Syracuse Icon, Assistant Coach Gerry McNamara Signs Contract to Be Siena HC
March 29, 2024
Syracuse legend and longtime assistant Gerry McNamara is leaving the program to become the head coach of Siena's men's basketball team.
Siena announced McNamara's hiring on Friday. He will be formally introduced at a press conference scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET.
"I want to thank President Seifert and Athletic Director John D'Argenio for this incredible opportunity," McNamara said in a statement included in the announcement. "I am so honored and excited to lead Siena College as the new head men's basketball coach. My family and I can't wait to get started and embrace Siena and the Capital Region."
The Saints needed a new head coach after firing Carmen Maciariello Jr. on March 20. They finished this season with a 4-28 record, breaking the school record for most losses in a single season (24, done three times).
Maciariello went 68-72 in five seasons at Siena. He led the program to MAAC regular-season titles in each of his first two years with the program, but they failed to make the NCAA tournament. His first season was in 2019-20 when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020-21 team went 12-5 in the shortened regular season due to the pandemic, but a loss to Iona in the MAAC quarterfinals kept them out of the 68-team tournament.
McNamara was a four-year starter as a player at Syracuse from 2002 to '06. He was named to the All-Tournament team in 2003 after helping the Orange win their first national title with an 81-78 victory over Kansas in the championship game.
Syracuse retired McNamara's No. 3 jersey during a ceremony after the team's victory over Wake Forest in the final game of the 2022-23 regular season. He's one of 17 players in the program's history to have his number retired.
Jim Boeheim, who coached McNamara as a player, hired him to the Orange's staff as a graduate manager in 2009. He was later promoted to an assistant coach in November 2011 and remained in the role for 12 seasons.
After Adrian Autry took over as Syracuse head coach in March 2023 following Boeheim's retirement, McNamara was promoted to associate head coach. The Orange went 20-12 this season, their first time winning at least 20 games since 2018-19.
Siena will mark McNamara's first opportunity to be a head coach. He is taking over a program that is looking to end its 14-year tournament drought dating back to Fran McCaffrey's final season in 2009-10.
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