While the Gerry McNamara hire is more of the same, major changes are coming to save Syracuse

Two hires removed from his legendary run in Western New York, Syracuse is still unwilling to break away from the Jim Boeheim tree. After Boeheim’s unceremonious exit, Syracuse handed the reins to his former player and eventual associate head coach Adrian Autry. Now, after three years with Autry at the helm, the administration has brought Gerry McNamara back from his two-year stint leading Siena to lead the program. 

Dick Weiss was the first to report the news that was later confirmed by Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello at ESPN. And while the McNamara move is more of the same for the Orange, Thamel, and Borzello reported a major change that will give McNamara every opportunity to return the program he helped lead to a national championship in 2003, back to national prominence. 

According to ESPN’s sources, McNamara, coming off leading Siena to the NCAA Tournament and putting major scare into its No. 1 overall seed, Duke, will be armed with NIL resources that project to put the Orange in the top third of the ACC. 

McNamara hire comes with major NIL commitment that’s long overdue

In an 18-team ACC, the top third of the conference only puts Syracuse within the top six, and likely won’t rival the spending of Duke and North Carolina. However, if that translates to a top-six finish, that’s something that hasn’t happened since 2023-24 Adrian Autry’s first year replacing Jim Boeheim. That was also McNamara’s last season as an assistant at his alma mater before leaving for Siena, and his only season on Autry’s staff. 

McNamara spent 15 seasons as an assistant under Boeheim and began his coaching career as a graduate manager for the Orange in 2009 after a brief professional career. At 42 years old, he’s a bit of a gamble, but unlike Autry, he brings previous head coaching experience to the job. And, unlike Autry, it appears that he’ll have a serious NIL commitment. 

There’s a strong argument that the program should have pushed harder for an outside hire, potentially Bryan Hodgson, who left USF for Providence, or Josh Schertz, who signed a long-term extension to stay at Saint Louis. It’s possible that the McNamara hire isn’t the overhaul Syracuse needs, finally breaking away from Boeheim’s legacy. 

However, it’s also possible that Autry’s tenure was a major wake-up call that to compete in modern college basketball, your spending has to match your expectations. With McNamara, it sounds like it finally will.