Gerry McNamara is coming home to Syracuse.
On Sunday, sources indicated to ESPN that McNamara, who has been the head basketball coach of the Siena Saints for the past two seasons, and Syracuse were in negotiations for McNamara to come back and become the Orange’s new head basketball coach.
Gerry McNamara’s Rich History with the Syracuse Orange
ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel had the news regarding McNamara’s hiring in a post on X on Sunday.
Sources: Syracuse is working to finalize a deal to hire Siena coach Gerry McNamara as the school’s next head coach, per me and @jeffborzello. McNamara won a national championship as a player at Syracuse and led Siena to the NCAA Tournament this year. pic.twitter.com/LD1C66cml0
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 22, 2026
“Sources: Syracuse is working to finalize a deal to hire Siena coach Gerry McNamara as the school’s next head coach, per me and @jeffborzello,” Thamel wrote. “McNamara won a national championship as a player at Syracuse and led Siena to the NCAA Tournament this year.”
McNamara will replace Adrian Autry, who was named to replace Syracuse coaching legend Jim Boeheim after Boeheim retired. But the Orange never advanced to the NCAA Tournament in Autry’s three years leading the Syracuse program. He was fired earlier in March by the school.
As an assistant under Boeheim and then under Autry for one season, McNamara helped the Orange reach nine NCAA Tournament appearances. The Orange even reached the Final Four in the 2012–13 and 2015–16 seasons. His role as an assistant at Syracuse focused on recruiting, scouting, and guard development.
McNamara had a major role in leading the Orange to a national championship in 2003. Take a look at these categories where McNamara is the all-time career record holder: 3-pointers made (400), free-throw percentage (.888), and minutes played (4,799).
Throughout his playing days at Syracuse, which ranged between 2002–06, McNamara started in all 135 career games that he played for Boeheim. McNamara’s No. 3 jersey was retired by the Orange on March 4, 2023.
In his first season at Siena in 2024–25, McNamara coached the Saints to a 10-win improvement from the previous season. As for the 2025–26 season, McNamara led Siena to a 23-12 record, going 13-7 in the Men’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
MARCH MADNESS: Fill In Your Bracket Now!
That was good enough for third place in the MAAC, but Siena won the MAAC Tournament and reached the NCAA Men’s Tournament first round this season. In an East Region first-round game, Siena gave No. 1 overall seed Duke all that the Blue Devils could handle. But the Blue Devils prevailed in a 71-65 victory.
McNamara will now bring his experience back to his alma mater, a move that probably brings smiles to many Orange fans.
