It’s safe to say that in his first season as Syracuse’s football coach, Camden native Fran Brown found quick success.
Brown, who guided the Orange to a 10-3 record that included a home upset of Miami in the regular-season finale, coached Mount Laurel native Kyle McCord to a record-breaking season and saw four of his players get picked in the April’s NFL draft.
Earlier this month, Brown joined the National Football Foundation’s Good in the Game podcast, hosted by legendary Penn State linebacker Lavar Arrington, to discuss his Camden roots, path to coaching, and the heights to which he wants to bring Syracuse football.
Before his sit-down with Arrington, Front Office Sports reported that Brown had signed with the NIL agency Network as he looks to raise his profile with the ultimate goal of attracting top talent to the Orange.
Brown is one of two coaches to sign with the agency, joining former Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, now the head coach at Norfolk State.
According the report, Brown is working with the agency to build his brand and amplify “DART,” the acronym he coined that stands for “detailed, accountable, relentless, and tough.” It’s the brand of football he hoped to produce at the school when he arrived in 2023.
Now, through his official standing with the agency, Brown wants more exposure as a thought leader in college football. That includes topics like NIL and the transfer portal and how student athletes can use both more effectively.
According to the report, there are also appearances planned and the possibility of creating a signature line (think Deion Sanders having a line of custom sunglasses) in addition to being open to endorsement deals.
Brown would be one of the first coaches to consider working with an NIL agency to raise his exposure, a twofold idea that also benefits the program that employs him.
According to an April study by sport psychologists at the Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention in Waltham, Mass., the average student-athlete spends 4½ hours daily on social media — nearly 20% of the day.
Coaches seeking to attract athletes to their schools see it as advantageous to be in the spaces where their target demographic lives.
“When we started Network, we weren’t pretending to nor considering to get into the coaching world,” Doug Scott, chief strategy officer at Network, told Front Office Sports earlier this month. “[However], we think there’s a little bit of a void in the marketplace right now.”
More than Penn State up north
While Arrington hails from Pittsburgh, the former linebacker and Brown share a commonality: Both of their wives grew up in Woodbury, about 13 miles south of Philadelphia. They also discussed growing up in tough situations, and how that molded them into football players, with Arrington a star at Penn State and Brown at Western Carolina.
» READ MORE: Coach Fran Brown carries Camden and its players with him as he leads a turnaround at Syracuse
Beyond Brown’s own story and his getting into coaching shortly after his playing career ended, Arrington asked the 43-year-old coach about his vision for Syracuse coming off a successful season. Brown is eyeing one program in particular, fresh off a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.
“When I look at up north, it’s just been Penn State for a long time, right? Back in the day, it was Syracuse, and it’s coming back, but it’s been Penn State [recently],” Brown said. “I love what Penn State does, I love what they’re about. I love the culture that Joe Paterno set, that Bill O’Brien tried to keep it going for that little bit of time, and now [James] Franklin got it back.
“I think we need to show it’s not just one team up there that’s a dominant football team. I think it needs to be more. Because when you’re going to the South, they’ve got a few. … I want to be able to do that up here.”
While Arrington gave Brown plenty of praise for Syracuse’s success last season, Brown said that he’s “not coaching to be 8-4, or to be 10-3. … I’m not happy that we were 10-3 last year.” He has aspirations to win a national championship at Syracuse after winning one as an assistant coach with Georgia in 2022.
The Orange have not won a title since 1959.
Gratitude in coaching
Brown opened up to Arrington about the “vulnerability” he approaches his coaching job with and how he’s able to relate to his players on a personal level.
» READ MORE: Penn State adds transfers Trebor Peña and Amare Campbell to its football roster
“I share a story with the whole team, tell them exactly what went on, exactly what happened, exactly why I was doing this. And why would you talk to them and tell them all that? So they won’t make that same mistake,” Brown explained. “So they feel comfortable enough to come and talk to me, and then they sit there, and it’s like, ‘Oh, snap. This is who the coach really is.’
“I’m committed to you. Show me you’re committed to me. I’m going to show you that by my actions consistently. I care about you, and I’m not just going to tell you that; my actions [are] going to show you that.”
Brown said he also understands there’s a fine line between being an available ear for players to rely on vs. running a tight ship at practice. On the field, he says, it’s all about “the work.” But he ensures that he shows compassion and care for his players and staff off the field.
Since becoming a head coach, Brown has developed a relationship with Colorado coach and Pro football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. In thinking about how far he has come in his coaching career, Brown reflected on the similarities they share.
“I got a chance to talk to [Sanders] and get to know him over these last couple of years,” Brown said. “I heard Prime Time [say], ‘Yo, man, I love you, brother.’ And I thought to myself, ‘This is amazing!’ That’s why I felt that he’s doing as well as he’s doing, because he’s comfortable. He’s comfortable with who he is, and that’s the same way I am. I’m super comfortable, man, because I’m thankful. It’s so much gratitude in this, for me coming from Camden, New Jersey.
“When it all starts to come to fruition, it’s like, wow, God is good, man, to have the opportunity to be in that position.”
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