What I'm hearing so far in early stages of the Syracuse basketball head coach search

With the transfer portal opening on April 7, the new Syracuse basketball head coach and assistant staff, including a new general manager, are expected to be in place sooner rather than later.

SU's next athletics director, current Toledo AD Bryan Blair, says that in terms of the new head coach, he's not yet spoken to candidates, but he has talked to agents. Blair says the hiring of a new head coach will be a collaborative effort with current Syracuse athletics director John Wildhack, plus others, including a search committee being formed.

Undeniably, Blair knows the importance of getting his Syracuse basketball head coaching hire right, given the program's struggles in recent seasons, and the landscape in collegiate athletics, where the financial considerations reign supreme.

Blair and his team will move efficiently. But despite what some so-called experts are opining on social media, no head coach is already in place. Don't believe everything that you read on Twitter, my friends.

Here's what I can pass along on the Syracuse basketball head coaching search.

I anticipate that a decision on the next head coach will be made in the next three weeks, and it could arrive sooner than that. I also anticipate that Blair (with Wildhack) will be visiting with candidates this coming week (and perhaps beyond that).

Keep in mind that with certain candidates, whether their teams are playing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament could factor into when a new Syracuse basketball head coach is announced publicly by SU Athletics.

South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson is among the candidates currently being considered, I'm told. Could he be considered the front-runner for the job? It might be too soon for that, but I will say this: It won't surprise me if Hodgson, who is originally from New York state, ends up being the next SU head coach.

Per reports, Big East Conference member Providence may also be targeting Hodgson. That's something to monitor. I am told that Hodgson is interested in the Syracuse basketball post, but that doesn't mean he will take it (assuming he's offered it).

Other potential candidates - let's remember this is a fluid situation - likely include Siena head coach Gerry McNamara, George Mason head coach Tony Skinn, UConn assistant coach Luke Murray, former Washington head coach and former 'Cuse head-coach-in-waiting Mike Hopkins, Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway and possibly Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo.

McNamara, who is taking Siena to the NCAA Tournament in just his second season guiding the Saints, is picking up steam as a hot commodity in the offseason coaching carousel. Jim Boeheim, his former head coach when GMac was both a player and then an assistant coach, says McNamara should be a candidate for the Syracuse basketball head coaching vacancy, and I believe he's under consideration.

That being said, reports out there on Twitter saying that, in essence, it's McNamara's job if he wants it, I'm hearing things differently than that. Let me be clear: GMac could end up as the next Orange hoops head coach, but declaring him the runaway favorite at this juncture is way too premature.

Regarding Hopkins, based on what I'm hearing, I'd say at this point that I think it's more likely that McNamara would get the gig than Hop.

One important point to add in here. When it came to the search for the next athletics director, several candidates were named publicly in reports, but multiple sources told me that various other candidates were interviewed, including Blair, who ultimately got the job.

So, for all the chatter in the public domain about this candidate or that candidate for the Syracuse basketball head coaching post, I'd caution that while a guy like Hodgson could very well end up with the job, the next head coach could also be someone who hasn't been named AT ALL in reports by me or any other media member out there.

As such, experts who are saying that the Syracuse basketball head coaching search will boil down to Hodgson and GMac - those experts could be right, but from my perspective, it's too soon to make such a declaration.

Enjoy the ride, 'Cuse fanatics. It should be a fun few weeks. I'll drop intel on Inside the Loud House whenever I can.