Gerry McNamara Leads Siena Into March Madness Amid Syracuse Coaching Buzz

GREENVILLE, S.C. — There are two versions of Gerry McNamara that will show up this week at Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the men’s NCAA tournament’s opening round.

There’s the Syracuse legend side of McNamara, the sharpshooting guard who teamed up with fellow freshman Carmelo Anthony to lead the Orange to their first national title in 2003. There’s the former Cuse assistant, who faced off against top-seeded Duke several times from the bench alongside program patriarch Jim Boeheim and vouched repeatedly for his former player, Maliq Brown, when he transferred between the ACC programs two years ago.

Mostly though, there’s McNamara the head coach, who has led Siena into March Madness for the first time since 2010 after winning the MAAC conference tournament last week in just his second season in charge.

As much as McNamara has tried to keep these two versions distinct from each other, that’s borderline impossible at the moment. He knows those highlights of him knocking down three-pointers 23 years ago will be shown on CBS prior to the Saints’ tip-off against the Blue Devils on Thursday. He also knows that his name is top of mind for those at his alma mater in the wake of the school firing coach Adrian Autry last week—creating some loud speculation that a return to western New York may be in the offering.

“My situation with that [job opening] right now is I’m here at the NCAA tournament for the first time as a head coach, and I get an opportunity to coach Siena University, and the kids in that locker room deserve that opportunity. They’ve got my full attention,” McNamara said. “That’s where my focus is. These kids have given me everything they’ve got every day this season, and they deserve my full attention, and they’ve got it.”

McNamara was a natural fit to connect to the Syracuse coaching search given his ties to the program. Sources tell Sports Illustrated the 42-year-old remains a strong candidate for the Orange, though it remains early in the process after hiring new athletic director Bryan Blair from Toledo six days ago.

As much as March Madness is about the action on the court, it goes hand-in-hand with a coaching carousel that can make the Big Dance awkward.

“I think with what we did, with the job obviously being open, it was inevitable, with my history there, just coming from there. I will reiterate, again, my full focus is on the team in that locker room that has an opportunity to play against the best team in the country tomorrow at 2:50,” said McNamara, after some secondary prodding by a Syracuse reporter. “The reality is because of [my team], my name is coming up. That’s the way I look at this. You get good players, you coach them right, you win, everybody gets recognition. I think the situation with the job opening and what we’ve done in the last week, there was obviously going to be some speculation.

“I have not brought it up to the team. No one’s asked me about it because we’ve gone, just as we’ve always done, and prepared the last week for the sole intent of being prepared to play tomorrow.”

Even if Syracuse opts to go in a different direction, there are no shortage of openings that young, up-and-coming coaches like McNamara will find themselves connected to. There are six power-conference jobs open at the moment and several more depending on how teams fare in the tournament.

McNamara might not be the only one around Greenville this week to hear his name come up in searches. Less than an hour after the Siena coach scooted off the court during Wednesday’s open practices, VCU’s Phil Martelli Jr. took to the floor to lead his team through shooting drills and could be the next Rams coach to draw interest from elsewhere—especially if they can pull off an upset of banged-up six-seed North Carolina.

Such is life this time of year all over the country as athletic directors embark on the industry’s version of speed dating as many of their top targets hold out for a few more games with their current teams.

“I respect G-Mac’s opinion and who he was as a player and obviously who he is as a coach,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer of a fellow title-winning guard in the profession. “I think he’s done an incredible job with this team. They’re hard-nosed. They’re tough. They have great role identity. They play a very clear style. And we’re excited for this challenge and opportunity.”

What isn’t quite as clear is just what version of McNamara will be the one to leave town after Thursday’s game against the Blue Devils.

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