He's beloved on the Syracuse campus and that's never going to change. Yup, Gerry McNamara is well known all over town and there's a ton of buzz surrounding his name right now. A former assistant coach for former head man Adrian Autry too, G-Mac has been linked quite often to the opening.
McNamara has some other things on his mind first, though, as his Siena squad is all set to take on Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He has made it more than clear that's his main focus, but still, the speculation keeps growing that he could be next in line to lead the Orange.
While speaking to reporters, however, McNamara keeps doing his best to try and silence the talk, which included him declining comment when asked if anyone at Syracuse had been in contact with him. Sorry, Gerry, but that's only going to make people even more intrigued about your potential interest for the job.
Gerry McNamara declined to comment on whether Syracuse has contacted him
On paper, sure, McNamara would seem like a home-run hire, but the memories might cloud people's judgement a bit. From our chair, South Florida's Bryan Hodgson might be the better pick, as he's also getting serious consideration.
Both coaches have made it more than clear that they're focused on the first round of the NCAA Tournament and any outside noise is nothing more than outside noise. However, it's hard to ignore that these two guys appear to be the two favorites for the job.
Would McNamara love to return home to Syracuse and coach up the program he helped win a national championship alongside Carmelo Anthony? Obviously he would. Despite that, plenty of signs seem to be pointing in Hodgson's direction.
If Syracuse does end up hiring McNamara, some people might complain, but the fanbase will need to fully back him. He's got a tall task ahead of him against Duke, but as soon as that game is over, more attention will be focused on the Syracuse coaching search. McNamara will do his best to quiet down the discussion there, but nothing is going to change until the Orange announce who's getting hired.