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If Fran Brown starts talking about his 12-year-old son Brayden’s pee-wee football games, he doesn’t want to stop. The length of Brown’s grin multiplies at each point of pride he spills about Brayden — especially his ability to play every position on the field, Brown said, joking the versatility could lead to Brayden’s Syracuse commitment one day.

He only saw Brayden play three times this year. But when Brown wasn’t there, he’d watch his youngest son’s film like he was scouting an opponent. Why? It suppresses the ups and downs of the season. Brown’s at peace when his mind is on family.

Brown cherishes when he can incorporate family into his coaching lifestyle. Even Brown’s eldest son, Fran Jr., works out with Syracuse players when he returns home for the summer from Saint Francis University. Though it’s Brayden who hangs around the team all the time, much to their enjoyment.

“They raise my son, too,” Brown said of his players. “That’s how you know you have a good team. When I bring my son around, I don’t blink an eye, I know they’re gonna take care of him. They’re doing the right thing, showing him how to be a little man.”

It’s emblematic of Brown’s culture — a nurturing but demanding environment that’s been a stark difference from SU’s previous brain trusts. Brown, a 42-year-old from Camden, New Jersey, has used that to spark a historic program turnaround since Syracuse hired him as its 31st head football coach last November.

Brown helmed SU’s third season with over nine victories since 2000, caused by a dynamic culture change and a top-25 transfer portal haul, per 247Sports. He won four November games, which the Orange hadn’t accomplished since 1997. He also notched the most wins for a first-year SU head coach since Paul Pasqualoni in 1991.

His journey included bumps like coaching mishaps and self-admitted embarrassing losses. But Brown’s rejuvenating season brought Syracuse out from the abyss of mediocrity into a program that oozes potential.

That sentiment was sealed when Brown’s Orange shocked Miami, then-ranked No. 6 in the nation by the College Football Playoff Committee, on Nov. 30 to close the 2024 regular season. SU clawed back from a 21-point deficit, its largest comeback ever, to spoil the Hurricanes’ ACC title hopes in a 42-38 win — the Orange’s first AP Top-10 victory since 2017.

Fran Brown pictured with his youngest son, Brayden, as he and Syracuse’s players sing the university’s alma mater following the Orange’s Week 1 win over Ohio on Aug. 31, 2024. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

The triumph reflected the kind of program Brown has built. It’s explosive, it’s resilient and it’s tough — Camden tough, as Brown likes to call it.

Amid the chaos as fans stormed the field, ESPN’s broadcast cut to an interview with Brown, who stood next to a wide-eyed Brayden. Brown confidently regurgitated his D.A.R.T. mantra in describing SU’s comeback while looking around at the JMA Wireless Dome crowd to bask in the glory. He had his wife, Teara, kids and more friends and family from Camden in attendance, making the moment even sweeter.

“It means a lot. I mean, (it means) everything,” Brown said. “I always tell y’all, my wife, my kids … and that city I’m from as well, it just means more.”

When the cameras were still locked on him and his youngest son on the field, Brown emphatically made a declaration:

“Syracuse is back.”

• • •

The difference was immediately clear to Marlowe Wax. Added care, a higher standard, increased intentionality, violent practices — that’s what Brown brought to Syracuse from Day 1 after he was hired to replace Dino Babers. Babers was fired on Nov. 19, 2023, amid his eighth season as SU’s head coach. SU hired Brown nine days later.

SU Director of Athletics John Wildhack said Brown’s reputation as a “powerhouse recruiter” from the northeast made him the perfect choice. Brown often says he believes recruiting comes easy. He proved that, and then some, in an eye-popping first offseason with transfer acquisitions, including Kyle McCord and Fadil Diggs. But it’s the people he retained who laid the groundwork to spur a culture change in his first year.

Wax, Oronde Gadsden II, Justin Barron and LeQuint Allen Jr. — staples of the Babers era — all chose to stay with Syracuse. They could’ve transferred. Brown’s direct and detailed nature convinced them otherwise, though.

