Is Syracuse football finally attempting to get back to its dynasty roots? If so, they may be off to the right start.

The Orange led by AD John Wildhack and a search committee made a surprising, out-of-the-box decision that may turn Syracuse into a football recruiting machine and the next dynasty in the ACC.

Who Is Fran Brown?

For those who need to recuperate, Syracuse football named Georgia defensive backs coach, Fran Brown it’s 31st head coach in program history. The 41-year-old Camden native is considered to be the number one recruiter in the class of 2024.

It is not just because he is currently at Georgia. Prior to coaching the Bull Dogs, Brown was known as a phenomenal recruiter at Rutgers under head coach, Greg Schiano. He also coached at Baylor as well as Temple under Matt Rhule.

The fact that he has never been a head coach, gives him the opportunity to showcase the talent needed to win at Syracuse. He just has to hire top assistants around him to help coach and develop those recruits.

Northeast Roots

Orange AD John Wildhack – syracuse.com

Wildhack hired Brown because of his track record of bringing in top recruits, particularly from New Jersey and Philadelphia PA, where Syracuse football had their recruiting base back in the days of Dick McPherson and Paul Pasqualoni.

It’s also important that they hire the right guy now more than ever, due to the ACC being realigned into 17 teams and the fact that next year starts the 12-team College football playoffs.

The key to turning a mediocre power five program into a dynasty is starting to change the recruiting habits which Brown has done everywhere he’s been.

It’s also how teams like Clemson, Georgia, and Alabama turned into dynasties by transforming into recruiting powerhouses. Syracuse finally recognized that and said, hey, “Why don’t we turn ourselves into that by hiring Brown?”

How Will This Hire Help Syracuse Football?

Orange football fans cheering on the team – syracuse.com

To SU nation, this is an eye-popper of a hire. In the past, it seemed Syracuse football would just go with the safe hire instead of gambling on a coach that had the one thing to turn your program into a national power which is a proven track record of recruiting particularly in the North East.

Brown also had a smart, well-planned out dream of how the Syracuse football team could succeed in competition and life. The only box he doesn’t check is head coaching or Power 5 coordinating experience, but he can recruit at arguably the best Power 5 school at Georgia as a position coach.

Wildhack’s Thoughts

“Two things really,” Wildhack said, when asked why he was comfortable with Brown’s limited level of experience. “People get labeled, right? Fran is labeled as a recruiter and he’s a great recruiter. But he is so much more than that. The vision and the detail of the vision we talked about. He was so detailed, and I think it really addressed areas where we need to get better. His recruiting prowess is a key part of it.”

According to Wildhack, Brown is a talent finder and a visualist for what he wants to do on and off the field, and he is very talented and skilled at what he does. He also loves every minute of it which is important.

The talented defensive back coach was very loyal to his boss at Georgia in head coach Kirby Smart in helping Georgia win back-back national championships in 2022 and 2023.

What Must Brown Do?

The game’s number one recruiter must keep that pedigree and credibility at a school where they play in a dome.  Because of the snowy winters, it’s tough to attract four or five-star talent outside of the Northeast to travel up North from the South.

But if Brown showed it can be done at places like Temple, Baylor, and Rutgers, it can definitely be done again at Syracuse.

If he does this, this high-risk hire will be a very high reward as Syracuse football might be perennial contenders in both the ACC and on a national level.

If not, at least Syracuse could be going (7-5) or (8-4) and making bowl games, but their recruiting classes could be top 20 to top 15 in the country every year under Brown.

As they always say, “time will tell”, but let’s see how the young, energetic coach does at his first press conference scheduled on Monday, Dec 4.

For another Syracuse story, please check out:

Syracuse Football Makes Back-Back Bowl Games with Win over Wake Forest 35-31