Syracuse basketball not mentioned in best coaching jobs list is absurd

The best coaching jobs in the nation don’t include Syracuse basketball, per a report.

Any time that a ranking of the top head-coaching jobs across the country comes out and doesn’t include Syracuse basketball, it’s going to irritate me.

Sure, the Orange isn’t a blue blood like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina, as well as UCLA from a greater historical perspective. The ‘Cuse only has one NCAA championship, whereas a whole host of squads have captured multiple grand prizes.

But Syracuse basketball, even despite its struggles during numerous regular seasons since it moved from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-14, is in the top-10 all-time in a variety of metrics within the sport, including total wins, victories in the Big Dance and Final Four appearances.

The Orange isn’t a recruiting juggernaut like those previously mentioned schools and others such as Michigan State, Gonzaga and Arizona. But the ‘Cuse is solid in the recruiting arena, regardless of the fact that Central New York brings to its residents and visitors alike really brutal winters.

Head coach Jim Boeheim, in his four-plus decades at the helm on the Hill, has transformed Syracuse basketball into a well-known brand and one of the most successful programs in the history of collegiate hoops. He’s never had a losing stanza in his long head-coaching tenure, which is remarkable.

Yet on a national scale, the Orange doesn’t command the same kind of respect as many other teams as it pertains to the ‘Cuse coaching position. It’s frustrating and ridiculous.

We penned a column earlier this year where we discussed how Syracuse basketball, unfortunately, didn’t receive inclusion in a story on the top-10 coaching jobs by Dan McDonald of Rivals.com.

That was one thing, but a relatively new piece by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report is even more frustrating for not including the Orange. This article rates the best coaching jobs in college basketball, with a top nine, in order, of Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Indiana, Louisville, UCLA, Arizona and Texas.

Then, Miller has in an honorable-mentions category Michigan State, Villanova, Gonzaga, Florida, Ohio State, UNLV and Oregon. Really? UNLV and Oregon, but not the Orange? We can agree to disagree here.

Miller notes criteria such as “a combination of history (both recent and ancient) at the school, the program’s culture/fans and recruiting pull.”

I’m biased, in part because I’m a Syracuse University alum. But Miller has 16 jobs listed here, and the ‘Cuse should be one of them.