Gerry McNamara needs to be the next coach

[bnoro]

People are group think and can’t fathom the idea of a guy from Boeheims tree actually working out because the broken branch of the tree didn’t.

Kraft shouldn't have hired Vrabel because Mayo didn’t work out and Vrabel already flamed out in tenn. Critical thinking folks. To me su needs to bring Mac in and find out his plan and compare it to other candidates. This isn’t hard.

If Gmac is the best identified u hire him. You don’t use a faulty logic to prevent it. Courage

This isn't remotely comparable. Vrabel never coached under Bill. Vrabel wasn't passed over so Kraft could hire Mayo.

Not to mention the Patriots job was far more attractive because of the QB talent, and Vrabel wouldn't have taken it otherwise.

 

[BomberOrange]

I just saw a poll on CNY Central this morning. They had a survey for who should be the next coach.

Gerry has received over 40% of the votes so far.
Hodgson is 2nd with 27% or something like that, Mike had about 10% and I forget the 4th choice.

So, there are a lot of people out there who would like to see Gerry. But if he starts poorly, it could really tarnish the fans support.

Do we want to see Gerry coaching a team in a near-empty Dome? That would be a disaster.

The average cny fan has no clue about national cbb and will vote Gmac based on

Gerry and Hodge have same blueprint. Both doing great. Both set offenses not Jb offense. Tough d. I am great with either

BHs offense is light years ahead of Gmacs. I wouldn’t be pissed if GM is the coach but would feel we missed an opportunity.

 

[CooperCuse]

You can take Doherty off that list. Hubert and Gutheridge were ok. The rest legends. Still a strong g tree

He had one good season at Notre Dame and a very strong first season at Carolina. After that, he was pretty mediocre wherever he coached. It's why he's at the bottom of the list. There's at least three or four other dudes on Dean's tree I left off.

 

[elimunelson]

This isn't remotely comparable. Vrabel never coached under Bill. Vrabel wasn't passed over so Kraft could hire Mayo.

Not to mention the Patriots job was far more attractive because of the QB talent, and Vrabel wouldn't have taken it otherwise.

Cmon he played under him for years….hes said he’s taken a lot from his coaching. Semantics game.

in Gmac I trust as well as every one else identified. Let the conclave decide now.

 

[Irishsecra1]

Assuming he doesn’t get the SU job, I want to see the type of offense and defense he runs next year at Siena. I think it is fair to say he probably didn’t run the offense he originally envisioned. Losing 3 starters and your sixth man forces you to recalibrate everything.

He has the best incoming class in the MAAC, headlined by a point guard who is nationally ranked. Supposedly highest ranked recruit in Sienas history. Doty should stay assuming AW still pays his NIL. Might pay NIL as well for Folefac. Not to mention the injured starters returning.

The team could be really special.

 

[IthacaMatt]

LAorange44 i see my post made you angry. Why is that

Oh, I got a BUNCH of those. LOL

 

[TommyA13]

No he doesn’t, end of thread.

 

[IthacaMatt]

He 100% should not stay at Siena if he is serious about coaching at the P4 level. He should use Siena's success to move up to a tougher conference and gain more experience. Move up to the American, Big East, or A-10. That is how you build your resume as a coach. That would be his logical next step he shouldn't stay at Siena.

He's had one good year. He hasn't proved anything yet, if he wants to get a better job.
His next season is his most important one.

I think he has a better chance of success at Siena, where he will have a bunch of returnees, and even more backing, relative to his league. I think it's riskier for him to leave too early. I think one more year cements things in people's minds. In public relations they say that "three makes a trend".

That's a recipe for another good year, and if he makes it to the tournament or wins the league back-to-back, then he can get a job at Penn State, Drexel, St. Joe's, Seton Hall, Iona, Hofstra, maybe Rhode Island.
He needs a job like that next. In his footprint where he is a legend.
After that intermediate job, then he's ready for a big one.

He's not going to walk into one of the top jobs this summer just because "he's a winner".

 

[Cusefan95]

He's had one good year. He hasn't proved anything yet, if he wants to get a better job.
His next season is his most important one.

I think he has a better chance of success at Siena, where he will have a bunch of returnees, and even more backing, relative to his league. I think it's riskier for him to leave too early. I think one more year cements things in people's minds. In public relations they say that "three makes a trend".

That's a recipe for another good year, and if he makes it to the tournament or wins the league back-to-back, then he can get a job at Penn State, Drexel, St. Joe's, Seton Hall, Iona, Hofstra, maybe Rhode Island.
He needs a job like that next. In his footprint where he is a legend.
After that intermediate job, then he's ready for a big one.

He's not going to walk into one of the top jobs this summer just because "he's a winner".

I agree conceptually. I think one more year at Siena, with a great recruiting class coming in - Gerry has a chance to really elevate his profile.

I’m not sure why another MAAC school (Iona) is on your list. I also think Penn State is where careers go to die, it’s hard for anyone not in PA to grasp just how bad that job is. Being the third sport in winter (behind wrestling AND hockey) makes Penn State an unmatched difficulty in P4. Most of the list is A10/BE schools, those would be ideal landing spots.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I agree conceptually. I think one more year at Siena, with a great recruiting class coming in - Gerry has a chance to really elevate his profile.

