Assistant Coaching Candidates That Could Make Sense for Syracuse Football
Syracuse football officially hired Fran Brown as its next head coach on Tuesday. One of the lingering questions following the move is who will Brown hire as assistant coaches. Here are some potential options that would make sense.
Will Muschamp - Defensive Coordinator: Muschamp is currently the co-defensive coordinator at Georgia, but Glenn Schumann has the defensive coordinator title without the "co" attached. Perhaps Muschamp would be open to being the solo defensive coordinator. The question is would Syracuse be able to match or increase his salary? And if so, would Muschamp want to leave a place like Georgia?
Elijah Robinson - Defensive Coordinator: Was the co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M under Jimbo Fisher before becoming interim head coach and is very close with Fran Brown. The two worked together at Temple and Baylor, he has ties to the Northeast (grew up in New Jersey, played at Penn State) and is considered an elite recruiter.
Sean Spencer - Defensive Line Coach and/or Defensive Coordinator: Spencer was recently let go by Florida where he was the co-defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. He also has extensive experience coaching in the Northeast at Penn State, UMass, Hofstra, Villanova and others. He is a Connecticut native that also comes with NFL coaching experience.
Robb Smith - Defensive Backs Coach/Linebackers Coach/Special Teams Coordinator: Currently an analyst at Penn State, Robb Smith has extensive coaching experience in the Northeast at Maine and Rutgers. He was the defensive coordinator at Rutgers when Fran Brown was defensive backs coach. Smith also has coached in the SEC, ACC and Big Ten. He has coached defensive backs, linebackers, has coordinator experience and coached special teams.
Jeff Nixon - Running Backs Coach and/or Offensive Coordinator: Nixon is the current running backs coach for the New York Giants. He has prior offensive coordinator experience from being co-offensive coordinator at Baylor from 2017 to 2019, overlapping with Fran Brown's time with the Bears, as well as interim offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers. Nixon has also coached at Penn State, Temple and other spots in the Northeast.
Tiquan Underwood - Wide Receivers Coach: Underwood is currently at Pitt in the same role. He coached at Rutgers in 2020 and 2021 when Fran Brown was there. Underwood is from New Jersey, played at Rutgers and has spent the last four seasons coaching in the Northeast.
Bobby Acosta - Tight Ends, Wide Receivers, or Quarterbacks Coach: Acosta coached at Syracuse previously under Scott Shafer. He has extensive ties to the Northeast, especially in New Jersey. He and Fran Brown know each other well, so there is a connection. Acosta was most recently the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the last two seasons, but parted ways with the school this offseason.
Ashley 'Smoke' Pierre: Smoke has been the head coach at Irvington High School in New Jersey since 2016 and is well known in the Garden State. What potential role he would fill at Syracuse remains to be seen but Rivals' Richard Schnyderite has already connected him to the Orange as a potential assistant.
Chris Partridge - Linebackers Coach: Partridge was recently let go from Michigan, with reports alleging he was either part of the sign stealing scandal and/or destroyed evidence. Partridge denies any knowledge of sign stealing as well as destroying evidence. He claims that was not why he was fired. Regardless, Partridge is from New Jersey and has recruited the state for the Wolverines since 2016, outside of a stint with Ole Miss (2020-22). He has coordinator experience with the Rebels as well and is considered an elite recruiter.
Jordan Barber - Strength & Conditioning Coach: Barber is from Maryland and is currently at Georgia as the assistant strength and conditioning coach where he worked with Fran Brown. He also previously worked as assistant strength and conditioning coach at Miami, Temple and Maryland.
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