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Siena coach Gerry McNamara drew some questions for his decision to ride with only five players for almost the entire game against No. 1 Duke on Thursday, but the effort of his Saints only elevated his national profile as a head coach.
After the 71-65 Siena loss, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he was "outcoached" by McNamara, giving the second-year coach his flowers despite the upset never being completed.
Could Siena's near-miss put McNamara on the radar for other coaching jobs?
Here's what you need to know about McNamara's future after Siena's resurgent season in the MAAC.
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What's next for Gerry McNamara?
Siena didn’t finish off the upset, but dramatic upsets and near-upsets tend to put coaches on the radar for bigger jobs. Shaheen Holloway returned to his alma mater, Seton Hall, after an Elite Eight run with Saint Peter’s, while Ryan Odom eventually jumped to Utah State, VCU and Syracuse in the years after he and UMBC made history against No. 1 Virginia in 2018.
McNamara has a chance to follow Holloway’s route, as his alma mater, Syracuse, has a vacant head coaching job after his former colleague Adrian Autry was fired earlier in March.
While McNamara has built a fun program at Siena -- improving by 10 wins in his first season and nine more in his second -- the Saints likely don’t have the resources to keep him around if Syracuse comes calling. If the right opportunity doesn’t come around, however, McNamara has proven he can keep building his own profile at Siena.
MORE: Why Siena only used five players vs. Duke
Will Gerry McNamara go to Syracuse?
Reports regarding Syracuse's coaching search have been limited, but the school was reportedly turned down by South Florida's Bryan Hodgson despite Hodgson being from upstate New York. If the Orange are having trouble landing top candidates, McNamara might be someone who is more inclined to say yes because of his history at the school.
Not only did McNamara play four seasons and win a national championship at Syracuse, but he spent 15 seasons with the program as an assistant coach in some form.
When Holloway was in the middle of his run with Saint Peter's, it was widely reported that Seton Hall planned to hire him as its next head coach. McNamara's future isn't as clear, as reports haven't directly said Syracuse has heavy interest, but McNamara himself admitted before the NCAA Tournament that he expected to hear his name connected to the job.
"I think with what we did, with the job obviously being open, it was inevitable, with my history there, just coming from there," McNamara told reporters.
With Siena's season over, the picture should become clearer in the days ahead for both McNamara and Syracuse.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
Gerry McNamara Syracuse career
McNamara spent a full four seasons and didn't miss a single start, averaging more than 13 points per game each year and helping lead the Orange to a national championship as a freshman in 2003.
McNamara certainly wasn't the only standout freshman on the 2003 team, as Carmelo Anthony averaged 22.2 points per game and earned Second-Team All-American honors, but he assumed his role as Syracuse's point guard and shot 35.7 percent from 3-point range at a time when the 3-point shot wasn't nearly as prolific as it is today.
In the national championship game against Kansas, McNamara scored 18 points entirely on 3s, shooting 6-of-10 from beyond the arc to take down Kansas. All six of his made 3-pointers came in the first half.
After his freshman season, McNamara became even more of a focal point offensively. He averaged a career-high 17.2 points per game as a sophomore in 2003-04, drilling 38.9 percent of 3s, though efficiency was an issue at times over his final two seasons in Orange. Syracuse failed to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in each of McNamara's final two seasons.
Gerry McNamara contract
McNamara's salary at Siena has not been publicly disclosed, but MAAC coaches tend to make an annual salary in the mid-six figures, well short of $1 million.
While there are questions about what kind of resources Syracuse has to offer its coaches and players, there is no doubt McNamara would see a significant salary increase if he was hired by the Orange.
Autry made about $1.7 million in his first season at Syracuse, though he was simply promoted to replace Jim Boeheim. With McNamara's stock as high as it is, he could command more than that if the Orange want to hire him.
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