Is it Gerry McNamara or bust for Syracuse basketball’s next head coach? Jackson Holzer breaks down why McNamara’s stock is soaring after leading Siena to a near upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament, with Jon Scheyer himself admitting he was “outcoached.” The conversation heats up as Jackson Holzer weighs McNamara’s candidacy against rising star Phil Martelli Jr., currently thriving at VCU, and explores whether Syracuse can actually land its top choice.
Hear insights on how recent tournament performances, missed opportunities, and program legacy are shaping the Orange’s coaching search. Key topics include candidate comparisons, North Carolina’s impending coaching decisions and their ripple effects, and Athletic Director Bryan Blair’s media debut. Has public sentiment turned the corner for the iconic homegrown candidate, or is a new era just over the horizon in the Carrier Dome?
Locked On Syracuse Twitter: https://twitter.com/LO_Syracuse
Jackson Holzer's Twitter: https://x.com/jholzer52
Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
5-Hour ENERGY
Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at https://5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon.
Mazda
Like our players, we’re driven by the details. Because highlights make the reel. What it takes to get there makes it count.
There’s more to a Mazda. Because there’s more to you.
TurboTax
This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today.
Robinhood
You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.
Wayfair
Get last-minute hosting essentials, gifts for all your loved ones, and decor to celebrate the holidays for WAY less.
Head to https://Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.
Wayfair. Every style. Every home.
SupplyHouse
Visit https://SupplyHouse.com/tm to learn more about becoming a Trade Master.
Use promo code S-H Five College for 5% off your first order at https://supplyhouse.com.
SupplyHouse. Real people. Real service.
Indeed
Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast
Gametime
Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.
FanDuel
FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a College Basketball Parlay Profit Boost.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?
Right.
And the best part?
They accept discover.
Accept discover?
In a little place like this?
I don't think so, Jennifer.
Oh, yeah, huh.
Discover's accepted where I like to shop.
Come on, baby.
Get with the times.
Right.
So we shouldn't get the parachute pants?
These are making a comeback.
I think.
Discover's accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
Based on the February 2025 Nilsen report.
When you want spring break to feel like...
...and a moment away from the kids to feel like...
...and your reward status to feel like...
Thank you for being a Hilton Honors Gold member.
Enjoy your daily food and beverage credit.
And now that nightcap in the lounge can feel like...
It matters where you stay.
With Hilton Honors, earn the most valuable gold status faster...
...and unlock benefits at over 9,000 locations worldwide.
Hilton, for this day.
Is it Jerry McNamara or bust for Syracuse Basketball?
You are locked on Syracuse.
Your daily podcast on the Syracuse Orange.
Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.
Your team every day.
Hello, everyone.
And welcome in a Lockdown Syracuse.
I'm Jackson Holzer.
Thank you so much for making us your first lesson of every single day here on the Lockdown Podcast Network...
...where it's your team every day.
We are always free and available wherever you get your podcast here on the number one sports podcasting network.
Is it Jerry McNamara or bust for Syracuse Basketball for its next head coach?
We can talk about it here on this mini edition of Lockdown Syracuse.
It was certainly an eventful day one of the NCAA tournament.
We had a big upset with high point knocking off with Johnson.
Shout out to myself.
I got to give myself a pat on the back here because I actually picked that upset.
Cool.
But another big story.
Jerry McNamara and 16-seed Sienna had Duke, the top overall team in the tournament, on the ropes.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you read all the discourse online, if you listen to some of the public sentiment that is out there,
it has become clear that people, and this is including myself, are now very, very open to the idea of Jerry McNamara becoming the next head coach of Syracuse Basketball.
Why now, compared to a month ago, I'll give you the answer.
He's won games, and he was continuing to win games.
He won the conference tournament, taking Sienna to the NCAA tournament.
That's cool.
That's nice.
Fair or not, though.
He was going to get judged a little bit based on how Sienna did against Duke.
I wasn't going to hold it against Jerry McNamara per se if Sienna went out there and they got completely annihilated mainly because I'm expecting Sienna to get completely annihilated by Duke.
But the fact that Sienna actually had a legitimate chance to win the game, mainly because John Shire actually admitted that Jerry McNamara outcoached him.
I am certainly open to the idea of Jerry McNamara becoming the next head coach of Syracuse Basketball, not because he's in the family, but because he may be the best head coach that Syracuse can actually get.
I'm going to talk about that later on here on this mini show because I don't think Jerry McNamara is necessarily the best candidate overall that is out there.
But I think he is the best candidate that Syracuse can actually get, and there is a difference.
And when you go back and you look at this game from Sienna against Duke.
On a misdunk had nothing to do with coaching had nothing to do really with the fact that Sienna didn't sob the entire game, which by the way, if you read all about what Sienna was going through combined with the situation, that was 100% the correct move by Jerry McNamara to not sub the entire game.
You are playing Duke in the NCAA tournament, not fair field on a random Monday night in January.
You got to coach differently. You got to treat your rotation differently.
