Cal Sports Report

Cal’s Mission: Keep Syracuse Coach Fran Brown Out of the Shower

Brown reveals his interesting ritual following losses before he focuses on the school that produced Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson and Aaron Rodgers

Jake Curtis

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
In this story:

Cal is hoping the result of Saturday afternoon’s home game against Syracuse will keep Orange head coach Fran Brown out of the shower.

Brown’s first season as a head coach has been a success. He has led Syracuse to a 6-3 record, including 3-3 in the ACC, heading into Saturday afternoon’s game at Cal, and the Orange have chance to finish with eight wins or more for just the second time in the past 12 years.

But he has an unusual ritual after losses, which he revealed to the media during his Monday press conference this week, two days after the Orange’s 37-31 loss to Boston College. He said he doesn’t deserve soap after a loss, and it prevents him from sleeping with his wife that night

Love this guy, I just wish all coaches were as forthcoming about their reaction to losses.

“Honestly, I’ve got a ritual, when we lose I didn’t even get in the shower until early this morning,” Brown said. “I just be mad. I just brush my teeth. But it’s like I don’t deserve soap. I don’t deserve all that. I’m just focused on like trying to get back and trying make sure our players mentally understand and know that I let them down, that they didn’t do it. So it’s being able to talk to them.

“I’m just focused on the first quarter, like today Monday is the first quarter, had to flush the game, get ready to move on, get an opportunity to go against Cal. Marshawn Lynch went to Cal, so like I’m thinking like, damn, we get to go against that school. DeSean Jackson, different people of that nature. Quarterback, Rodgers, went there also. So guys that I watched as me playing football growing up and through college and all like that. So it’s an honor to go against them.

"So I just kind of go focus on the next team as much as I can, but, you know, I just wake up all night, especially when you lose, you wake up, and, damn, that really happened. It really happened that way. So it’s just different pieces, and then I just move on, like I’m on with the week. I’m on with the week. Then I know, when Thursday comes and I got a meeting at 11:30 with [Syracuse football announcer] Matt Park. So, OK, now it’s more to the game. It’s moving that way.

“But there’s a process that I follow every week win, lose or draw. Only thing is my wife, I can’t sleep in the bed if we lose because I ain’t going to get in the shower for that day. I’m just mad, I just sit there. I just brush my teeth, that’s what I have to do, so you all won’t say my breath stinks. But I’m just sort of locked in on certain things, certain ways. I think, you got to earn the right to do certain things, so winners get washed. If I’m a loser, I just kind of wait a little bit.”

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football