Coaches are often known for their quirks, from wearing the same lucky socks during a streak to refusing to step on certain logos before a game. To outsiders, these antics look funny or strange, but they often mask the enormous pressure of the job. A college football coach is holding the futures of dozens of young athletes in his hands. Every choice can ripple out to shape careers, dreams, even the lives his players build after leaving the program. It’s no wonder some coaches cling to strange routines as a way of coping.
For Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, the pressure of his $4 million job has bubbled over into some unusual habits. Earlier this year, he made headlines when he admitted he doesn’t take showers when the team loses. He said he didn’t “deserve soap.” Fans treated it like a college football oddity, a story to laugh at and share. But looking closer, it revealed a truth about Brown that he doesn’t brush off (pun absolutely intended) defeat lightly. He takes it with him, lets it linger, lets it disrupt the simplest everyday things. And now, his newest disclosure shows the burden runs even deeper than anyone thought.
In a video shared by Samantha Croston, Brown recently admitted that the job also keeps him awake at night. “I listen to our players. I listen to the team… I think all night; I don’t sleep to be honest, so I’m just always thinking and listening and watching and just trying to replace stuff, and want to make sure I make the right decision because these are young men’s lives on the line.” His comments were raw, and they explained the magnitude of what he feels. He is losing his sleep because he knows any choice he makes could alter the trajectory of a player’s future.
“I don’t sleep a lot to be honest…I want to make the right decision because these are young men’s lives on the line.”
Fran Brown explains how he important the QB1 decision was to him pic.twitter.com/JINsmvdkMo
— Samantha Croston (@SamCroston1) August 19, 2025
That responsibility has never been more evident than in his recent quarterback decision. Syracuse’s preseason QB1 battle between Steve Angeli and Rickie Collins, which Angeli won, was one of the most closely watched camp competitions in the ACC. Brown’s choice will shape how Syracuse begins 2025, but it also determines which player gets the opportunity to define his career on a big stage.
“Sometimes it may not happen here, but it’s important that we build the right relationship so they know the information they get from me is 100 percent the truth,” Brown added, hinting at how honest he has to be even when his decision could sideline a talented competitor. That honesty is sure to win respect in the long term, but it doesn’t make the late-night tossing and turning any easier. The bigger picture is that Brown’s life revolves around Syracuse in a way that is equal parts inspiring and concerning. His players know he’s fully invested, and fans can see the passion in everything from his quirks to his sleepless nights.
But there’s also a cost here. Coaches who carry that kind of weight often burn fast and hard. For now, Brown’s intensity feels like exactly what Syracuse has needed to shake out of a rut and dream bigger than before. The question is whether he can continue giving so much of himself every day without breaking down in the process. Coaching demands almost everything, and in Fran Brown’s case, it just might be too much.
Fran Brown hands QB reins to Steve Angeli
Fran Brown’s sleepless nights have a visible culprit, as we said earlier: Syracuse’s quarterback battle. The second-year head coach admitted he barely rested before Monday morning’s meeting, when the decision between Steve Angeli and Rickie Collins finally came due. Brown gathered offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon, quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, and both QBs in the same room so the call could be transparent and fair. “It just came down to a little bit of operation, and who ran the operation the best,” Brown explained. This was about maintaining the trust and respect he’s promised his locker room from day one.
Collins didn’t make it easy. The LSU transfer had been widely expected to seize the job, with his athletic ceiling and flashes from camp giving him momentum. But Brown knew that experience matters, and Collins’ resume, with just seven collegiate pass attempts, left too little to rely on. Angeli’s journey couldn’t be more different. After transferring from Notre Dame in April, he quickly earned credibility. Brown looked back at Angeli’s relief appearance against Penn State in last year’s playoff game: “They went down and got points on that drive… without that drive I’m not sure those guys make it all the way like that. That was a big drive for Notre Dame.” That memory was part of what sold Brown on Angeli’s readiness.
Still, Brown made sure Collins knew this wasn’t the end of his story. He compared the junior to Michael Johnson Jr., who supported Kyle McCord last season, while reminding him he’s one play away. “There was nothing he could have done differently. He did everything possible,” Brown emphasized. This was a coach who was already losing sleep over the weight of his decisions, and this moment was the perfect example of balancing honesty, competition, and belief in players who count on him to guide their futures.
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