But the game turned on a misdunk. Sienna is up by 13 points in the second half. They have a wide open two hand slam. I forgot who it was.
And he missed the dunk. Sienna gets the offensive rebound and they miss another dunk.
And then Duke on the other end, they get a fast break dunk. So it's a four point swing, a potential 15 point lead becomes an 11 point lead.
And that was the moment when Duke started to make their run. And I think we all figured that the clock was going to strike midnight on Sienna just because Duke is the more talented team.
That's the reality. But Jerry McNamara did his absolute very best to keep Sienna in the game to give Sienna a chance.
And when you combine it with the fact that in year two, he led Sienna to the NCAA tournament as a head coach.
And he certainly opened to the idea of Jerry McNamara taking over as the Syracuse basketball had coach again.
It's not because of the family appeal.
If Jerry McNamara was doing this with Merrimack, I would say, hey, I think Syracuse should take a look at this guy. I think he could be pretty good for Syracuse has nothing to do with family appeal.
I think Syracuse was a star at, I'm not going to pick a Syracuse rival, but let's say he was a star at Arizona.
I think Syracuse fans were pretty neutral to Arizona. I don't think we care about Arizona all that much. Right. If he was a star at Arizona and was a long time assistant Arizona.
And he was doing this in Sienna right now. I think Jerry McNamara would get legitimate consideration.
Family appeal helps when, if and when there is a tie between a couple of coaches, as I've mentioned before, Jerry McNamara.
I'm open to it.
Comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below. Are you with me now? Have you also made the turn just like myself. I'm not running from what I previously said.
I say it could change on results and it did change on results.
I do in favor of hiring Jerry McNamara. Comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below. Now coming up here, unlocked on Syracuse. I mentioned earlier that Jerry McNamara may not be the best candidate that is actually out there.
So we can go over some another name that I have in mind. And it's actually from another game that happened yesterday.
But GMAC at the same time could be the best candidate that Syracuse can actually get. And so we'll talk about it next unlocked on Syracuse.
This is Maz does moving the game forward for those who show there's more to the store than what's on the screen.
Well, I guess we can use a moment from Sienna, the fact that they were up 11 at the half against Duke, but unfortunately for Sienna, the game turned on a mist dunk and Duke on the other end gets a fast break.
Donk to cut the lead to 11 points in the second half and then Duke starts making the run. And those are moments that remind us of what it really takes to raise the parts that extra work off the court, dialing in every detail.
We hit that extra fire that grit and I never quit attitude. We put that same passion into every model highlights make the real what it took to get there makes it count. There's more to Amazda because there's more to you.
This episode is sponsored by a supply house. You wouldn't show up on game day without a plan. And you wouldn't show up to a job without the right parts.
That's why putting supply house in your starting lineup is always the right call. Here are the stats 300,000 plumbing HVAC and electrical products.
500 tried and true brands and 90% of the country is in the one to two day delivery zone need a last minute coupling, a compressor, a press tool they've got it and they'll get it to you quickly.
They are clutch. If you're a pro in the trades, you can join the MVP of rewards programs that become a trade master.
Pro is an exclusive member only pricing priority shipping industry leading customer service and it's all absolutely free.
Visit supplyhouse.com slash TM to learn more about becoming a trade master use promo code SH 5 college for 5% off your first order that supplyhouse.com promo code SH 5 college supply house real people real service.
College basketball is nonstop right we're heading into day two of the NCAA tournament. You got big games tight spreads momentum swings every single night from early tip offs to late night west coast shootouts.
There's always action on the board and now Fandall is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins.
The college basketball parlay profit boost you can go safe go bold right with the team you've been following all season it's your parlay your style now with more upside behind it.
Head to fandall.com to get started that's fandall.com fandall player game.
Jackson holes are locked on Syracuse Jerry McNamara or bust for the orange. Let's break it down again. Okay, so we left off by talking about how.
Jerry McNamara could be the best candidate that Syracuse could get but he may not actually be the best candidate and there is one name that I definitely have in mind right now and that is currently the head coach at VCU film or tele junior.
Now I don't know if you caught the action last night. VCU was down I think it was 19 points to North Carolina in second half found a way to come back and win that game and overtime and it's not necessarily because VCU came back and won the game and overtime that I'm thinking about film or tele junior I'm looking at the entire body of work the fact that in his first season at Bryant in 2024 he goes 20 and 13 the fact that in 2025 they go 23 and 12 they win the regular season conference championship conference tournament.
Conference tournament championship and Bryant goes to the NCAA tournament and also the fact that he takes over for VCU this season right now they're currently I think 28 and seven assuming that college references updated they won the regular season conference title in the A 10 they won the A 10 conference championship and now obviously they're in the round of 32 for the NCAA tournament film or tele junior.
