SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Fran Brown, the new head football coach at Syracuse University, says he likes to “speak from the heart and it always comes out real.”
The former Georgia Bulldogs defensive backs coach and Camden, New Jersey native spoke to a packed auditorium inside Syracuse University’s John A. Lally Athletics Complex on Monday morning.
In his role as a first-time head coach, Brown said he’s going to “bust my butt daily. I promise you that.”
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In his remarks, Brown explained why he agreed to become Syracuse’s next head football coach. When he was in 9th grade, he was a part of bus trip that traveled to Giants Stadium for the 1997 Kickoff Classic that involved Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Brown specifically remembered Donovin Darius, another Camden, New Jersey native who played for the Orange in the mid-1990s.
“We [were] all happy to see Donovin. Got a chance to meet Donovan McNabb. Got to meet all these great coaches,” Brown said. “That’s my [vision] of Syracuse. That’s what I saw. That’s what I want.”
Brown says he envisions for the program what it was during the days of former head coach Paul Pasqualoni and assistant coach George DeLeone.
“This is about bringing the tradition of the great football that was here before me and before I got here,” Brown said.
Brown said he called Pasqualoni, seeking his opinion on becoming Syracuse’s next head coach. In that conversation, “Coach P” told him that he hasn’t been part of the program for nearly two decades but did make a recent visit for a football game. Brown says Pasqualoni told him that if Syracuse hired him, he’d have his blessing.
Prior to his current role at the University of Georgia, Brown also spent time at Baylor University, Temple University, and Rutgers University. He played football at Western Carolina University.
Coach Fran’s character and values are a “perfect match” for the university and for the community, John Wildhack, director of athletics at Syracuse University, said in his remarks at the press conference.
“We had a very strong list of candidates, but Coach Brown emerged as the right person at this time to lead our football program,” Wildhack said. “What stood out about Coach Fran? Number one his detailed vision for all aspects of the program … When I say detailed, I mean it was down to minute details.”
He went on to say, “I’m excited about the future of our football program.”
Wildhack said he spoke with current college coaches, NFL coaches, and NFL club personnel as part of the vetting process. He also thanked Georgia head coach Kirby Smart for this cooperation throughout the process.
Brown and his family arrived in Syracuse on Sunday afternoon, met with the football team, and met the academic-support staff.
“That shows commitment,” Wildhack noted.
In his opening remarks, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud thanked the search committee for bringing Brown to Syracuse. The committee included Wildhack and Tory Ball, a former football player and Syracuse University’s deputy athletics director of marketing, Syverud said.
Syverud said he had the chance to spend time with Brown last week and shared what he learned.
“Coach Brown is passionately committed to his players winning in all aspects of life,” Syverud said. “He talked about his players growing as men, personally and professionally, about them embracing this community, and about them being successful on and off the field.”
