Mar 23, 2026
3 min read
McNamara had just finished leading Siena to the NCAA Tournament, which nearly upset No. 1 Duke.
Syracuse finalizes Jerry McNamara hiring: Coach Siena helps lead Orange to 2003 national championship.
McNamara recently led Siena to the NCAA Tournament, where it nearly upset No. 1 Duke.
Syracuse is finalizing a deal to bring back one of them to lead the men's basketball program, Siena's Gary McNamara.Expected to be the next coach of the OrangeA source confirmed to Matt.Norlander, according to CBS Sports, has not yet made a deal.But every indication is that SU will return one of the most beloved players in program history to lead the program after Adrian Autry's firing earlier this month will lead.
McNamara's win comes after weeks of debate among Syracuse's many money players, according to Norlander's sources, who say there is a faction of boosters pushing for a hire outside the Syracuse/Jim Boeheim core.
With various potential candidates showing no serious interest due to uncertain void abilities, as the search progressed over the weekend, McNamara quickly became an emotional and practical front runner.
A former two-time All-Big East guard at Syracuse, McNamara and Siena nearly knocked off Duke in the top-seeded NCAA Tournament in the first round after leading the Blue Devils by double digits.
A four-year standout for the Orange, McNamara hit six 3-pointers in the first half against Kansas in the 2003 national title game.McNamara scored 2,099 career points in his Syracuse career.
After studying the game under longtime Syracuse coach and Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, McNamara earned his first head coaching position with Siena ahead of the 2024–25 season. He went 14-18 in his first campaign before leading the program to a 23-12 record that season.
In Thursday's first game of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils - 27.5-point favorites - trailed by as many as 13 points in the opening period of the second half before the Storm came back to survive what would be one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
"I've been doing this for a long time and I've never been more proud of a group of kids around me," McNamara said after Thursday's loss.
Duke's Jon Shear said after the game that he was coached by McNamara.
"I appreciate the compliment, but it's those kids," McNamara said. "It's my stuff.I've got an incredible team in that locker room.Like I said, a lot of people have game plans.Duke has been able to wash it out on almost every team they've played."
McNamara's parting words from Siena
Although he wasn't directly asked about other jobs after the loss to Duke, McNamara focused on a question about what it means to him to lead the Siena program.McNamara is said to be Syracuse's first choice for the job since the Orange fired Autry earlier this month after a third season that did not make the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm just really proud," McNamara said."I said before, I thought last year we put together a group that was ready to compete right away, and we lost a lot of close games. The offseason focused on the frontcourt, which you saw Riley Mulvey playing today, Francis Folefac, Tas was injured, and Antonio did not play, we have the best frontcourt, one of the best frontcourt.
“Look, your kids are a reflection of you as a coach in many ways, and I'm very proud of how hard they play.This gives us an opportunity.So when I took the job at Siena, you have to understand that when I played in college, I understand Fran was right behind me.This program was at this tournament.From alumni, from students, from fans, this is real.Real things happen in Albany.
"I wanted it to look a certain way, I wanted it to look a certain way, I wanted it to look a certain way in this room, in the fraternity, in a certain family. I wanted it to look a certain way on the court in terms of fighting and fighting, and these kids did it all. They did it all."
If McNamara is indeed the choice for the Orange, he will be tasked with leading Syracuse back to the Final Four for the first time since the 2015-16 season under Boeheim.Since that campaign, Syracuse has won just four NCAA Tournaments overall.
