Syracuse Football: Nation’s No. 1 recruiter is the Orange’s next head coach

The rumors and speculation swirling on social media in recent days can be put to rest, as SU Athletics announced the next head coach of Syracuse football on Tuesday in the late afternoon.

Fran Brown, a native of New Jersey who is the defensive backs coach at the country’s No. 1 team, Georgia out of the Southeastern Conference, has been named by SU Athletics as the 31st head coach in the program’s history.

Brown, who is deemed by some national experts as the No. 1 recruiter nationwide, will replace Dino Babers, who was fired by SU Athletics on November 19, just one game shy of finishing an eighth full season on the Hill.

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times lately, I’m wishing nothing but great success for Dino moving forward. Simultaneously, let’s give a big, heartfelt welcome from Orange Nation to Fran Brown, whose first head-coaching job will be at the ‘Cuse.

Syracuse football has hired its next head coach.

Per SU Athletics, Brown will be formally introduced as the Orange’s new head coach at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 4.

He joined Georgia in early 2022. The Bulldogs have won the past two national championships. Entering the SEC title game this Saturday, when Georgia will face No. 8 Alabama, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the major top-25 polls and sport a 12-0 record.

Besides his time at Georgia, Brown has held coaching positions on the collegiate level at Rutgers, Temple and Baylor.

A graduate of Western Carolina, he grew up in Camden, N.J. National analysts have noted that Brown has strong recruiting ties in New Jersey and throughout the Northeast region, something that was echoed in the cuse.com press release announcing his hire as the next head coach of Syracuse football.

Steve Wiltfong, the director of recruiting for 247Sports, wrote in a post on his X page on Tuesday, “In my 20 years or so covering recruiting, haven’t come across many that do as good a job on the trail building relationships and projecting talent as Fran Brown.”

At present, Georgia’s 2024 class ranks No. 1 nationally, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

In its statement, SU Athletics said in part, “According to 247Sports, Brown is the No. 1 recruiter in the nation for the 2024 recruiting class and has played a critical role in attracting top talent to Georgia. This designation follows his recruitment of two five-star prospects, both of whom are ranked No. 1 in their respective positions.”

SU’s athletic director, John Wildhack, said that with Brown leading the way on the Hill, the “future is bright” for Syracuse football. The Orange (6-6, 2-6 in the ACC), by the way, will play in a bowl game later this year, marking the first time it has qualified for the post-season in consecutive terms dating back to 2012 and 2013.

"Here’s some of what Brown had to say in the cuse.com release. “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.”"

Welcome, Fran!