Syracuse football: Fran Brown wins Paul “Bear” Bryant Newcomer COTY award

Winners get washed and respected

Syracuse Orange football had a remarkable 2024 campaign, knocking off three AP Top-25 teams in the regular season and ending the year ranked No. 21 in the nation. Now, the man who largely put this team together is being recognized.

Fran Brown is this season’s winner of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Newcomer Coach of the Year Award, which “honors first-year head coaches for accomplishments made on and off the field with their program.” Northwestern’s David Braun won the inaugural award last year.

Brown’s D.A.R.T mantra and complete revitalization of Syracuse football recruiting efforts catapulted the program to only it’s third 10-win season since 2000. His first season was one of the best of all-time, matching Paul Pasqualoni’s 1991 campaign as the only other time an Orange rookie HC won 10 games. Along the way, every FBS team that SU defeated was also bowl eligible.

It was a historic year of offense headlined by three moves Brown made: landing Ohio State QB Kyle McCord and Georgia WR Jackson Meeks in the transfer portal, and hiring Jeff Nixon as the Offensive Coordinator. Together, the Orange became the nation’s top passing offense, with McCord leading the country in air yards (4,779) and Meeks becoming the team’s leading receiver (1,021). Meeks, Trebor Pena (941), and Oronde Gadsden (934) were the number 2, 4, and 5 receivers respectively in the ACC.

There was also great work done on the defensive side of the ball, as Fran convinced both Justin Barron and Marlowe Wax to return for fifth seasons and landed Fadil Diggs from Texas A&M to lead the pass rush.

The exclamation point on the year was knocking off No. 6 Miami at home before going on to win the Holiday Bowl for the program’s first postseason victory since 2018.

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Congratulations to Fran and his entire staff on the award.