Seeing Orange: Camden native Fran Brown tabbed as next head coach at Syracuse
Camden native Fran Brown has been named the next head coach of the Syracuse University football program.
Director of Athletics John Wildhack made the announcement on Tuesday and Brown will be officially introduced as 31st head coach in the program’s history at a press conference on Dec. 4.
Brown succeeds Dino Babers, who was fired on Nov. 20 after compiling a 41-55 record over eight seasons at Syracuse. Interim head coach Nunzio Campanile led the Orange to a 35-31 win over Wake Forest on Saturday.
Brown is regarded as the nation’s top recruiter for the 2024 Class, according to 247Sports, and is currently the defensive backs coach for the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
"I am incredibly proud to be leading Syracuse Football at a university with a rich and storied tradition of academic and athletic excellence," Brown said in a story on the school’s athletics website.
"Syracuse Football has outstanding talent, great facilities and passionate alumni. The success of the players is my No. 1 priority—on and off the field. I want my guys to succeed in life, because they played football at Syracuse. My immediate area of focus is building relationships with my current players and putting together an elite staff, while also having fun on the recruiting trail. I'm ready to get to work and look forward to building something special for our fans."
After graduating from Camden High, where he threw a school-record 47 career TD passes as a quarterback, Brown played cornerback at Hudson Valley Community College. He later played for Matt Rhule at Western Carolina where he graduated with a degree in criminal justice.
Brown spent some time with the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Brown started his coaching career with an assistant position at Paul VI in 2010. He continued coaching with two stops at Temple along with others at Baylor and Rutgers before landing in Georgia.
Brown played a key role in bringing top talent to Georgia, including a pair of five-star prospects who were ranked tops at their respective positions.
"Fran is an outstanding coach, recruiter and person, and exactly who we need to take Syracuse Football to the next level," Wildhack said. "Fran has clearly articulated a vision for the future of our football program, and he is a powerhouse recruiter with deep ties to the geographies from where we need to draw consistently. Fran has had tremendous success recruiting to a variety of programs—in the South, Southwest and Northeast, and I have no doubt he will bring that track record here to Syracuse. I am looking forward to welcoming Fran and his family to the Orange community. The future is bright for our football program."
Syracuse will play in its second consecutive bowl game later this season.
Former Millville and Salem head coach Dennis Thomas is the Director of High School Relations on the Syracuse football support staff.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden native Fran Brown is named next head coach at Syracuse
