Syracuse Hires Wofford's Brandon Napoleon as Defensive Backs Coach

Syracuse has added Brandon Napoleon to its staff as defensive backs coach, a move first reported by Matt Zenitz and confirmed by multiple college sources. Napoleon is expected to work under defensive coordinator Perry Eliano and arrives with a Wofford résumé that includes serving as defensive pass game coordinator and DB coach while the Terriers ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring defense and seventh in interceptions.

Zenitz reported the hire with the line, “Syracuse is hiring Brandon Napoleon as a defensive backs coach, sources tell me and Chris Hummer.” WVsportschat also tweeted, “The former @247Sports 30 under 30 selection was defensive pass game coordinator and DB coach at Wofford. Helped Wofford rank 4th in the FCS in scoring defense and 7th in INTs,” a summary echoed across local and national outlets.

Napoleon’s recent trajectory includes stops at higher-profile FCS and FBS-affiliated programs. He was on Rich Rodriguez’s staff at Jacksonville State in 2024, a season in which JSU went 9-5 overall, finished 7-1 in Conference USA, won the CUSA championship 52-12 over Western Kentucky, and accepted a StaffDNA Cure Bowl bid against Ohio University. Defensive back Zechariah Porter made the Conference USA All-Freshman Team while Napoleon was on that staff.

At Rhode Island in 2023 Napoleon served as the Rams’ defensive backs coach. That unit featured cornerback Syeed Gibbs, the 2023 CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year and an FCS Freshman All-American by numerous outlets, and All-CAA safety Brent Jackson. In 2022 at Sacred Heart Napoleon was the cornerbacks coach on a staff that put up the fourth-best pass defense in FCS play and coached All-NEC corner Arsheen Jiles, who led the conference in pass break-ups.

Earlier in his career Napoleon coached at Susquehanna during the 2019 season, where he worked with two-time All-American Daniel Shelton and helped the River Hawks to a 10-1 record and a Centennial-MAC Bowl victory. His résumé also includes a graduate assistant role at Buffalo and coaching stops at Kutztown, Geneva College, and Midwestern State, in addition to the Wofford bio that several outlets referenced for background detail.

Napoleon’s playing background traces to West Virginia University, where he was recruited by Dana Holgorsen as part of the 2012 class, redshirted in 2012, and appeared in 10 games in 2013 mostly on special teams and as a reserve cornerback. He transferred to Northern Iowa in 2015 and finished his collegiate career with stops at NAIA programs Georgetown College in Kentucky and Kansas Wesleyan. He is a native of Rahway, New Jersey, and is the son of Eugene Napoleon, the former WVU running back who rushed for 1,001 yards in a three-year career and played on the 1988 West Virginia team that faced Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Napoleon carries recognition as a 247Sports 30 Under 30 selection and a track record of developing award-winning defensive backs such as Syeed Gibbs, Arsheen Jiles, Brent Jackson, Zechariah Porter, and Daniel Shelton. Syracuse has not yet issued an official athletics release with contract terms or a start date for Napoleon, and there are no public quotes from coach Perry Eliano or Napoleon in the reporting to date. The hire represents Napoleon’s move into what WV Sports Chat called his “first Power Four coaching job,” a test of whether his Wofford and FCS pass-defense results translate to Syracuse’s ACC-level personnel and scheme.