Syracuse Football: Fran Brown is winning off the field, and fans loving him for that

Since being officially introduced as the new head coach of Syracuse football in early December, former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown has proven quite the busy man.

He’s gotten to work assembling a top-notch coaching staff, without question.

Brown and his assistants have hit the recruiting trail hard, securing an excellent 2024 class that so far includes at least 20 high school seniors and 12 college transfers, many of whom are rated four stars and nationally ranked.

Based on social media posts, at various times over the past month-and-a-half, Brown and his staff have taken to the road to visit with recruiting targets as well as make visits to numerous high school programs.

Orange coaches have also doled out a bevy of scholarship offers to highly rated prospects in several recruiting cycles, while the ‘Cuse has made list cuts of elite targets, and Syracuse football coaches have welcomed players to the Hill for official or unofficial visits.

All of that, and more, has undeniably created a buzz and a sense of excitement within the Orange fan base that I personally haven’t felt since I was a student at SU in the late 1990s. It’s fun.

That’s not why I’m writing this column, though.

New head coach Fran Brown has won the collective heart of Syracuse football fans.

Now, all of this recruiting stuff is highly encouraging, but what of course will matter the most is how the ‘Cuse fares on the field in the 2024 season and beyond.

That’s to be determined.

As Syracuse football in recent days began some off-season winter workouts, Brown and his assistants are going to demand a lot of their players, on the field, in the weight room, in the classroom and in the community.

Brown has said as much on several occasions, including during his press conference last month during the early signing period for the team’s 2024 class.

Recruiting wins are great. Wins on the field will be, assuming they occur, awesome.

But where Fran Brown is winning to me is out in the community, and how he interacts with his players, SU alumni, fans and people in general within the Syracuse area.

When I saw this post on X not too long ago, candidly, it made me shed a tear or two. I’m a fairly sensitive person as it is, and seeing this social media post gave me a further look into who Brown is beyond his role as a football coach – who he is as a man, and who he is a person.

This is the kind of human being who I want representing Syracuse University and Syracuse football. A person who is demanding of his players on the field and as students, but also a person who cares about others in the greater Central New York community.

Fran Brown (and his staff) are already winning with their recruiting efforts. We’ll have to see how Brown & Co. do in the upcoming season.

But where it truly matters the most, at least to me anyway, Fran Brown is showing who he is – his high character and integrity – and not just talking about it. He’s walking, not talking, to use that cliché.

Recruiting wins are great. Wins on the field are dope. Being kind, caring for others, improving the community – Fran Brown, in a short period of time, is winning by a wide margin, and I have every confidence that he will continue to do so during his tenure with the ‘Cuse.