CBS Sports recently released its ACC coach rankings ahead of the 2024 college football season, and the well-recognized sports website didn’t do Syracuse justice.
CBS Sports ranked first-year head coach Fran Brown dead last in the 2024 ACC Coach Rankings. This places him 17th overall in the conference, as there are 17 teams in the ACC, and and 67th overall in college football.
The reason CBS Sports ranked the former Georgia defensive backs coach last is that he is “a coach making his power conference debut.” Coaches in this position “will often appear near the bottom of a ballot in this process, and when it’s also the first head coaching job it’s going to be an even tougher hurdle to clear for a high ranking.”
While this is a fair point for CBS Sports to make, the new Syracuse head coach has become the number one recruiter in the country. It’s understandable as to why CBS would rank Coach Brown last since Syracuse hasn’t been consistently relevant in the ACC over the past several years, but there seems to be a new type of energy taking over in Central New York.
CBS Sports does acknowledge the off-field success that Syracuse has had, but it wants that success to translate on the field before they move Coach Brown up the rankings.
“Brown has made smart staff hires, worked the transfer portal and sowed the seeds for the future with his recruiting efforts. When the results follow the off-field momentum, there will be rapid upward movement in these rankings.”
Brown has brought in numerous transfers and coaches since taking over as SU’s head coach from Dino Babers.
Of the transfers, Syracuse’s new quarterback Kyle McCord will be one to watch come next season. This was an early significant acquisition after Brown took over for the Orange, and SU fans should be excited to see what happens on the field under Coach Brown after the off-field success.
