Syracuse's Fran Brown a 'darkhorse candidate' for job openings, per national writer

Syracuse football boss Fran Brown's name keeps coming up as a potential candidate for college football head coach job openings, whether he likes it or not.

This week, On3 national writer Ari Wasserman had an article entitled, "Darkhorse candidates: Forget the sexy names, these coaches need to be on your hot board."

Great title, by the way. Wasserman's piece is a subscriber-exclusive, so I won't share details here. However, excerpts of it were passed along to me in an e-mailed newsletter, and I'll provide some of that here.

The list of job openings continues to grow, and it could be even larger at the end of the 2025 campaign. These are some high-profile gigs, including at Penn State, Florida, Arkansas, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State, among others.

Plus, head coaches at schools including Auburn, Florida State, Kentucky and Wisconsin are on the hot seat. Given that several of these schools are in the Southeastern Conference, and Brown was previously the defensive backs coach at Georgia, it's understandable that his name is being floated around for these various vacancies, even if he may not be interested in any of them.

What is On3 saying about Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown?

Wasserman talks about in his story how the "sexiest" hire may not always be the one that works out the best. He points to higher-profile head coaches such as Brian Kelly (LSU) and Lincoln Riley (Southern California). Then compare them to less-splashy hires like Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Curt Cignetti (Indiana) and Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), where those guys have won a lot of games, especially this year.

The On3 national writer then goes on to look at some "less sexy names who might be the next home runs," and Brown is noted here. Wasserman writes about Brown, "It feels obvious. Brown won nine games in his first season at Syracuse, immediately breathing life into the program. His confidence is contagious, and players and staff buy in fast. Syracuse has taken a step back this fall, but imagine Brown with top-tier resources. His charisma and recruiting prowess could turn any powerhouse into a juggernaut."

Other head coaches who Wasserman mentions include Jeff Brohm at Louisville and Willie Fritz at Houston. Louisville is 5-1 overall and ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press top-25 poll. Houston is 6-1 overall.