“The vision he had for the team and that we didn’t have to wait for that to happen, he wanted to win and win now,” Barron said of Brown.

“I spoke to (Brown) the same day he got hired … he wanted to make sure I was staying and that he wanted me to be a true tight end,” Gadsden added of why he returned.

Wax’s future at SU was in question after last season. One conversation with Brown changed that, Wax said. When speaking on the differences from Babers, Wax said the body of work Brown had he and his teammates put in during the winter was when he knew things had changed.

“Those workouts at 6 a.m. in the freezing snow, and the 12 a.m. workouts at night, that was just us getting close, just us becoming brothers,” Wax said at training camp on Aug. 12.

From 2016-23, the Orange went 41-55 under Babers, including a 20-45 mark in ACC play and a measly 7-22 record in November games. Brown wanted his message to stay consistent upon arrival; authenticity would compel his players rather than harping on the past.

“I can tell you that I just watched a couple of the bowl practices, but the head coach wasn’t there doing the practice. I just know what I’m accustomed to at the University of Georgia, and that’s what I wanted to make sure that I’m able to mimic here,” Brown said.

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Learning under Kirby Smart from 2022-23 gave Brown a national-title pedigree, overseeing Georgia’s defensive backs in its 2022 CFP Championship season. He crafted his approach of being detailed, accountable, relentless and tough — a blend that’s attracted prospects from his assistant days to his arrival at Syracuse.

The most difficult switch was the responsibility thrust upon him, but Brown used his experience to guide him in the jump to head coach. He said he runs SU like how he managed his secondary groups at UGA, from their high-speed practice schedule to his intense one-on-one sessions.

Brown still does all he can in his area of expertise. He spends time with younger players in the secondary, notably spurring freshman cornerbacks Davien Kerr and Marcellus Barnes Jr.’s developments.

That personal touch is why the change has been so noticeable from Babers to Brown. He knows how to get through to players and maximize their potential. Brown said he’s received feedback all year from players who tell the head coach there’s a sizable gap between Syracuse’s last two coaching regimes.

“I mean, just the way we practice, just all that we do, everything’s different,” Brown said. “I’m a different person than the last coach was and we got different ways. So, this is a big difference.”

“Everything’s night and day.”

• • •

Brown felt he let alumni, fans and the entire program down when Syracuse lost 37-31 to Boston College on Nov. 9. It’s the loss he brought up first of SU’s three, signaling it’s the most painful. His voice dropped a tone when he compared the coaching battle. Brown thought BC’s Bill O’Brien out-managed him in every aspect of a game where the Eagles gashed the Orange for 313 rushing yards.

Two weeks later, Brown hadn’t moved past it. He blamed himself. That irked him. He knew it was a winnable road matchup. He beat himself up over being a few steps behind with in-game adjustments, saying he was stuck on plan C when O’Brien progressed to plan E.

“I gotta do everything I can to not have that happen again,” Brown said.

Brown takes losing extremely seriously. In a Nov. 11 press conference following the BC game, he went viral for revealing he doesn’t shower after losses. He said he doesn’t deserve to reward himself with a warm, soapy shower in the face of defeat.

Those nights, his wife won’t let him stink up their bed. But that’s a fair punishment for Brown. Only winners get washed.

“You gotta earn the right to do certain things,” Brown said. “So winners get washed. I’m a loser. I just gotta wait a little bit.”

Just five days later, when Syracuse traveled to face California, Brown was particularly energized after the Orange handled the Golden Bears 33-25. This time, as cameras from the CW broadcast crew swarmed his face postgame, Brown repeated his “winners get washed” line in a celebratory manner.

He did so with an added gesture of sticking his tongue out before running away to a jubilant SU locker room. That day, Brown seemed to have some extra fire behind his actions. He says he was simply excited for his players. But with the win being a swift response to the loss at Boston College — what Brown called Syracuse’s highest point of adversity this year — there was some added fuel.

“For men to have something negative happen to them, then be able to come back and fix it and get everything right, I’m just happy they put in the work and got that done,” Brown said.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown can now shower after beating Cal to move to 7-3 on the season💀

“Winners get washed.”

