Syracuse reportedly targeting former player Gerry McNamara as its next men's basketball coach
· Yahoo Sports
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According to ESPN, the school is finalizing a deal with McNamara to become the Orange’s next head coach after Adrian Autry’s dismissal. Syracuse went 15-17 in 2025-26 and finished the season on a six-game losing streak. The final four losses were to unranked opponents.
McNamara just completed his second season as Siena’s head coach. The Saints were 14-18 in his first season before going 23-12 and winning the MAAC tournament to get the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. That earned the Saints a shot at No. 1 Duke, and Siena wasn’t too far from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
McNamara played his starting five for nearly the entire game in the 71-65 loss. Siena led Duke by 11 at halftime. It was the biggest halftime lead any No. 16 team had ever had over a No. 1.
Siena’s depth took a huge hit at the end of the season when starter Antonio Chandler was ruled ineligible. This season was Chandler’s seventh in college basketball, and the NCAA said that Siena made an “institutional mistake” when it said that Chandler was eligible to be on the team.
Before taking the head coaching job at Siena, McNamara had spent the entirety of his college coaching career at Syracuse. He returned to the program in 2009 as a graduate manager, and was an assistant before becoming the team’s associate head coach for the 2023-24 season.
That was Autry’s first season after replacing longtime head coach Jim Boeheim. The legendary Syracuse coach retired at the end of the 2022-23 season and handed over the reins to Autry, who had been his associate head coach since 2016. Like McNamara, Autry was also a former guard for the Orange and played for Boeheim.
McNamara was a freshman on the 2003 national title-winning team that was led by Carmelo Anthony. He averaged 13.3 points per game that season as he became a four-year starter and a three-time All-Big East player.
After going 20-12 in Autry’s first season, the Orange dipped to 14-19 in 2024-25. Syracuse has not made the NCAA tournament since it made the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed in 2021 and has not been any higher than a No. 8 seed in the tournament since 2014.