Talks NIL, shift plans and how he fears an egg bath

SAN DIEGO, CA — For the first time since landing in San Diego, Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown took questions from the media about the Orange’s upcoming appearance at the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl on Friday night.

“We are extremely grateful and excited to be here. It means a lot to us to have the opportunity to play in such a prestigious ball game,” said Coach Brown.

What to look for ahead of the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl

While the Orange and Washington State Cougars are headed to the same bowl game, both teams are headed in very different directions. The Cougars lost three straight games to end their season and will be missing several key components of their team. Former head coach Jake Dickert took a job at Wake Forest, and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has taken the same job at Oklahoma. QB John Mateer has also been traded to the Oklahoma Sooners. Also lost to the transfer portal are other key players such as RB Wayshawn Parker, WR Kris Hutson, CB Ethan O’Connor and DT Ansel Din-Mbuh.

Kyle McCord confirms he will play in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl

Coach Brown says that ever since he heard that several starters would not play, he has been taking notes on their backups.

“I thought he did a really good job, the running back. I wrote down my own notes. I think he did a really good job all year just running the ball game. The opportunity to be able to be in there, run the football, he has done well.”

Coach Brown also talked about interim head coach Pete Kaligis and his strategy going into the game.

“We know they’re going to be a tough football team to play, especially when you have a defensive lineman, a heart as a head coach right now. So we know we have our hands full and we’re excited and grateful for the opportunity to play against these guys and also want to say happy holidays to all Syracuse fans, Syracuse alum and just everyone in the country.”

Both Coach Brown and Coach Kaligis talked about the transfer portal and how it has the ability to impact a team during the regular and postseason.

“We are who we are. We have what we have. I know it is for both of us. The state of college football right now, the way it’s changed is with the portal,” Kaligis said.

“It’s a whole different game that we have to adjust to as coaches. And that’s where you really start to see that relationships are important. And when the staff goes and the guys get into the portals, it’s because of those relationships they have. They used to be, how can we put together and get some of the nicer buildings in the country because that’s what all the kids were trying to go to. But now, you know, it’s going to be another ball game where the kids go to school now, they get NIL, right, so I think that was really at the forefront of everything, as long as you have a good initial plan, you are consistent, you constantly love, as you said, the players, they understand and they know you love them,” Coach Brown said.

“I don’t think you want to have too many worries. You know there will be a lot of places that will offer a whole lot of money, but I think there are a lot of kids who are looking for relationships and the relationships mean more , because in the long run they will earn more,” Coach Brown said.

“My goal was to play on Wednesday. And we fell a little short of that. So we’re really grateful to be in such a prestigious bowl. But I want to play next Wednesday. And to be able to do that, we’re have to adapt and be able to compete in our era to keep guys out of the portal so they know we’re going to be there with us,” Brown said.

ABOUT THE EGG BATH:

This year is the second annual celebration “eggsnap dump” on the winning coach. At Thursday’s press conference, coach Fran Brown avoided the potential bath by letting us all in on a little secret:

“I’m allergic to eggs. So Dan Villari has a NIL deal or where he gets the NIL deal and they want to do something. I think Meyers Creek has already said they would love to he was the guy to do it so i’m allergic to eggs so i’d definitely love to pour the eggnog on dan if i could.

Villari, one of the Orange’s tight ends, retweeted CNY Central’s Ashley Wenskoski to support his coach’s decision.

The Syracuse Orange (9-3) will face the Washington State Cougars (8-4) on Friday, December 27 at the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m