I think there has been to much pressure put on everyone in regards to NIL. Let's get real for a second. We don't need 13, 15, 20 million for NIL budget per year. Look at the teams in the tournament, and look at what their NIL budgets were. 5 million on average. Yes the higher number let's you buy the best individual players on the market, but basketball isn't an individual sport. It is a team sport. Which is why a coach is so important. I am 100% convinced our team this year, with better coaching, would have been in the tournament. We have seen flashes of great plays from multiple players, they just never meshed together. Take a look at Iowa State for example. Everyone wants their coach based on what he has done since he arrived at Iowa State, but has done that on a 5 million dollar NIL.
Gerry and Brian to me have always been on roughly the same level, newer coaches who have shown success, although with very limited data to go on. That is not a great way to make a decision and given the state of the program is a huge risk. Neither have sustained success to show they SHOULD be successful where ever they go. This in no way means they won't be successful, it only means they are highly unproven. Either was/is a huge risk, no matter the pedigree behind them.
This is why a coach like Josh is so very important to hire. Note the word like. There are many coaches on lower levels that have this sustained success and would a bit more of a sure thing than either Brian or Gerry would be. Buyers remorse is a real thing, and we are not in a spot where we can realistically take a chance on a largely unproven commodity. Unfortunately, that list of current D1 coaches is very small. When you look at the list of coaches by winning percentage, most have been locked in to their schools for a number of years and is unlikely to leave. Perhaps Will Wade from McNeese. I would also try Sean Miller from Xavier, just to see if he might want to move to the ACC.. Or Randy Bennett from St. Mary's. Then there are D2 coaches that have had multiple years of success. They may at this point in time be better options than Gerry or Brian.
Bottom line is there are coaches out there, we just need to find them. NIL needs to take backseat for now. Get success back in Syracuse DNA, get butts back in seats for games. The key to long term success will be coach first, players second.