Get to know the new ‘Philadelphia Bulldogs’ through eyes of coach Fran Brown — Georgia’s resident Eagles fan

Fran Brown may have to open a waitlist for Eagles fans in Athens, Ga.

The Camden native, currently the defensive backs coach at the University of Georgia, arrived on campus last year as one of the few followers of his hometown team. After the Eagles drafted three more Georgia products in the last three days, Brown is noticing a groundswell of coaches and staffers coming to his side.

“I’ve been loving the Eagles my whole life, so I’m always messing with the staff about who we get,” said Brown, who played for Camden High School and coached at Temple from 2011-2016 before returning in 2019. “Naturally, the staff loves the Eagles now, too. We’re getting the chance to see all those guys we were just with stay together.”

“I got some applications left,” Brown said of those looking to change their allegiance. “But they’re running out.”

Brown was a star quarterback at Camden High School and developed a reputation as one of the best local recruiters during his time at Temple. He joined Georgia’s coaching staff last year, just before Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean were drafted by the Eagles following their national championship run with the Bulldogs.

A year later, three more members of that historically dominant defensive group are headed to the Eagles, with defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith going in Thursday’s first round and cornerback Kelee Ringo going in the fourth round on Saturday.

“They’re getting guys that know how to win,” Brown said. “Guys that know how to practice and want to practice hard so that they can make the game easier.”

Brown spent the last year working closely with Ringo, a 20-year-old athletic cornerback with limited experience playing at the position. Ringo played running back in high school and his transition to corner was delayed until his redshirt freshman season because of a shoulder injury that sidelined him for an entire year.

Ringo, 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, slid to the fourth round despite two years of starting experience and a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. The major knock on him, aside from potential questions following his shoulder injury, is his hip fluidity in and out of his breaks.

It’s something Brown and Ringo have worked on the last year, with Ringo showing enough progress for Brown to believe he can take the necessary strides at the next level.

“The change of direction,” Brown said. “All the things that you have to keep working, but when you play running back in high school, you ain’t thinking about all that. Then you go to college and you mess your shoulder up and have to deal with that for a year, you still can’t run and do stuff. … I believe that his best football should be ahead of him as long as he keeps that mindset of wanting to learn. He works really hard.

“I think he’s going to the perfect team. Because he can learn a lot from [Darius] Slay and [James Bradberry], he can learn a lot from them and not have to be rushed on right away. That way he’ll constantly get better. I mean, the kid’s only 20 years old.”

Brown said he sometimes had to remind himself of Ringo’s age when looking at him as well. His oversize frame for the position and his physical traits made it easy to forget.

“He’s still a kid,” Brown said. “When he turned 20, I was like, ‘What the [bleep?]’ Because he’s so big and he’s playing at Georgia, you don’t realize.”

Brown characterized Ringo as a willing learner and a hard worker, mentioning it would be difficult to predict whether Ringo or Smith would put in more hours as a professional. The two developed a lighthearted relationship as well, Brown said.

“He’s a character,” Brown said. “He’s very joking. Always cracking jokes on me, we’d go back and forth with jokes at each other just messing with each other. … His helmet is huge because of the dreads. I would always tell him his head looked like a 70-pound dumbbell.”

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Brown has transitioned from coach to something of a travel agent since Ringo, Smith, and Carter got drafted. He said he’s setting them up with his local connections and explaining the area to them to help them get situated. He also told Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick, a fellow Camden native whom Brown recruited to Temple and remained close with ever since, to look after the trio of rookies.

Ringo said his conversation with Brown after he got drafted included some tips about the area.

“Me knowing that he’s from there, I talked to him after I got drafted as well,” Ringo said. “Of course he’s been my best DB coach. He’s instilled a lot of time into me and he’s super excited for what I’m going to be able to do.”

While Brown wasn’t their position coach, he still offered a succinct scouting report for Carter, arguably the best player in the draft.

“Jalen is a freak show,” Brown said. “He can do whatever he wants to do at any moment. If he puts his mind to it, there’s no one that can stop him when he says he’s not being stopped.”

Carter slid because of concerns following his involvement in a fatal car crash last January that led to the death of Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy. The 21-year-old pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges for racing and reckless driving.

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Brown, who noted Carter called his son, Fran Jr., to console the high schooler after he broke his leg last year, said he’s confident Carter will be on solid ground with the Eagles. The swath of former teammates should help, but wasn’t necessary, Brown said.

“I think he understands and knows what’s on the line right now,” Brown said. “I think he’s going to keep himself in line, but it’s always good to have some guys around that will hold you accountable.”

“When you know him,” Brown added, “you see how much he loves you and how much he cares about his teammates, you say, ‘Wow.’”