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Message: [QUOTE="CuseLegacy, post: 5319922, member: 469"] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2025/01/15/syracuse-coach-fran-brown-earns-steve-spurrer-first-year-coach-award[/URL] [B]GAINESVILLE, Fla. (FWAA)[/B] – Syracuse head coach [B]Fran Brown[/B] inherited an Orange program coming off a losing season and a blowout bowl loss when he took the job prior to season’s end in November 2023. He has since turned the Orange into a contender, guiding Syracuse to a 10-win season, a record-setting bowl victory at last month’s DIRECTV Holiday Bowl and a signature win over a marquee program to end the regular season. Those accolades, among others, earned Brown the [B]Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award presented by Chris Doering Mortgage[/B] and awarded by the [B]Football Writers Association of America[/B]. [B][IMG]https://sistaticv2.blob.core.windows.net/sports-writers/img/library/39fc62d3-488c-4063-8ef1-40e3c3ea16b7.jpg[/IMG][/B]Brown is Syracuse’s first coaching honoree from the FWAA since 1987 when Dick MacPherson won the Eddie Robinson Award as the National Coach of the Year. Ben Schwartzwalder also won it at Syracuse in 1959. Brown will be honored as the best first-year coach in the FBS at a special reception Feb. 24 at Spurrier's Gridiron Grille in Gainesville, Fla. Each of the award’s finalists demonstrated excellence in their first seasons at their respective schools. Brown got the nod over fellow finalists Spencer Danielson at Boise State and Manny Diaz at Duke. In his first head coaching position at the college level, Brown became the second first-year head coach in Syracuse history to record at least nine regular-seasons wins. Three of those came against ranked opponents, most notably a rally from 21-0 deficit on Thanksgiving Saturday to topple then-No. 6 Miami, 42-38. Brown has been a defensive coach at every stop in his collegiate career. But this year’s Syracuse team that finished 10-3 will be remembered for its offense. Known as a top-flight recruiter, Brown’s first piece to his rebound puzzle was to bring in former Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord. A New Jersey native like Brown, McCord and the offense scored at least 30 points in nine of 12 games and he led the FBS in passing with 4,326 yards during the regular season. With a hat tip to Associate Head Coach and Quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, McCord’s 34 touchdowns (including the Holiday Bowl win) set a Syracuse single-season record along with program records for total offense (4,714 yards), completions (391), passing yards per game (367.6), attempts (592) and touchdowns responsible for (37). Brown guided a dozen Syracuse players to be named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the program’s most since joining the conference in 2013 despite its expansion to 17 teams. Tight end Oronde Gadsden made the first team and wide receivers Trebor Pena and Jackson Meeks joined McCord on the second team among a handful of defensive players as well. Pena and Meeks were first and second in the ACC in receptions and both were in the top five in receiving yards with seven touchdowns apiece. The Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award is based on regular-season results as Syracuse and Brown finished tied for fourth in the ACC with a 5-3 record in a conference that put two teams into the College Football Playoff. Syracuse was 21st in the final CFP rankings, and 22nd in the AP Top 25 and 25th in the AFCA Coaches Poll heading into bowl season.. But the Orange punctuated their achievements with a 10th win, an explosive 52-35 win over Washington State in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl. It’s the first time since 2018 and just the third time since 2000 for the Orange to win 10 games in a season. McCord was brilliant in the Holiday Bowl, earning Offensive MVP honors after throwing for 453 yards to break the ACC’s single-season passing yards record (4,779), topping DeShaun Watson on Clemson’s 2016 national title team. McCord’s five touchdowns tied a program record, and Syracuse’s 52 points were a program record for a bowl game as the Orange piled up 606 total yards and averaged over 10 yards per play. Brown became just the second Syracuse head coach in the modern era (post-World War II) to gain 10 wins in his first season as head coach, matching Paul Pasqualoni's mark in 1991. The bowl win has Syracuse awaiting an expected place in the Top 20 in both final polls. Brown came to Syracuse following two seasons as Georgia’s defensive backs coach and a staff member of the 2022 undefeated national title team. Georgia finished that season listing among the FBS leaders in rushing defense, scoring defense, red zone defense and total defense. One of the Bulldogs’ FWAA First Team All-Americans was safety Malaki Starks from Brown's secondary, and Georgia's defense also had finalists for the FWAA’s Bronko Nagurski Trophy as well as the Butkus Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award. A former student-athlete himself, Brown played at Western Carolina, where he was a team captain and earned First Team All-SoCon recognition at cornerback. He went on to play two seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. Prior to joining the Georgia staff, Brown was defensive backs coach at Rutgers for the 2020 and '21 seasons under head coach Greg Schiano. He has other assistant coaching experience dating back to 2011 at Temple and at Baylor, where he was Co-Defensive Coordinator in 2019 before moving to Rutgers. Brown grew up in Camden, N.J., and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Western Carolina. Brown and his wife, Teara, have two sons, Fran Jr. and Brayden, and a daughter, Ivy Ann. For more information on attending or sponsoring the 4th Annual reception at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille for the Steve Spurrier First-Year and Legend Coach plus Freshman Player of the Year awards on Monday, Feb. 24, please contact Tricia Garzon of the JAG Agency at 352-214-2331. The media contact for the Freshman All-America Team is committee chariman and FWAA member Mike Griffith, contacted at 770-845-3244 and [email]mikegriffith032@gmail.com[/email]. [B]Chris Doering Mortgage[/B], based in Gainesville, Fla., was established in April 2007 as a residential lending company providing mortgage products including conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA loans. The branch is a division of MortgageAdvisors.com – 3940 NW 16th Blvd., Suite A, Gainesville, FL 32605 – NMLS 70168/1937321. FHA Lender ID 2631500094. For more information, visit ChrisDoeringMortgage.com. College football analyst Chris Doering, a former wide receiver for Coach Spurrier both in college and the NFL, serves as the branch manager. Founded in 1941, the[B] Football Writers Association of America[/B] consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at (214) 870-6516 or [EMAIL]tiger@fwaa.com[/EMAIL]. [B]All-Time FWAA/Spurrier First-Year Coach Award winners[/B] 2024: Fran Brown, Syracuse 2023: Jamey Chadwell, Liberty 2022: Sonny Dykes, TCU 2021: Shane Beamer South Carolina and Josh Heupel, Tennessee 2020: Karl Dorrell, Colorado 2019: Ryan Day, Ohio State 2018: Josh Heupel, UCF 2017: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma 2016: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech and Clay Helton, USC 2015: Tom Herman, Houston 2014: Bryan Harsin, Boise State 2013: Gus Malzahn, Auburn 2012: Urban Meyer, Ohio State 2011: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia 2010: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State 2009: Chip Kelly, Oregon 2008: Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech 2007: Jeff Jagodziński, Boston College 2006: Chris Petersen, Boise State 2005: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 2004: Mike Price, UTEP 2003: Steve Kragthorpe, Tulsa 2002: Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame [/QUOTE]

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