New Syracuse Orange athletics director Bryan Blair, who officially takes over on July 1 after John Wildhack retires, says that the process is already underway to find the next Syracuse basketball head coach, after Adrian Autry was fired this past Wednesday, along with the rest of his staff.
Blair, whose appointment was announced by SU on Thursday, said in several interviews that he understands the importance of getting this new hire right at Orange hoops, due in part to the landscape of college sports these days and the state of the 'Cuse program, which hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2021.
"I understand the magnitude of the moment," Blair told ESPN, adding, "This is one of the best basketball programs in the entire nation. You need somebody that can adapt to not only what we have been, but also what we need to be going forward."
New AD Bryan Blair has a process in place to hire the next Syracuse basketball head coach.
In the next Syracuse basketball head coach, Blair told Syracuse.com that he seeks out someone who evaluates talent well, can develop players, and will win games. He also said he'd like a head coach who has proven himself on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. An "exciting style of play" is also welcomed, the Syracuse.com piece read.
The financial components are huge, too, especially as it pertains to roster retention and landing signees from the transfer portal and at the high school level. Some reports suggest that Syracuse basketball is in the lower half of the Atlantic Coast Conference when it comes to total name, image and likeness funds - derived from direct revenue-sharing via SU Athletics and third-party NIL.
"You have to make whatever bucket of money you have stretch as far as you can make it," Blair said to Syracuse.com. "That, in a nutshell, is college athletics in 2026. You want to spend the most that you can but you want to spend it as efficiently as possible."
While the process to find Autry's replacement has commenced, Blair says that he hasn't talked to any potential candidates yet (one is off the board), but he has chatted with agents. "The inbound conversations from agents is obviously hot and heavy because this is the best job on the market. We’ll have more conversations and more frequency in the coming days and weeks," Blair said to Syracuse.com.
A lot of my fellow SU fans have been asking me who would technically be hiring the next Syracuse basketball head coach. My understanding is that Blair will be, but he said to Syracuse.com that it will be a collaborative effort, with Wildhack and others providing input. That's what sources have told me, too.
With the transfer portal opening next month, time is of the essence. "We’ll move with pace and urgency," Blair told Syracuse.com. "We’ve got to get this right. We don’t want to rush it, but we’ll move with pace."