(via @TheCW) pic.twitter.com/Ex6pckcCXM

— On3 (@On3sports) November 16, 2024

Simply put, Brown is an interesting character, making it fitting that his two favorite actors are Denzel Washington and Larry David. Brown possesses the gravitas of Washington in a leading role, but he’d never compare himself to the Oscar-winner. In David, however, Brown admires his bluntness, a quality he says he shares with the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star.

His character may be exclusive, but it’s genuine. And it’s why players immerse themselves in what Brown sells. Take the postgame locker room scene in Berkeley, California, for example. Before video evidence surfaced, McCord revealed Syracuse’s players bestowed Brown with a bottle of Old Spice after the game, prompting Brown to say he’d “smell like 100 racks” later.

“It’s always good to win for him,” McCord said of their gift to Brown. “We know how much he gives throughout the week and obviously on game day. So to get a win all the way across the country, playing for that type of coach is huge from a team perspective.”

Brown’s publicity has often stemmed from Syracuse’s major turning points of the season. The first instance was on Sept. 7, when the Orange knocked off then-No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 in the JMA Wireless Dome. It was Brown’s first signature moment two games in with an AP Top-25 victory.

Yet it was postgame when he stole the show. Earlier in the week, GT head coach Brent Key said the more physical team would win that Saturday afternoon. Brown took it as a personal jab. Gadsden said Brown repeated the clip to the players all week. The coach was offended that someone could even shred an inkling of a doubt his team wouldn’t be tough.

“When you know who I am and you come at me about toughness, don’t do that. This game was very personal,” Brown said of Key’s pregame words. “I want to make sure everyone understands that when you play us, just be quiet. Don’t give ammo to me. If you give ammo to me, I’m coming at you full tilt.”

Fran Brown dons his “winners get washed” shirt, which he began selling before Syracuse defeated California on Nov. 16, 2024. Brycen Pace | Asst. Photo Editor

It’s possible Brown’s rarest expression — disappointment — is his most productive mood, considering how the Orange responded from their lowest moments in 2024.

A dejected Brown first appeared following SU’s 26-24 Week 4 loss to Stanford. Even with it being Brown’s third game, falling to a team that finished 3-9 was shocking. On a key fourth-and-9 as time wound down in the fourth quarter, Clarence Lewis was left on an island with star Cardinal wideout Elic Ayomanor, who caught a 27-yard reception. Then, kicker Emmet Kenney iced it with a field goal.

Brown took accountability for Lewis being compromised with the game on the line. But Brown saw a more glaring problem, made known by the game’s rushing discrepancy.

“They out-physicaled us,” Brown said of Stanford. “(They had) 173 rushing yards and we had 26. There’s nothing to talk about. I was there, you see that, Stevie Wonder sees that … We gotta be more physical.”

A founding component of Brown’s philosophy was broken that night, just 13 days after he lauded SU’s toughness against GT. Brown knew it got away. Looking back, Brown thinks Syracuse’s unabating responses to adversity were among its best achievements of the season. The Orange never dropped back-to-back games.

They throttled Holy Cross by 28 before taking then-No. 25 UNLV to an overtime thriller, in which Allen Jr. punched in the game-winning touchdown for a 44-41 victory. Syracuse won a second straight road game the next week, defeating NC State to move to 5-1. The calendar hadn’t hit November yet, and SU was one win from a bowl game.

Then came a disaster in Pittsburgh.

“Once a bad play happens two times, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what the score is, we gotta be able to bounce back on defense and get the ball back on offense,” Brown said, glumly recalling Syracuse’s 41-13 blowout at then-No. 19 Pitt. “That’s what the national championship teams do.”

It seemingly got worse the next week, with the Orange falling behind 21-3 midway through the third quarter at home against Virginia Tech. A typical start to November was in the cards for SU. But Brown wasn’t having that.

