Syracuse Football: Greg Paulus finally gets his shot to be HC with Niagara

Former Syracuse football QB Greg Paulus finally gets his shot as a head coach with the Niagara basketball program. Here are all the details.

Patrick Beilein did an interview with The Manchild Show with Boy Green shortly after he was hired by Niagara, in that conversation he said that former Syracuse football quarterback Greg Paulus would be a future head coach.

I don’t think Patrick thought it would be this soon.

On Wednesday morning Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports announced that Patrick Beilein was “stepping down” as head coach of the Niagara basketball program.

Shortly after that news was announced, Rothstein reported that former Syracuse football signal-caller Greg Paulus would be taking over.

This was obviously an unexpected move by Patrick. He was on the job for seven months before this decision was made.

In a statement Beilein cited “personal reasons” for stepping away:

Shortly thereafter his father and current head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers John Beilein also provided a statement:

"“Kathleen and I love our son, Patrick. We will assist him in every way so he can focus 100 percent on his personal issues. We believe that with a lot of hard work, he can do it. Thanks for respecting the privacy that Patrick and his family need at this time.”"

This now means the Purple Eagles will be led by first-time head coach Greg Paulus who will now serve as the interim head coach, with a chance to make it a permanent change.

Paulus has deep local roots, he played his high school ball at Christian Brothers Academy, in DeWitt, New York, a suburb of Syracuse.

However, perhaps Paulus is best known for his time spent in Durham, North Carolina, where he was a three-year starter for the – ew – Duke Blue Devils. While under Coach K, he was revered as one of the top shooters in the country, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc during his junior season.

His time in Duke came to a halt, however, when he was replaced by the highly touted recruit and rising sophomore, Nolan Smith for his senior season. Regardless, Paulus finished with over 1,000 points in his collegiate basketball career, including 210 three-pointers, according to sports-reference.com.

Paulus, who was recruited by Syracuse for basketball, then used his graduate year of eligibility to return to college and play football for none other than the Orange.

The 6-foot-1 gunner had an up and down season, throwing for over 2,000 yards with a completion percentage near 70 percent. On the flip side, he also threw a Big East record five interceptions in one game, while only leading the Orange to a 4-8 record.

Now, Paulus has committed to a basketball coaching career, he will get his first start with Niagara.  The assistant coach was named immediately as the interim head coach, thus putting him right in place for his inaugural head coaching job.

He’s has spent the last nine years as an assistant coach for Navy, Ohio State, Louisville, George Washington, and was hired for that role at Niagara.

Paulus now has finally received his first crack at being the lead dog of a college basketball program after all his years of tutelage.

The Purple Eagles non-conference slate features winnable games in Bryant, Prairie View A&M, and Norfolk State, as well as a potential blockbuster win at Rutgers. Albeit, he does have a very young roster, with only one top-five scorer from a year ago returning.

Paulus has an opportunity to truly revamp the program, as his collegiate experience at Duke and central New York roots would most likely benefit his recruiting efforts. The Purple Eagles open up the season on November 8 against Drexel and will travel to the Dome with a date against his alma mater on December 28.

We are all sending our thoughts and love to Patrick Beilein and his family during this difficult time. But on the flip side, Greg Paulus deserves this opportunity to prove himself!