Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown has always been known to go about coaching in a rather unique way. And despite the fact that many, including Fox NFL broadcaster Greg Olsen, took issue with how Brown went about disciplining his team after their narrow Week 2 win against UConn, it doesn’t sound like Brown will be changing his methods anytime soon.
Following Syracuse’s overtime victory against UConn, Brown decided to have his run sprints on the field while Syracuse fans were still in the stands at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown makes the team run sprints after defeating UConn in overtime.
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— On3 (@On3sports) September 6, 2025
Given the fact that Syracuse struggled mightily throughout most of the game against a non-Power 5 program in UConn and were largely lucky to escape with a win, Brown had every right to be frustrated about his team’s result.
But regardless, disciplining a team in front of their fans after a win is certainly a bit unconventional to say the least. And for Greg Olsen, the public nature of the discipline from Brown was a step too far. He explained his feelings in an appearance on FS1’s Wake Up Barstool earlier this week, saying that he believed Brown was sending the wrong message.
“I agree with Coach (Gruden), I would rather do the 1 AM scrimmage in the rain. To me, this is about doing it in front of everyone and saying, ‘Look at us, look at how much we care. Look how much I care.’ It does feel performative. I have no problem with accountability. I have no problem with getting in guy’s faces. Especially if you feel like they aren’t playing up to the standard. I think Fran Brown has done a great job in just a short time, kind of building that culture at Syracuse and making them relevant in the football world.
“But I just think there is a time and a place. I’m not a big, ‘Look at me, go out there and put yourself on the platform’. I don’t know, I am with Coach, I don’t love it. I think there is better ways to do it behind the scenes to make sure you get guy’s attention. That there is an expectations of level of performance and standard and all of those things. I don’t know if it needs to be on the field. I don’t know, I don’t love it. If I’m one of those players, I am looking around. This is major college football, and this doesn’t feel like that.”
.@gregolsen88 and @BarstoolGruden weigh in on the Syracuse coach making the team run sprints after their win pic.twitter.com/RVmC4svreF
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) September 8, 2025
On Wednesday, Brown addressed Olsen’s criticisms on Syracuse Athletics’ digital platform Cuse Sports Talk, saying that he will focus on himself and his football team instead of any of Olsen’s comments. Though he did say that he actually had other plans to discipline his team that he wasn’t able to implement due to the presence of the fans in attendance.
“I don’t really know Greg Olsen, so I don’t want to talk about him at all to be honest,” said Brown. “He was a good football player. To me, I told the players we were going to do something. And if you know me, you’ll understand what happened. But once I saw all those people still out there, there are certain things that you can’t do. It becomes a different situation.
“So it’s not like I could go one up and do the things that we would do to make sure guys are running after practice and getting it done. So I said, just come in. We play Friday, so we have the opportunity to do other stuff. I don’t know Greg Olsen. I think he had a really good career. Wish him the best. I haven’t spoken about him, how he played, or anything he does. So I’m just focused on me and our football team.”
Fran Brown’s response to Greg Olsen calling the wind sprints after the UConn game “performative.” pic.twitter.com/Xcoe2EEt3W
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) September 10, 2025
Brown has always been a coach who wears his heart on his sleeve and sleeps. Look no further than Brown’s proclamation just last year that he chooses not to shower when Syracuse loses a game as proof of just that.
Regardless of how the critics feel about Brown, his unconventional approach has worked thus far at Syracuse. So unless we see a dip in production from the Orange, don’t expect to see Brown changing his approach anytime soon.