He felt trends of the Pitt game were bleeding over. He doesn’t snap at colleagues often, but Brown likened his halftime conversation with offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon to when his wife gets upset with him. Like Brown does with Teara, Nixon obliged.

“Coach Nixon’s a really good football coach, and he was just able to get back into his own and get going,” Brown said postgame. “I said he was off and things like that, but it just wasn’t clicking.”

All Brown wanted was for Syracuse to return to the basics and give the best player the ball. To him, that’s Allen Jr. The result? Allen Jr. racked up three touchdowns and delivered the game-winning score, propelling SU to a 38-31 overtime victory — then its largest-ever comeback.

Fran Brown stands just a few yards from Syracuse’s sideline during a timeout in its Nov. 2, 2024, game against Virginia Tech. Joe Zhao | Video Editor

Brown’s direct nature, which can be masked by his unintentionally comedic antics, has led to Syracuse being flipped on its head. There’s no dwelling on the past when you’re playing for him. He said he’d create major change, and he did.

After each of SU’s four November wins, Brown reminded reporters of the program’s dreaded history in the month. He often asked what his team’s record was until that point of November as if he was keeping score by taunting those who doubted him. That fourth victory, stunning Miami, elicited some postgame gloating from Brown.

“November is a time that we win,” Brown declared. “Four and one, that’s OK. But four and one is 80% right? We gotta be a little better than that, but that’s a good deal.”

A mere three weeks after he felt like a disappointment to the program, Brown helmed Syracuse to its highest-ranked win in seven years to close its most promising season of the millennium.

Still, he sat as stoic as Washington and spoke with the pessimism of David in the aftermath of defeating Miami.

“No, not at all,” Brown said in response to if this season lived up to his vision. “I wanted to win a national championship. Wanted to go to a conference championship. Those two things didn’t happen, but I guess this is progress.”

• • •

Growing up in South Jersey forged Brown into someone who never settles. He escaped a difficult situation in Camden, a place he proudly calls home but where his experiences shook him eternally.

“I’ve seen some of the worst things you could possibly see,” Brown said. “I’ve watched and witnessed some things where most people wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”

He was raised in Camden by his mother with three brothers, whom he said life hasn’t worked out the same way for. Through his coaching success, Brown said he strives to help them mentally push on in life, becoming an inspiring figure for them.

His pride for home is strong, yet he ensures it’s not too powerful. Pride is how you get broke, he says, but he said he’s just prideful enough that it makes him work.

“It’s not thinking that I deserve anything,” Brown said of his mindset. “You got to earn everything you get.”

Fran Brown emphatically swings his arms in the air after Syracuse upset then-No. 23 Georgia Tech at the JMA Wireless Dome on Sept. 7, 2024. It was the first of three ranked victories for Brown in his first year as head coach. Joe Zhao | Video Editor

That’s why he’s always looking for more. It’d be a disservice to those who don’t find the same opportunities post-Camden. With two games left in Syracuse’s season, Brown still loathed his squad’s three losses. All for different reasons. He regretted SU’s fourth-down mishap against Stanford. He bashed himself for self-proclaimed “bad” coaching versus Boston College. Pitt was self-explanatory, however.

Brown was convinced his first-year roster could compete for a national title. He was somewhat vindicated with the Orange’s resume against ranked opponents, though he hails players like McCord, Allen Jr. and Diggs to be among the best at their position. He didn’t want repeatable regular-season success; he yearned for unprecedented postseason glory.

“I guess we’re pretty close. But to me, it seems so far away,” Brown said.

The head coach thinks five plays could’ve turned Syracuse from a solid bowl team to an ACC Championship winner. No single victory will stick with him more than his feeling of missed opportunity. Yet, it’s that impenetrable drive for excellence that makes Brown’s unrealistic expectations an encouraging sign that the kid from Camden can run the northeast in no time.

“When it seems like, ‘Oh, why he act that way? Why he doing this?’ I’ve just seen so much stuff in my life growing up,” Brown said. “I know the slightest mistake you can make can cost you everything. And look what happened this season.”

Published on December 5, 2024 at 2:58 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews