Report: Syracuse hero Gerry McNamara returning as coach

Gerry McNamara, who led Syracuse to its lone national title in 2003 as the starting point guard, is close to finalizing a deal to be the school's next head coach, ESPN reported on Sunday.

McNamara, 42, has been the head coach at Siena the last two seasons, guiding the Saints to the NCAA Tournament this season after winning the MAAC conference tournament. As a No. 16 seed, Siena gave top-seeded Duke a scare in the first round on Thursday before losing 71-65.

Before taking over at Siena, McNamara served as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim and Adrian Autry for 15 seasons.

Per the report, McNamara has had multiple discussions -- virtually and in person -- with Syracuse athletic director Bryan Blair over the past week.

During the process, school officials reportedly emphasized a commitment to being among the top third of ACC schools in terms of NIL.

Along with helping Syracuse win the national title during his freshman year alongside Carmelo Anthony, McNamara holds the program records for 3-pointers (400), 3-point attempts (1,131), free-throw percentage (88.8%) and minutes played (4,799). An All-Big East honoree three times, he started all 135 games of his career from 2002-06 and had his No. 3 jersey retired in 2023.

McNamara returned to his alma mater in 2009 as a graduate assistant, then was elevated to an assistant in 2011 under Boeheim. He received another promotion, to associate head coach, when Autry was named Boeheim's successor in 2023.

McNamara left for Siena in 2024, posting a 37-30 record in two seasons. Before this spring, the Saints had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2010.

Autry, also a former star player at Syracuse, was fired earlier this month after the Orange missed out on the NCAA Tournament in his three seasons at the helm.

Syracuse did not qualify for each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, which represents the school's longest dry spell since 1967-72. From 1973 to 2021, the Orange participated in 39 of the 48 tournaments.