Fran Brown’s connections continue to benefit Syracuse. The first-year SU football head coach will reunite with former Long Island University athletic director Ryan Kelly, whom Syracuse has hired to be its new senior associate athletic director for football operations, per syracuse.com.
The Albany native joined the LIU program in 2021 and served as the athletic director over the past year.
Kelly worked with Brown at Temple from 2015-16 and then at Baylor from 2016-18.
He replaces Brad Wittke, who worked with SU football under former head coach Dino Babers. Wittke left in March to join Cincinnati.
This hiring is another instance of Coach Brown’s connections, whether he directly brought Kelly in or not, that has endured a spot on Syracuse’s staff or athletic department. Brown also brought in Jeff Nixon as SU’s offensive coordinator, who was previously the New York Giants running backs coach.
In addition to the new staff hires, there’s a lot for SU football fans to be excited about as the summer starts.
New blue seats are replacing the old benches throughout the Dome, enhancing a new-look gameday experience. Fans also get to watch new and highly-recruited players, including former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, on a weekly basis. Plus, a new head coach has emerged as an active community member and the number one recruiter in the country.
For the younger fans, how about the recently released trailer video for EA Sports College Football 25? Syracuse was featured in the middle stretch of that piece where Kyle McCord handed off the football inside a packed JMA Wireless Dome. More than 10 years have passed since the last edition of the popular video game.
With the team, coaches, and staff coming together ahead of the 2024 season, there’s a multitude of emotion, hype, and excitement brewing in Central New York.
