Fran Brown just added another piece to the Syracuse football program that could supercharge the school’s return to prominence. After adding several key transfers, including Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and a top-50 recruiting class, the new head coach has now tapped New York Giants assistant Jeff Nixon as offensive coordinator for next season.
Nixon is currently the running backs coach for the Giants and has coached in the NFL for 14 years. He does have college experience as well, most recently as co-offensive coordinator/play-caller for Baylor from 2017-19, which is where he worked with Brown under Matt Rhule.
“I’m beyond blessed and ecstatic to be coaching at the prestigious Syracuse University,” Nixon told the school’s website. “I want to thank Coach Fran Brown and the rest of the Syracuse athletic administration for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my family and I can’t wait to get started. Go Cuse!”
“[Nixon] really knows how to score. He’s an offensive mind, period, he knows how to coach every position.” Brown said of Nixon. “He’s coached special teams, running backs, and tight ends in the NFL and has coached nearly every position there is. He knows how to score from all areas. If you go and watch him, he’s good in the red zone, he’s good in open field and backed up coming out. He’s a real competitive guy. I’m happy to call him a friend, but I’m also happy that he decided to come and work here.”
During his time in the NFL, Jeff Nixon has coached some outstanding backs to excellent seasons. This includes Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Reggie Bush, Lamar Miller, Jay Ajayi, Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy.
In his three seasons as play-caller at Baylor, the new Syracuse football offensive coordinator led the Bears from 98th to 63rd to 27th in the nation in points per game.
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