I’m not sure why another MAAC school (Iona) is on your list. I also think Penn State is where careers go to die, it’s hard for anyone not in PA to grasp just how bad that job is. Being the third sport in winter (behind wrestling AND hockey) makes Penn State an unmatched difficulty in P4. Most of the list is A10/BE schools, those would be ideal landing spots.

Iona is NYC, not Albany. Better press coverage. Pitino coached there before going to St. John's. It has more cachet, despite being in the same league.

Yes, Penn State is tough, but they have so much money. BC does not, and it has no fan interest, and no press coverage in Boston.

Penn State is his backyard. They would have a lot of money to spend for him. He could do very well there. They get 80,000 for football in the middle of nowhere. He used to bring 50 buses of fans to games when he played here. He might kill it there.

 

[Cusefan95]

Iona is NYC, not Albany. Better press coverage. Pitino coached there before going to St. John's. It has more cachet, despite being in the same league.

Yes, Penn State is tough, but they have so much money. BC does not, and it has no fan interest, and no press coverage in Boston.

Penn State is his backyard. They would have a lot of money to spend for him. He could do very well there. They get 80,000 for football in the middle of nowhere. He used to bring 50 buses of fans to games when he played here. He might kill it there.

Iona was a way for an extremely successful but disgraced coach to rehabilitate his career. That’s a world of difference from being an early stepping stone for a young coach - and going from one MAAC school to another is a terrible idea. And we’ve mocked Boston College for being the 6th or 7th most important team in Boston - which equals no press coverage. Iona is somewhere around the 33rd most important team in NYC. They may have better press coverage than Siena - but if they do, I was never aware of it when I lived in NYC.

The problem at Penn State is not money. It is wrestling and hockey. Wrestling is always a top five program, have 14 national championships, and sell out every match. Hockey has top flight facilities, a top 10 program with championship aspirations every year, and the #1 recruit this year. The school can throw all the money at basketball they want to - but it would need to be in the top 15 for people to pay attention. Otherwise they’ll just focus on wrestling and hockey. Top recruits aren’t going to want to go there to play third fiddle to the star wrestlers and hockey players on campus. And counting on busses from Scranton taking the 2.5 hr drive on a Tuesday night to fill up the arena feels like an unwise gamble. I think guys not particularly familiar with State College see all the money Penn State has and thinks they can be successful in basketball. What I keep saying as someone familiar with State College is that there is no analog culturally to it. Nobody has TWO sports that matter more than basketball in winter. No one will have sustained success of more than a year or two there - taking that job is a high risk gamble. You’d need to do what Shrewsberry did - have your exit strategy planned before you even take the job, knowing you won’t be there more than two years. Three tops. For all the downsides of Boston College, it is a vastly better job than Penn State. PSU is absolutely the worst job in P4 and is in the running for worst in D1.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Iona was a way for an extremely successful but disgraced coach to rehabilitate his career. That’s a world of difference from being an early stepping stone for a young coach - and going from one MAAC school to another is a terrible idea. And we’ve mocked Boston College for being the 6th or 7th most important team in Boston - which equals no press coverage. Iona is somewhere around the 33rd most important team in NYC. They may have better press coverage than Siena - but if they do, I was never aware of it when I lived in NYC.

I would say that Iona has a lot more history of growing coaches into bigger jobs. Here's a list: Jim Valvano, Pat Kennedy, Gary Brokaw, Tim Welsh, Jeff Ruland and Kevin Willard. That's a pretty good list.

The problem at Penn State is not money. It is wrestling and hockey. Wrestling is always a top five program, have 14 national championships, and sell out every match. Hockey has top flight facilities, a top 10 program with championship aspirations every year, and the #1 recruit this year. The school can throw all the money at basketball they want to - but it would need to be in the top 15 for people to pay attention. Otherwise they’ll just focus on wrestling and hockey.

I understand your point, but I'm sure there are many people in Central and Northeastern PA who would love to have a basketball team to cheer for, too. They have enough money to afford them all. If you think wrestling or hockey fans are going to eat into potential basketball fans, well, maybe, but I think if Gerry could win there, people would show up.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Iona is NYC, not Albany. Better press coverage. Pitino coached there before going to St. John's. It has more cachet, despite being in the same league.

Yes, Penn State is tough, but they have so much money. BC does not, and it has no fan interest, and no press coverage in Boston.

Penn State is his backyard. They would have a lot of money to spend for him. He could do very well there. They get 80,000 for football in the middle of nowhere. He used to bring 50 buses of fans to games when he played here. He might kill it there.

Siena is the best job in the MAAC. Gmac is not leaving to go there. My money is on him staying at Siena this year to coach Ryan Moesch who’s a top 150 player. He will get bigger power conference offers next year.

 

[Cusefan78]

The amount of disrespect given to Gerry McNamara in this thread is ridiculous.

