Syracuse’s Fran Brown chides media for questioning quarterback decisions

The Syracuse Orange football season was looking promising until starting quarterback Steve Angeli tore his Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Since then, Syracuse has lost four straight, including Friday night’s 27-1o defeat at the hands of Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels.

Looking to spark the team following several games with rough quarterback play, head coach Fran Brown started freshman quarterback and lacrosse prospect Joseph Filardi. Whatever the second-year head coach had hoped would happen did not. Filardi struggled from the jump and ended the night 4 of 18 for 39 yards. He was replaced in the second half by another freshman quarterback,  Luke Carney, who did not throw a pass.

After the game, Brown was asked about his decision to start an untested freshman quarterback. In his answer, he put the onus on the media.

“You guys kept asking me are you going to get another quarterback. And then when you get the opportunity to see another quarterback now you want to question why do we have another quarterback.” https://t.co/zGlipDc2gF pic.twitter.com/r80uy44yt1

— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) November 1, 2025

“You guys kept asking me, ‘Oh, you’re going to get another quarterback? We get another quarterback. Are we going to get another quarterback? Then when you get the opportunity to see another quarterback, now you want to question, Why do we have another quarterback?’

“We just had another quarterback because he beat them out in practice. It’s all based on practice. The reason he played is because he won in practice. He done things in practice where all of us looked at it and we felt as though he would be the guy that could go in to help keep the game manageable so that way we can get an opportunity of winning. You practice hard heck all week long, and that gives you a chance to win it.”

Brown has been getting increasingly testy with local reporters in recent weeks as the Orange’s fortunes have faltered. A few weeks back, he channeled his inner Jim Boeheim and accused a reporter of being “disrespectful” for asking him to comment on rumors he might be considered for the Penn State job.

Understandably, these are frustrating times for Brown’s program. Coming off a 10-win season, it appeared that they were on the road back to a bowl game after beating Clemson earlier this year. However, the wheels have come off, and it’s harder to be a media darling when you’re being asked questions about why things are going wrong.

However, that’s part of the deal, and if Brown thinks he’s getting some kind of raw deal from the coverage in Syracuse, he should try coaching in Louisiana.