Report: Syracuse working to hire program legend McNamara as coach
Syracuse is turning to one of its legendary former players to lead the program back to prominence.
The Orange are working to hire Gerry McNamara as their new head coach, sources told Pete Thamel of ESPN.
McNamara led Siena to the NCAA Tournament, where the 16-seed Saints narrowly fell to No. 1 overall seed Duke on Thursday.
McNamara played for Syracuse from 2002-06. He won a national championship with the program in 2003 and remains its all-time leader in 3-pointers. He also served as an assistant coach under longtime coach Jim Boeheim from 2009-23.
McNamara, who became Siena's head coach in 2024, transformed the program in just two years at the helm. After inheriting a team that had won just four games the year prior, he guided the Saints back to the NCAA Tournament this season for the first time since 2010. A similar revival will be required at Syracuse, which last made the tournament in 2021.
The Orange went 49-48 in three seasons under former head coach Adrian Autry, whom the team fired on March 11.