After a rough 2025 season, Fran Brown’s Syracuse is making big-time changes to its coaching staff. Immediately following the 3-9 season, the Orange released four coaching staff members and made a few role changes. Insiders now reveal two key changes are already locked in on both the offensive and defensive staff.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Syracuse plans to appoint Perry Eliano, the CB coach at Toledo, as their new defensive backs coach. He will be replacing Joe Schaefer, who was fired after the regular season. Eliano brings 25 years of experience to the program, having attained success at Toledo, Ohio State, New Mexico, and Bowling Green as a CB coach, Safety coach, and defensive coordinator.

It is worth noting that Syracuse has recently signed Toledo’s Vince Kehres as the Orange’s new defensive coordinator. If the reports turned out to be true, Eliano will be reuniting with Kehres at Syracuse. Working for the Toledo Rockets, the defensive duo built one of the best defenses in the country, ranking second, only behind the defending national champions, Ohio State.

On the other hand, Syracuse’s Nunzio Campanile, who was moved from QB coach to TE coach in early November, is expected to leave the program for UConn. Nunzio Campanile is expected to be the Huskies’ new offensive coordinator for 2026.

He played a key role in developing Kyle McCord and Steve Angeli as quarterback coaches at Syracuse. Campanile also served as the Orange’s interim head coach after Dino Babers was fired in 2023. He led the Orange to a Bowl Game by beating Wake Forest in the regular-season finale and losing to South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl.

He will be replacing Gordon Sammis, a two-time Broyles Award nominee, as the OC, who left UConn for TCU. Since the Orange made Co-OC and TE coach Michael Johnson the new QBs coach, they’ll now be looking for a new TE coach, a special teams coordinator, and a linebackers coach. While coaching changes are underway at Syracuse, multiple players have announced their intention to enter the transfer portal.

Fran Brown’s Syracuse loses multiple players

Syracuse’s locker room faces significant trouble as 21 players have announced their intention to transfer, seeking a new school. While eighteen players have already announced their departures, three players, including LB James Heard, OL Carter Clark, and Josh Miller, made their decisions before the January 2nd portal opening.

James Heard joined Syracuse, transferring from West Virginia in 2025. He appeared in 22 games for the Orange and recorded 20 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception. He will now be entering the transfer portal again with two years of eligibility remaining.

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Josh Miller transferred from Georgia earlier in 2024 and appeared in 7 games over two seasons for Syracuse. He started as a center this season before injury. He will be joining Austin Collins in the portal, forcing Fran Brown’s Orange to look for a new center.

Carter Clark, who joined Syracuse in 2022, made his first career appearance this season, in the season finale against Boston College, but made his decision to wrap it up with the Orange. With coaching changes on one side and the transfer portal on the other side, Fran Brown is in a difficult position to balance between the two.