SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Earlier this week, Syracuse football announced the hiring of Fran Brown as its new head coach following the firing of Dino Babers, who had just completed his eighth year as the coach of the Orange.
During Babers’ tenure in Central New York, SU went 41-55 with no ACC Championships or national titles. This past season, Syracuse finished the year 2-6 following a 4-0 start to 2023 — including a five-game losing streak throughout the month of October.
While many teams around the country, and their fanbases, get to enjoy the fall months with a winning football team, the faithful in upstate New York had little to cheer for this season.
Fran Brown’s arrival, however, could be turning that around.
“I’m very excited for the future of the team and I think that a lot of the rest of the community is as well,” Syracuse resident and local reporter Adam Gotkin said.
Brown is known as the best recruiter in the country and has extensive ties to the Northeast region. He is coming from the back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs, and has brought excitement to the CNY area which hasn’t had much in the past few years.
“I know it’s been very frustrating recently for people because expectations are high and they haven’t been hit,” Gotkin said. “But I think that moving forward things are looking up.”
In Brown’s introductory press conference on Monday, Brown already made ‘Cuse fans happy by saying he plans on being with the Orange for the long run.
“Every coach gets up here and says, ‘This is home. I’m never going anywhere,’” Brown said. “And then three years later, he’s trying to get a new job or a new contract.
“Guys, I come from Welfare, baby. I’m good. I don’t have to have that family-first card no more. I’m here for life.”
While many Syracuse fans are excited for the future of the team, Brown said that it’s going to take everybody in the area to create a successful future — and those fans just might be ready for the task.
“I will bust my butt to be the coach,” Brown said. “I watched other teams in the ACC a few years ago win national championships here. So, it’s going to happen here. We’ve just got to all be on the same page. We’ve got to all push.”