ATHENS – Georgia’s defensive backs insisted that learning their position coach is leaving for another job in the middle of preparations for Saturday’s SEC Championship game against Alabama is not a distraction.
Fran Brown, who has served as the Bulldogs’ secondary coach the last two years, accepted the head coach’s job at Syracuse University on Tuesday. Both Georgia and the ACC confirmed the news Tuesday night. Brown informed his players before the Bulldogs held their third practice of the week Tuesday afternoon at the Butts-Mehre Football Complex.
Brown will stick with Georgia at least through Saturday’s game against No. 8 Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The 40-year-old New Jersey native will be introduced on Monday at a press conference in Syracuse, N.Y.
“It’s not a distraction, man. If anything, it just shows that these coaches do a tremendous job,” junior safety Javon Bullard said after Tuesday night’s practice. “When new opportunities and promotions like that happen, it’s just a true testimony that they have lives, too. We’re not the only people achieving our goals. They have goals and aspirations that they want to accomplish, too. So, like I said, my hat goes off to coach Fran, man.”
Senior defensive back Tykee Smith, who plays the “Star” position for the Bulldogs, is a Philadelphia native and has known Brown since Smith was in the ninth grade and Brown was an assistant coach at Temple.
“He kind of recruited me there before he left and went to Baylor, then he offered me at Baylor,” said Smith, a third-year transfer who started his career at West Virginia. “Then, once I got here and coach (Jahmile) Addae left, Fran got announced the job and we kind of connected back together and have been close ever since.”
What’s unknown at this juncture is whether Brown will stay with the Bulldogs after the league championship. If Georgia gets into the College Football Playoff for a third straight year, Brown may want to pursue a third national championship ring.
The players available to speak Tuesday said Brown did not bring up anything beyond Saturday’s game.
“We didn’t really ask him that,” Bullard said. “We’re focused on Alabama. We can’t really dial in on what coach Fran is going to do. I’m pretty sure he’ll let us know whatever he decides to do. But, like I say, right now our focus is on Alabama.”
Regardless of when Brown decides to depart, Georgia coach Kirby Smart will have to hire a defensive backfield coach for the fourth time in the last five seasons. He spoke very highly of the job Brown was doing whenever his name came up.
“Our players love him,” Smart said of Brown on social media Tuesday night.
Smart also acknowledged Brown’s excellence as a recruiter. Among the assistant’s recent conquests were landing commitments from 5-star cornerback Ellis Robinson of IMG Academy and 4-star corner Demello Jones of Swainsboro. Both prospects issued congratulations Tuesday via social media while pledging to keep their commitments to Georgia.
“I am incredibly proud to be leading Syracuse football at a university with a rich and storied tradition of academic and athletic excellence,” Brown said in a statement released by the school. “Syracuse football has outstanding talent, great facilities and passionate alumni. The success of the players is my No. 1 priority, on and off the field. I want my guys to succeed in life because they played football at Syracuse.”
Brown added that he was looking forward to “having some fun on the recruiting trail” with the Orange. That means he won’t be recruiting for the Bulldogs in the coming weeks. So, Georgia will have to replace him on the road when the December contact period begins Friday.
In the meantime, the Bulldogs said it was business as usual with Brown as they busily installed their defensive game plan for one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. The players called their “Bloody Tuesday” practice “one of the chippiest” of the season and were anticipating having a “Wicked Wednesday” workout, too.
“Coach (Dan) Lanning got the Oregon job sort of close to this time. You know, we ended up finishing that year pretty good,” Bullard cracked of the 2021 season. “So, like I said, we’re keeping the main thing the main thing. Coach Fran bought into that. He came to practice, brought energy, brought juice. He’s still the same old coach Fran that we know him as.”
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