coaching defensive backs in his home state of New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights gained 19 turnovers in his first year with them in 2020, including eight interceptions, picking off a pass in each of the last four games including two against both Maryland and Nebraska. The turnover number was most in a season since 2012 and 10 more than they forced the previous year. Cornerback Tre Avery earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors while safeties Christian Izien and Brendon White and cornerback Avery Young all were honorable mentions. In 2021, the number of turnovers decreased slightly to 17, seven of which were interceptions including a pick-six against Temple in the season-opener. The Scarlet Knights intercepted multiple passes in the win over the Owls along with their win over Indiana.

Speaking of Temple, that’s where Brown was before Rutgers. He spent the 2019 season as the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, helping guide a unit that ranked fourth nationally in red zone defense, 10th in sacks, 11th in defensive touchdowns, 12th in tackles for loss and 13th in fumbles recovered. Five players from the 2019 Owl defense advanced to the NFL, all of which Brown had a hand in either recruiting or coaching while in Philadelphia.

That wasn’t his first stint with the Temple program though having gotten his start in College Football as the director of internal operations there in 2011, working as a graduate assistant there in 2012 before moving into a full-time defensive backs role in 2013. He coached the secondary from 2013 to 2016, adding the title of associate head coach in his final season. Brown helped improve the passing defense during his first couple of seasons. The Owls shaved off over 100 passing yards allowed per game from the 2013 to 2014 seasons, allowing 186.9 yards per game and just nine scores through the air in 2014 as compared to 298.6 yards per game and 24 touchdowns the year before. Cornerback Tavon Young was named All-AAC with four interceptions and a conference-best 153 return yards. Then, in 2015, cornerback Sean Chandler was named a Second-Team All-AAC selection as he recorded four interceptions, including two returned for a touchdown. Young now plays in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens after being selected in the fourth round in 2016 while Chandler is with the Carolina Panthers after a three-season stint with the New York Giants. Brown also coached current Denver Broncos cornerback Nate Hairston, selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Brown made the jump to the Power Five level after his initial run at Temple, joining Matt Rhule at Baylor. He actually interviewed for the head coaching job when Rhule left, later seeing it go to Manny Diaz. Brown served as the Bears’ assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach in 2017 and 2018, helping the program back into a bowl game in 2018. He then interviewed for the Temple job once again, this time seeing Rod Carey hired for the position, before returning to Temple as the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach under Carey.

While his resume is relatively moderate, Brown has built a reputation as quite the recruiter, likely one of the biggest decided factors for Kirby Smart when making this decision. He helped Rutgers haul in their highest ranked signee, On3 Consensus four-star linebacker Moses Walker, as the primary recruiter for him as well as consensus four-stars Anthony Johnson and Samuel Brown. Overall, Brown is listed as the primary recruiter for four of the Scarlet Knights’ top six signees in the Class of 2022.

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