New England Assistant Leaving to Join Syracuse Staff

While ESPN’s Pat McAfee was busy speculating about the future of Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots lost a different coach from their staff on Saturday. Wide receivers coach Ross Douglas is leaving to take over the same position at Syracuse University. Douglas will also have an expanded role with the Orange.

At 29, Douglas was one of the youngest position coach in the NFL. He is a former college player, having played for Michigan before transferring to Rutgers to finish his career. Douglas stayed at Rutgers following the end of his playing career. He became a graduate assistant from 2018 to 2020.

Frank Brown was the Rutgers defensive backs coach in 2020. Syracuse named Brown as their new head coach on Nov. 28.

After his time with the Scarlet Knights, Ross Douglas briefly became a defensive backs coach for Richmond. However, before ever coaching in a game with the Spiders, he accepted a Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. This  landed him a job as a defensive quality control coach with the New England Patriots.

In 2022 Douglas moved to become the assistant wide receivers coach, working under Patriots legend Troy Brown. This season he took over as wide receivers coach. Brown retained his role, while also coaching returners. He leaves New England to rejoin the  college ranks and reunite with Brown.

Opportunity with the Orange

Fran Brown replaced longtime Syracuse head coach Dino Babers. Brown coached defensive backs coach for the University of Georgia the past two seasons. Recruiting website 247 Sports ranked Brown as the top recruiter in the country for the Class of 2024 cycle

Syracuse’s staff is filling up with a combination of strong college recruiters, and coaches with NFL experience. New York Giants running back coach is expected to be named offensive coordinator. Syracuse added two major recruiters on the defensive side of the ball. Elijah Robinson of Texas A&M  (top recruiter in Class of 2022 cycle) was hired to be the defensive coordinator., They hired Colorado’s top recruiter, Nick Williams, to be defensive line coach as well.

Troy Brown is likely to take over Ross Douglas’ responsibilities for the duration of the 2023 season.