Fran Brown oversees latest defensive coaching change for 2026 Syracuse football

With new defensive coordinator Vince Kehres officially hired Saturday, he and Brown are looking to overhaul the Orange defensive identity on and off the field.

Nov 25, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; General view of a Syracuse Orange helmet prior to the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

It did not take long for staff turnover once Syracuse announced Saturday that former Toledo defensive coordinator Vince Kehres was joining Fran Brown in the same role, replacing Elijah Robinson who has moved on to LSU, along with the hiring of veteran offensive line coach Juan Castillo on that side of the ball.

Defensive line assistant coach Nick Williams, who specialized working with the edge rushers, has moved on to another ACC school, Florida State, after two seasons working with Brown and Robinson, as Kehres begins to recommend to his new boss the specific assistants he wants to hire for his unit.

Tackling, turnovers, and a pass rush, it is all about developing younger players

Brown's hiring of Kehres (and Castillo) signals the need for teaching, motivating and accountability for a unit that was near the bottom of FBS teams in total defense this past season, but they will also have to find someone that can recruit and connect with his players as robustly as Williams did, one of the program's most popular coaches.

On the field, however, Williams' edge rushers struggled all year finishing with 20 sacks in 12 games, the 1.67 average of sacks-per-game ranked tied for 100th out of 134 FBS teams, with 2024 Texas A&M transfer Fadil Diggs turning put to be the most productive Orange player during his tenure.

In SU's bowl-winning campaign of '24, Diggs finished leading the ACC with 14 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks by himself when you consider the team only ended up with 20 this season, and has played in four games with the NFL's New Orleans Saints (3-10, last place in NFC South Division) so far in 2025.

Williams moves on to another reeling program in the Seminoles, now bowless for consecutive seasons under Mike Norvell, and not scheduled to face Syracuse until 2027.

A need to hire other new 'Cuse defensive coaches

When Brown unveiled his first post-season round of coaching moves on December 1, they included the dismissal of two other defensive assistants, linebackers coach Robert Wright, and defensive secondary coach Joe Shaefer, in addition to the news that Robinson (with reportedly some help on the inside) had found a soft landing spot at LSU.

So with the three vacancies for defensive assistants (DL Edge, LB, and secondary), Kehres will also look to perhaps tinker with his staff support staff that last season included four defensive quality control assistants, and two defensive analysts.

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