PRIORITIES: What Syracuse Basketball NEEDS From its Next Head Coach | Who Fits The Orange?

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What should Syracuse be looking for with its next tech coach?

You are Lockdown 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 listen 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 podcasts here on the number one

sports podcasting network and on today's show, what are the qualifications for Syracuse

basketballs next, head coach?

Picture it like this, you're on indeed and you're strolling and you somehow come across

the Syracuse basketball, head coach job is posted on there, it's not actually posted

on there, but picture that it is posted on there.

What are the prerequisites that each person that wants to apply for it have to have and

that's what we're diving into on today's show and before we get into everything, today's

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Without further ado, what are the qualifications for Syracuse's next tech coach?

Let's start with the topic of prior head coach experience.

Because Syracuse's next head coach needs to have prior head coach experience.

In my opinion, feel free to chime in in the comments section below right now.

Yes, the next head coach of Syracuse basketball must have prior head coach experience.

So again, if you somehow came across the job on indeed, well, if you were not a high major

high coach or a mid major high coach, then I don't really suggest applying to be the Syracuse

basketball high coach, it would be a waste of your time.

But anyway, what's implied in that statement as well is the word good.

The next tech coach of Syracuse basketball needs to have prior good head coaching experience.

Why is this the case specifically with Syracuse?

I don't need to bore you about all the details of Syracuse basketball's history.

So I'm going to summarize it for you in about five seconds.

They are one of the most story programs in all of college basketball.

But Syracuse now has gone five consecutive seasons of not making the NCAA tournament

and moreover, they haven't even really come close to making the NCAA tournament.

The closest they came to making the tournament was in 2024 when they won 20 games.

But even then, on Selection Sunday, you knew that Syracuse wasn't going to hear its name called.

You knew it.

And that to me means you were not particularly close to making the NCAA tournament that year.

I mention this because there is obviously pressure that comes with being the head coach of Syracuse.

It's a story program that also hasn't won in a hot minute.

And we, as in us, the fans and hopefully the program as well, it seems like it are tired of the losing.

We're done with the losing.

We know that this program may never be what it once was.

We understand that.

We get it.

But five consecutive years of not making the tournament for almost any high major program is unacceptable.

And we need a coach that understands how to be a leader of a program.

Because being a head coach and being an assistant head coach are two different things.

When you're a head coach, you're dealing with everyone and everything.

You're dealing with players.

You're dealing with assistance.

You're dealing with donors.

You're dealing with fans.

You're dealing with your boss, the athletic director.

You're dealing with all of that.

When you're an assistant head coach, your role is obviously very important.

It's not to undermine them, but you kind of get to hide a little bit.

You're kind of in the shadows.

People don't really talk about the assistant coaches on any coaching staff.

They talk about the one in charge because the buck stops with the one that is ultimately in charge.

And so back to Syracuse and how this all kind of ties together.

When you factor in the pressure that is going to come with being the next head coach of Syracuse at this particular point in time,

when this program hasn't won in a while, you don't want to have that pressure on the new head coach,

while the new head coach is also trying to learn how to be a head coach.

That's why I think Syracuse is a little different right now than other programs that are out there.

There are maybe some programs out there that can take a shot and an assistant head coach to see if it works or not.

Maybe that new assistant is going to become Jay Lucas with what he is at Miami.

Maybe that new assistant is going to be like John Shire, although that was a little bit different of the circumstance,

but you get the point.

It's not to say that hiring assistants can never work.

It worked with Syracuse with Jim Behein way back when.

But in this particular point in time, I think it is imperative that Syracuse's next head coach is someone with prior good head coaching experience.

So where does that leave the candidates right now?

I understand that some of the Yukon assistants like Kamani Young and Luke Murray have been in the conversation as the next head coach of Syracuse.

And with all due respect to them, I'm sure they can be fabulous coaches.

I don't think either of them make sense at this particular point in time for Syracuse basketball.

I'd rather take a shot at someone who already understands how to be a successful head coach at a particular program,

rather someone that is on the staff with Dan Hurley at Yukon.

There's a big difference between the two.

What I'm saying also rules out one former head coach who also has Syracuse ties, and that is Mike Hopkins.

Mike Hopkins was was with Washington for seven years.

And in those seven years, Washington made the NCAA tournament a grand total of one time.

His win percentage at Washington was five 27.

That is not very good.

We don't need someone that has prior head coaching experience, but not being successful.

In fact, if you gave me the choice,

Kamani Young or Mike Hopkins, I'll take the chance on Kamani Young.

At least there's an upside to him.

If you gave me the choice between Luke Murray and Mike Hopkins, I'll take Luke Murray.

At least there's an upside to him.

When you look at Mike Hopkins, yeah, he has prior head coach experience.

It's not good though.

It's bad experience.

We don't need bad experience.

We need successful experience.

What do you think?

Comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below.

Do you believe that it is a requirement that the next head coach of Syracuse has prior,

good head coaching experience?

Comment your thoughts in the comments section below.

Maybe you're someone that would be willing to give an assistant a chance.