And I'm not just saying this because Brian Hodson did not work out with Syracuse and yes I'm going to say his name now because I'm over it I'm just letting I think it's useless at this point to admit his name but I'm over it whatever film or tele junior he wasn't really on my radar but if you look at him versus some of the other candidates that Syracuse had previously been connected to he is right up there with all of them you can actually make an argument that he's better than all of which leads me to this look.
I would love film or tele junior and I think I would have him obviously ahead of Jerry McNamara as much as I am open to Jerry McNamara is becoming the next I coach the problem is are you actually able to get him.
That's the issue here are you actually able to get film or tele junior assuming that he is actually available and I've ever reason to believe that he is he's currently the head coach at VCU obviously if there's an appealing job out there he would definitely take it.
The flip side is that maybe it's not Syracuse it could be North Carolina that gets him North Carolina is probably going to shoot for the moon if and when they fire Hubert Davis maybe it's film or tele junior that goes there which side note I know this is locked on Syracuse podcast but I just have to say something.
North Carolina needs to fire Hubert Davis they need to fire him now go look at his body of work at North Carolina.
It is strikingly similar to not the very ending of Jim Bayheim but if you look at Syracuse ever since that second year of the ACC up until that time in appearance where they went to the sweet 16 in 2021 North Carolina has been very similar to that period of Syracuse basketball North Carolina just simply has not been the same team.
They have not been the same blue blood with Hubert Davis they should absolutely fire him pronto I don't know if they will considering that last year an extension kicked in for him for whatever reason North Carolina decided to tie themselves with that contract of him because he wasn't even that good last year or the year before that or the year before that.
He's got a miracle Cinderella run to the final where they lost to Kansas they blew the lead in that one too they absolutely should fire him now the funny thing is if North Carolina becomes available.
I don't think it impacts Syracuse as much unless you're talking about a guy like film or tele junior only because I think North Carolina at that point they're one of the biggest brands of college basketball they got all the resources in the world and so I should probably fire Hubert Davis he's not doing enough with the resources.
They're probably going to shoot for the moon and try to get like NATO's from Alabama they may get Todd golden from Florida they may get I don't know name the coach but almost any coach in the country they may try to get Mark few from Gonzaga like that's where they're going to try to aim don't think it really impacts Syracuse all that much but if it does start to dwindle the list maybe it's ends up being film or tele junior and set up maybe considering Syracuse he takes his talent.
But I would love film or tele junior he's my number one candidate right now that is available for Syracuse I just don't know if they're actually going to be able to get him and when you compare the rest of the candidates that are out there to Jerry McNamara I think at this point Jerry McNamara has the slight edge.
Comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below one thing that I left out we can address it briefly is that Brian Blair met the media for the first time for Syracuse yesterday.
He said all the right things like great again it's going to be more action speak louder than words not going to sit here and say that you get the point right it's not anything against Brian Blair it's more of I need to see action we need to see result.
The one thing that we don't know is what he is thinking in who the next high coach is going to be it could be a name that nobody is thinking of right now that he's I don't know.
So it may not be Jerry McNamara it could be Jerry McNamara we don't know for sure all I know is right now that it seems like the public sentiment around Syracuse seems to be that we are now more open to Jerry McNamara than we have ever been at any previous point in time.
So maybe it would be wise if Syracuse could just get it done come in your thoughts right now in the comments section below where you fall with Jerry McNamara as the next head coach of Syracuse basketball would you like the higher would you be concerned about the higher let me know your thoughts now coming up here on locked on Syracuse i'm going to try to get on Mike McAllister for publisher for Syracuse for 24 seven sports soon on this show don't have anything scheduled yet but hopefully we can get it done quickly here and obviously we continue to wait for.
When Syracuse announces who the next head coach is going to be or at least a report of who it's going to be we saw Georgia Tech earlier on Friday they they hired stop frost from Troy and Pete Nicos from on three said that sources indicate it will not be the only higher that is made today maybe Brian Hodgson is going to make a decision on what he's going to do between USF and Providence maybe Syracuse is going to be one of those teams that ends up finding it today so i'm going to get this posted as soon as soon as.
It's possible for you all that way it's still available before Syracuse announces their next head coach but.
That just about does it so thank you all so much for watching thank you all so much for listening if you like this show be sure to hit that like button if you really enjoy the podcast be sure to hit subscribe tell all your friends about locked on Syracuse and i'll see you all again soon.
Get in the game with the college branded Venmo debit card record team with every tap and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash a new rewards program from Venmo no monthly fee no minimum balance just school pride and spending power.
Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit card at Venmo dot com slash college card.
The Venmo master card is issued by the bank court bank NA select schools available Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo dot me slash stash terms max $100 cash back per month.
When you want spring break to feel like and a moment away from the kids to feel like and your reward status to feel like.
Thank you for being a hilton honors gold member enjoy your daily food and beverage credit and now that nightcap in the lounge can feel like.
It matters where you stay with hilton honors earn the most valuable gold status faster and unlock benefits at over 9000 locations worldwide.
Hilton for this day.
More from Locked On Syracuse - Daily Podcast On Syracuse Orange Football & Basketball