The first eight months in the tenure of Syracuse Orange athletic director Bryan Blair has been chatotic. Blair has already hired a new head coach for the men's basketball program (Gerry McNamara), hired a new head coach for the women's hockey program and overseen an historic start to their season, launched a strategic new NIL initiative, along with retooling the gameday atmosphere for Syracuse football home games.

The changes in Blair's administration have been noticeable during just his first year guiding the athletic department.

A former football player during his collegiate days, Blair has also been a presence at both football practices and games this season. Blair spoke about the football team and more earlier this week.

On Thursday, Blair joined ESPN Radio Syracuse's show "Orange Nation" to discuss a wide range of topics. Blair said this in regards to his evaluation of the Syracuse head coach:

"...He has won a lot of close games since he has been here. I know he sees a better version of himself continuing to evolve during his time at Syracuse and I think that's the goal for all of us. As an AD (athletic director) I need to be a better version of an AD than I was yesterday. Same for the team. We want the same for Coach Brown. So, I'm excited for him."

Blair's assessment is correct on Brown winning close games. The third-year head coach is a perfect 5-0 in overtime games in his career, with the most recent one against North Carolina on Saturday.

Blair addressed some of the controversy surrounding his relationship with Brown. Earlier this month, a photo surfaced on social media of Brown and Blair speaking following the team's loss to Louisville. 

"Fran is Syracuse. He is Orange. He is the head football coach. He is my guy. So wash that away."

The "wash that away" comment is in reference Blair being asked if he needs to "hire his guy." When a new AD is hired, often times people think that he wants to come in and put his own imprint on the athletic programs. Blair is saying that's not the case here.

Blair's public support of Brown should signal exciting times for the Orange football program in the future. While Blair was not the one who hired Brown (his predecessor John Wildhack hired Brown in 2024), the relationship between the two seems encouraging. 

This Saturday, the Orange will host the SMU Mustangs inside the JMA Wireless Dome, Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET.  The remainder of the schedule looks like:

Nov. 7 vs Clemson 12:00 p.m. ET

Nov. 14  @ NC State, TBD

Nov. 21 @ Boston College, TBD

Nov. 28 vs Notre Dame, TBD

The Orange (3-4) will need to win three of their last five games to qualify for a bowl game. If the Orange are able to win six games in total, the bowl invitation would be extended following the regular season.