5 Replacement Candidates If Syracuse Fires Adrian Autry

Syracuse went to the Final Four a whopping five times under the leadership of former head coach Jim Boeheim, including the run to the 2003 national championship. The most recent Final Four came in 2016.

Since then, Syracuse has mostly been in the wilderness. There were Sweet 16 appearances in 2018 and 2021, but the Orange have mostly missed the NCAA Tournament.

Boeheim finally stepped away after the 2022-23 season, when he was nearing age 80. Adrian Autry, a Syracuse point guard from the early 1990s and longtime assistant under Boeheim, was tapped as Boeheim’s successor.

It’s only been three years, but Syracuse is struggling to win games in an ACC with a very average midsection. This year, the Orange will most likely finish with a sub-.500 conference record; last year, they finished in 14th place – its worst conference finish since joining the Big East in 1979.

Syracuse is not a traditional basketball power. It became a contender under Boeheim. (The 2-3 zone didn’t hurt, either.)

To get back there, Syracuse will likely need to nail another coaching hire. If the athletic department decides Autry isn’t the man for the job, here are a few names that could get a look. 

Gerry McNamara

Like Autry, Siena head coach McNamara is a former Syracuse player who spent many years on the bench as an assistant head coach under Boeheim. When the administration gave the successor role to Autry, McNamara spent one year on the new staff as an associate head coach, then bounced east to Loudonville. 

It’s probably safe to assume there was some level of animosity and/or disappointment on McNamara’s part. But Siena is looking at a 20-win season in his second year, and the Saints should be in the mix for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2010. Don’t be surprised if McNamara gets the first call. 

Mike Hopkins

Autry’s Syracuse teammate worked on Boeheim’s staff from 1995 to 2017. This includes a memorable nine-game stretch during the 2015-16 season where Boeheim was suspended and Hopkins served as interim head coach.

Hopkins eventually left for Washington, where he coached for seven seasons. He’s now the Head of Player Development for the New Orleans Pelicans, which – if you know anything about the current NBA landscape – sounds like a miserable job. 

If Hopkins wants to get back to the college game, this would be one of his strongest opportunities. 

Tobin Anderson

Geographically, Tobin Anderson is a pretty outstanding fit for Syracuse. He’s a northeast lifer who’s floated around New York, New Jersey, and the surrounding areas for decades. He’s best known as the architect of the Fairleigh Dickinson-over-Purdue upset in 2023 – one of the biggest NCAA Tournament upsets of all time.

Anderson took a job this year as special assistant to first-year USF coach Bryan Hodgson. In other words, he’s biding his time, waiting for a job offer he likes. Syracuse would surely be an offer he would strongly consider. 

Andy Enfield

Enfield has a quirky sense for picking jobs. After his memorable success with Florida Gulf Coast in 2013, he swapped coasts for USC, where he coached for 11 years. Not exactly a destination for basketball coaches, but Enfield did fine – he made five of 10 tournaments, highlighted by a run to the Elite Eight in 2021. 

In 2024, Enfield moved to Texas to become head coach of SMU. In his second year, he has the Mustangs poised for a likely tournament bid, where they could score their first NCAA win since the 1980s.

If Enfield ever gets tired of letting his good work go mostly unappreciated at a football school, he might consider an interview at Syracuse. Say whatever you want about Boeheim, the school, and its fans, but you can bank on their engagement with basketball and lacrosse, if nothing else. 

Kim English

English doesn’t have the Syracuse connections or the massive tournament win that many other candidates will, but the 37-year-old is a hot coaching candidate who already has some exposure to northeastern recruiting thanks to his current position at Providence.

On proximity alone, I would expect English to get an interview. 

Syracuse Basketball Coaching Candidates

• Gerry McNamara
• Mike Hopkins
• Andy Enfield
• Tobin Anderson
• Kim English