A familiar face is heading back to Syracuse, as former assistant coach and player Gerry McNamara is finalizing a deal to become the Orange’s next coach, USA TODAY Sports has confirmed.
McNamara, whose No. 3 jersey is retired at Syracuse, led No. 16 seed Siena to the Men’s NCAA Tournament in his second season at the helm after leaving his post as an assistant under former Syracuse coach Adrian Autry, who was fired after the ACC tournament. The Saints led No. 1 overall seed Duke by 11 points at halftime before eventually falling 71-65 in the first round.
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McNamara was an assistant at Syracuse for 15 seasons under legendary coach Jim Boeheim, whom he played for, and Autry.
McNamara made 135 career starts at Syracuse and averaged 13.3 points as a true freshman on the school’s most recent national championship team in 2003. He’s the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers and minutes played.
New Syracuse athletic director Bryan Blair, who was introduced March 19, is taking a swing with a fan-favorite — albeit inexperienced — coach. McNamara only has two seasons of head coaching experience, and has a 37-30 record across two seasons at Siena.
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Syracuse finished with losing seasons for the first time since 1968-69 after going 14-19 in 2024-25 and 15-17 in 2025-26. Autry failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in his three seasons at the helm. Syracuse last made the big dance in 2020-21.
Just a few weeks ago, Siena was the No. 2 seed in the MAAC tournament, taking down No. 1 seed Merrimack in the conference championship game. After the Saints’ strong end to the season, including scaring Duke in the NCAA Tournament, McNamara has landed the job at Syracuse with the purpose of building back his alma mater.
John Brice contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Syracuse great Gerry McNamara returning to coach Orange after 2 seasons at Siena
