Gerry McNamara Revived Siena. Is He the Guy for Syracuse?

It’s been two decades since Gerry McNamara’s prolific playing career at Syracuse came to an end. Now, the former star point guard has led another Upstate New York school to the NCAA Tournament.

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In just his second full season at Siena, McNamara led the Saints to a 23-11 overall record and a third-place regular season finish in the MAAC before the Saints made an impressive run through the conference tournament in Atlantic City. A 64-54 win over Merrimack in the championship game on Tuesday officially sent Siena to its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and first since 2010.

What Could Have Been in Albany

At one point in the 2000s under coach Fran McCaffrey, Siena appeared to have the foundation to potentially become an East Coast equivalent of Gonzaga. A blowout win over No. 4 seed Vanderbilt as a No. 13 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament was the program’s first introduction to the national stage, though the Saints would bow out in the Round of 32 in a hard-fought loss to Villanova. The 2009 Siena team (who somehow earned a No. 9 seed) became engraved in March Madness lore forever thanks to a pair of Ronald Moore buzzer-beaters to tie No. 8 Ohio State in regulation and to beat the Buckeyes in overtime.

In 2010, Siena made a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and had an average attendance of nearly 8,000 fans per game, which was in the same ballpark as programs such as UCLA and Arizona State. However, after McCaffrey left for Iowa following that ‘10 season, the program lost its national momentum and a 16-year MAAC championship drought began. A large and passionate alumni base still averages around 5,000 paying fans per game, but the chances to cheer for meaningful basketball have been sparse the last decade and a half.

A Familiar Face

McNamara’s arrival in 2024 instantly brought a surge of energy to the program, in no small part because of McNamara’s pre-existing connection to fans throughout Upstate New York. There is a substantial amount of crossover between the Siena and Syracuse fanbases given the respective universities’ geographic location, so it took McNamara little time to fit in with the community in Loudonville, NY.

20 years ago this week as a player, Gerry McNamara led Syracuse to four wins in four days at the Big East Tournament at MSG.

Tonight as a head coach, he led Siena to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.

Guy is a WINNER.

CHAMPIONS OF THE MAAC!

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 11, 2026

The elephant in the room regarding McNamara’s time at Siena, however, is that it has always felt like a stepping stone for the Syracuse head coaching job if it ever came available. In an almost sick twist of fate, Syracuse fired head coach Adrian Autry hours before McNamara and Siena ended the program’s 16-year NCAA Tournament drought. Of course, the first name thrown into the proverbial hat for the opening was predictably McNamara. And the truth is that his departure from Siena is essentially a certainty if that opportunity arises.

The Guy For the Orange?

As impressive as the Saints run through the MAAC Tournament was, the days of Siena earning a respectable NCAA Tournament seed are long gone. Most projections have Siena slotted as a No. 15 or No. 16 seed in the Tournament, and the growing gap between mid-major and power conference programs will make a Saint Peter’s-esque run all but impossible in the current college basketball landscape.

Gerry McNamara said it was “inevitable” that his name would come up in the Syracuse head coaching search given history there, and what Siena just accomplished.

Upon returning to Loudonville, McNamara says he’s ignoring the noise as he leads Siena into the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/HqhGJ6RFeB

— Griffin Haas (@Griffin__Haas) March 11, 2026

Siena may not be able to shock the world this March, but McNamara’s revival of the Siena program certainly has to appeal to a Syracuse program that could be approaching a similar NCAA Tournament drought with the wrong hire. It’s hard to imagine a hire that would connect with the Syracuse community more than the guy who was the starting point guard of the university’s lone national championship-winning basketball team and is still arguably the most beloved player in program history.