The Orange hold on to the man that orchestrated the best passing offense in the FBS
The Syracuse Orange are holding on to its offensive coordinator with a new contract. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on early Thursday afternoon that Syracuse and Jeff Nixon had agreed to a new multi-year contract. The new deal reportedly includes a large raise for Nixon, which would put him among the highest paid coordinators in the ACC.
Nixon joined the Orange with Fran Brown in 2024. He was previously the running backs coach with the New York Giants during Saquon Barkely’s final year with the team. Brown and Nixon were on the same coaching staff for two seasons at Baylor under Matt Rhule.
Nixon coached Kyle McCord and the Syracuse offense to the best passing offense in the FBS. The 370 passing yards of offense that the Orange averaged last season was nearly 20 yards better than Ole Miss, the second best passing offense in the FBS.
Sources: Syracuse offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon has agreed to a new multi-year contract to stay with the Orange. It includes a significant raise that puts him near the top of the ACC in coordinator salary. Syracuse had the country’s No. 1 passing offense in 2024. pic.twitter.com/7PLsxj0jOP
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 6, 2025
Due to his success with Syracuse, Nixon was a highly sought-after coaching target among the college and professional ranks. He was early linked with the Temple head coaching vacancy before the Owls hired K.C. Keeler from Sam Houston State. Thamel reported that Nixon interviewed for other head coaching positions as well.
Most notably, Nixon interviewed for the open offensive coordinator position with the Houston Texans. Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach and pass game coordinator Nick Caley was hired as Houston’s offensive coordinator on Monday.
Syracuse successfully holds on to Nixon, who improved the Orange offense by 124.3 average total yards per game and 10.54 average points per game from the 2023 season to the 2024 season.
Nixon and his family will stay in Syracuse for the foreseeable future. His son, Will, was the primary backup running back to start the season. Will only played three of the first four games of the season before missing the rest of the year due to injury. Nixon’s daughter, Jasmine, transferred to Syracuse in December after one season of soccer at Kentucky.
Nixon’s next challenge is to repeat his offensive success with Syracuse without many key players. McCord and Jackson Meeks exhausted their college eligibility, while Oronde Gadsden and LeQuint Allen left the Orange early to go to the NFL Draft.