Georgia DB coach, ace recruiter emerges as new favorite for Orange, per report

Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown has emerged as the top target for the Syracuse job, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Though he’s finishing his second season in Athens, Georgia, for the two-time reigning national champions, the New Jersey native has plenty of experience in the Northeast with previous stops as an assistant at Rutgers and Temple. He was hired by the Bulldogs in 2022 to replace former DB coach Jahmile Addae, who departed for the same position at Miami.

Brown, 41, is considered one of the best recruiters in the nation. In Georgia’s top-ranked 2024 recruiting class alone, Brown helped land five-star DB Ellis Robinson IV, five-star LB Justin Williams and four-star DB Demello Jones, among others. Brown ranks as the No. 1 national position group recruiter, according to 247Sports.

Syracuse moved on from eighth-year coach Dino Babers earlier this month after losing six of its final seven games. Babers was 41-55, including a 20-45 mark in ACC play, during his time with the Orange.

Former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen previously emerged as a possible candidate to succeed Babers, but the current ESPN college football analyst shot down the rumors with a social media post on Monday. Mullen’s buyout from UF will net him at least $1 million each year through 2027.