Fran Brown isn’t talking like a coach trying to scrape together a bowl bid. He’s talking like someone who wants Syracuse football to matter every year.
At Thursday’s ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., the Orange head coach made it clear that his vision goes well beyond getting the program back on track. Brown said his goals are national championships and an ACC takeover, a bold statement for a team that moved into the league from the Big East Conference during the 2013-14 campaign.
Brown is entering his third season leading Syracuse, and he knows exactly where the program has been. The Orange flashed real life in 2024, when Brown’s first season on the Hill produced a 10-3 record behind a high-powered offense led by record-setting quarterback Kyle McCord.
But last year went in the other direction fast. Starting quarterback Steve Angeli was injured in SU’s fourth game, and Syracuse dropped eight straight on the way to a 3-9 finish.
Even with that slide, Brown said he believes the pieces are in place to turn things around. He pointed to his assistant coaches and players as reasons for optimism, but he also made it clear that simply being competitive isn’t the endgame.
"I want to sustain this," he said.
That kind of ambition fits the scale of Syracuse’s football history. The program has a national championship from 1959, a Heisman Trophy winner, plenty of All-Americans, and an 11-0-1 season in 1987, along with several other 10-win years.
But the modern picture has been far less consistent. Since 2001, Syracuse has finished in the final AP top-25 rankings only three times.
Brown’s answer is to make the Orange a constant presence in the national conversation again. That starts, in his view, with getting top players to seriously consider Syracuse, whether they’re coming through the transfer portal or out of high school.
The Orange won’t land every elite target, but Brown believes getting into the mix matters. He said that process is already underway with his recent recruiting classes, and he thinks the pitch is getting stronger.
He said top prospects will want Syracuse on their lists "because of the way we play ball, and the way I treat people."
Brown also said the support structure around the program gives him confidence that Syracuse can build something lasting. He praised chancellor Mike Haynie and athletics director Bryan Blair, saying they give the school the leadership needed for long-term success across football and the rest of Syracuse athletics.
"I think our school is about to make some big moves," Brown said.
In Other News...
Syracuse Mourns Former Quarterback And CBA Standout Chuck Zimmerman
Chuck Zimmerman, the former Syracuse quarterback who helped guide the Orange to two of the earliest bowl games in program history, has died at 90 in Jamesville. Zimmerman played for Syracuse from 1956 to 1958 and later remained part of the city he represented on the field, serving in the U.S. Army and staying active in the Syracuse community.
His time in orange included a run that helped send Syracuse to the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl, milestones that still matter in the schools football story. A burial mass is scheduled for July 21 at St. Rose of Lima Church in North Syracuse, offering one more chance for the Syracuse community to honor a player whose impact reached well beyond his college years. [Read more 🡒]
Boeheims Army Finally Has Its Coach As TBT Pressure Builds
Boeheims Army finally has its sideline set for this years run in The Basketball Tournament, a late but important development as the Syracuse-connected group prepares to open play in a best-of-3 series against Hall In. The staff now includes assistants Shaun Belbey and Pete Corasaniti, giving the team a more complete coaching structure as it tries to navigate the pressure that comes with every TBT summer.
The most interesting part is how quickly the pieces have come together around a coach with plenty of pro experience. The new lead voice comes from the Long Island Nets, where he is currently an assistant and has also spent time with other G League teams and NBA affiliates, while Belbey and Corasaniti bring their own Syracuse ties into the mix. With the bracket looming and the format leaving little room for error, Boeheims Army is trying to turn a fresh staff into an immediate edge. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Is Betting Syracuse's Defense Will Finally Have Answers
Fran Brown has spent his first offseason in charge making it clear he wants Syracuses defense to look a lot more like the units he has been around before, and the latest move shows how serious he is about that. Vince Kehres, who arrived from Toledo and was officially hired in early December 2024, brings two decades of coaching experience with him and gives Brown a fresh voice to help reshape a side of the ball that needs answers.
The change also speaks to how quickly Brown is willing to adjust when he thinks a better fit is available. Syracuse moved Elijah Robinson into a co-coordinator role, but Robinson ended up heading back to Texas A&M as a defensive line coach, leaving Brown to keep building around Kehres and the kind of structure he believes can work in the ACC. [Read more 🡒]