No one is disrespecting him. The issue is he’s getting pushed ahead of others with more experience and facing much better competition only because he’s gmac. If he wasn’t a local hero he wouldn’t be talked about. That’s a fact! I love Gerry but hiring him over someone like hodgson will be a huge mistake. Acc will Be picked apart in just over 4 years with conference realignment. If they pick gmac and he fails there is a very good chance Su is left behind. If that happens stick a fork in major sports here.

 

[Cuse House]

To be honest, Gerry should stay at Siena. He’s going to have a good team next year, likely another tournament team. It’s a low stress environment that may open up a better job. I think when JB left, Syracuse was still a top 10 job in the country but clearly trending the wrong way.

After these last 3 years with all the changes with NIL, I’m not sure Gerry couldn’t land somewhere that’s a bit more stable and allow him to develop as a coach without having to be the “savior.”

Maybe I’ve just been beaten down by Cuse basketball for the last decade, but I think we’re overrating how good of a job this is currently. It can certainly return to the pinnacle of CBB, but this next hire is make or break. We’re teetering on the ladder of permanent irrelevance after the last 5 years. I’d hate to see Gerry’s career nose dive if he can’t turn this ship around.

BH is the right hire at this moment. If he can get us back to the top 25 for a few years and wants to move on, then you bring in Gerry if he’s still trending towards a legit P4 coach. He is my favorite Cuse player of all time and I would love to have him, just not at this very moment in our history.

 

[RaoulDuke]

So you believe Gerry will be the coach with the top nil in the league like he was this year?

That would be great...

 

[IthacaMatt]

I loved watching Siena win against Merrimack. It was fun. Gerry's passion was on full display. Doty was great. They played hard. Motivating players is incredibly important for a head coach, and GMac is great at it. I saw nothing on offense that made me think there was some scheme that was leading to the success. That is my concern with him, and we have seen how quickly that can become a huge problem in the ACC.

Being a motivator is only part of the job, unfortunately. It can be really important, but there has to be more than that in the coach's kit bag. Gerry isn't that far along yet. His teams play hard, but not with any particular style or efficiency, from the games I've watched. If they hit their threes, they win. Like a lot of other teams.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Siena is the best job in the MAAC. Gmac is not leaving to go there. My money is on him staying at Siena this year to coach Ryan Moesch who’s a top 150 player. He will get bigger power conference offers next year.

Siena certainly have nice facilities, but not as much visibility as a team that plays in the NYC vicinity.

You also become a more practical recruiting choice for a City kid than it is to get them to come up to Albany to play. Their families can still see them in person at Iona, and will have a handful of games on TV.

There is way more upside to the quality of players you can get to a 2nd or 3rd tier school in New York City than you can to a small city in a rural northern state. Just look at home many good programs there are in Philadelphia. Same idea.

But I agree that he is set up to have a great year next year. Then he will be able to have more and better choices available to him a year from now.

 

[Sherman20]

If we’re going for the Boeheim family tree, we should just hire Wayne Morgan. Lol.

 

[BillSU]

This is an insane post with all due respect lol

Insane? I do not make insane posts and resent what you said.

You really are a uniformed nerd if you do not think Gerry would fill the Dome and win. Please no more. I would appreciate that.

 

[DoubleDee]

I think it’s fair to say, that regardless of the success possibilities, Gmac would up the dome attendance by a mile at game 1.

 

[tptcuse]

I think it’s fair to say, that regardless of the success possibilities, Gmac would up the dome attendance by a mile at game 1.

I think most people can agree with that. Syracuse loves GMac. But it is still a huge risk. Watching the game the other night, I saw a hard-working team without an identity on offense and a lot of iso.

I just want this search to be over with so I can concentrate on overreacting to every assistant coach hire and portal move.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Insane? I do not make insane posts and resent what you said.

You really are a uniformed nerd if you do not think Gerry would fill the Dome and win. Please no more. I would appreciate that.

I don’t think any coach will fill the dome at first but it will be better than this past year.

 

[Cusefan95]

I would say that Iona has a lot more history of growing coaches into bigger jobs. Here's a list: Jim Valvano, Pat Kennedy, Gary Brokaw, Tim Welsh, Jeff Ruland and Kevin Willard. That's a pretty good list.



I understand your point, but I'm sure there are many people in Central and Northeastern PA who would love to have a basketball team to cheer for, too. They have enough money to afford them all. If you think basketball or hockey fans are going to eat into potential basketball fans, well, maybe, but I think if Gerry could win there, people would show up.

It’s interesting that you want to use history to defend why Iona is better than Siena, but ignore history related to Penn State. And BC is irrelevant because they are in a big city and get no media attention - but Iona is relevant because they are in NYC and that translates to media attention for some unexplained reason.

Also interesting I specifically said the issue at Penn State ISN’T money - and your rebuttal is “but they have money!”

Most of your schools made sense as future stops. Those two are really weird, and your logic makes no sense for them.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I think it’s fair to say, that regardless of the success possibilities, Gmac would up the dome attendance by a mile at game 1.

I’m not so sure about that. I sit in section 123 for basketball and several fans are undecided about renewing season tickets. They want nothing to do with Hop or GMAC. The casual fan may show up, but long time supporters are completely fed up with the status quo and JB’s family tree. They want a clean break.