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Now coming up here on Locked On Syracuse, does the next head coach have to come

from a high major program or could he or she potentially come from a mid major program?

We'll discuss that and more next on Locked On Syracuse.

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Once again, we are going over the qualifications for Syracuse basketballs next head coach.

Let's go over this high major verse mid major.

Because the next head coach of Syracuse basketball needs to have prior high major head coach

experience or is mid major.

Okay.

My answer, only having mid major experience as a head coach, obviously being successful,

is totally fine.

It's one of those, if you have prior good high major head coach experience, it would certainly

be nice.

It would certainly give a candidate a leg up.

That's when you get to TJ Alzelberger at Iowa State, right?

But in general, it's okay if the next head coach is someone that only has prior successful

head coach experience at a mid major program.

Unless you're the bluest of blue bloods out there, which Syracuse we know is not, especially

at this point in time, I think it's fine for pretty much any school in the country.

We look around the nation in some of the recent hires, even programs like Louisville and

Michigan went the mid major route when selecting their next head coach.

You look at Virginia.

They did the same thing.

They got Ryan Odom from VCU.

It's not just about, you know, this head coach, they must absolutely have high major

coach experience.

I don't think that's necessarily required.

As long as it's successful at at least the mid major level, I think that it is totally

fine.

Mid major basketball at this time, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era has really

just become the training round for high major basketball at this point.

That's what it is.

It works with the players and the portal.

They're successful at the mid major route and all of a sudden they jump up in the portal

to the high major route and it works the same with coaches.

There's a clear ladder of success, right?

So what does this all mean?

What's the conclusion from this?

Well, I pretty much already told you, but we can talk about Brian Hodgson for a moment.

And why Brian Hodgson in this particular case is very appealing.

When you get a coach who's coming from a mid major school, that is successful.

Keep in mind that that head coach can bring some of his own players with him to the new

school.

I don't know if you've ever watched South Florida this season.

Maybe you were tuning into South Florida for the very first time the other day when they

were playing in the American conference championship.

South Florida has a junior guard on their team who's pretty good.

And I think especially if Syracuse hires Brian Hodgson here, you should probably get familiar

with this name, West Enis.

He was first team all conference in the American, not too shabby.

He's currently averaging 17 points a game on 37% three point shooting and 81% from the

free throw line.

South Florida also has a junior guard by the name of CJ Brown, who gives them 11 points,

five assists and four rebounds per game.

Not really a good shooter at just 25% from the three point line, but he is a plus defender.

If you get Brian Hodgson to come over from South Florida as your next high coach, he can

bring guys like West Enis and CJ Brown to Syracuse basketball.

And maybe they wouldn't be the top two players on the team, although West Enis, I mean,

he would definitely be, I think, one of the top players in Syracuse next year.

He's pretty damn good if you've ever watched him.

They could still be valuable contributors for the orange as soon as next year.

Getting a mid major head coach with prior successful experience is definitely a good idea.

They do not need to have prior high major success.

Now this one's fun.

In family versus not in family, does Syracuse need to stay within the family for its next

tech coach?

Honestly, I think I can ask this question in reverse.

Does Syracuse need to go outside the family for its next tech coach?

And the answer to both of those questions is it does not matter.

That is the true answer.

I am not naive to the appeal of the head coach coming from someone within the Syracuse family.

For those that don't understand what the appeal could possibly be, it's very simple.

If you hire someone within the family, they are much more likely to stay for a long period

of time and be loyal to Syracuse.

We witnessed this with Jim Bayheim.

He was an assistant.

He was promoted to head coach.

He stayed with Syracuse for over 40 years.

He never left the program.

He probably could have, at some point, for another job of his choosing.

He was highly successful.

He never left.

So there is obviously an appeal to it.

Let's say Adrian Entry had worked out for Syracuse.

Let's say instead of what has actually happened, let's say that over the last three years,

Syracuse has made the NCAA tournament in all three years or maybe, you know what, it

just all came together this year.

They won 25 games and we're gearing up for Syracuse as a four seed and round one of the NCAA

tournament on Thursday.

Let's say it all worked out.

I don't think Adrian Entry would have ever left.

I don't think he would have.

And guess what?

If he was very successful, we wouldn't want him to leave.

So there is obviously an appeal to hiring someone that is within the Syracuse family.

They are inherently loyal to Syracuse.

But if you're Syracuse, you cannot use the family appeal to hire someone that is a lesser

candidate than someone else.

The family appeal should only be used as a consideration factor if there is a tie between

two candidates.

Let's say two candidates are equal.

You look at their resumes and you say the difference between these two candidates is

minute.

We need something to settle this.

Well, that's something could be this person has more ties to Syracuse than the other.

I'm totally fine with that.

The point being is that you cannot sacrifice hiring a better candidate just because you

wanted to stay within the family.

So what does this mean for a guy like Jerry McNamara, who is one of the front runners right

now to be the next Syracuse head coach?

As I have said before and I will say it again here on the show, my stance on Jerry McNamara

has softened.

It has nothing to do with the fact that he is within the Syracuse family.

It has everything to do with the fact that he just took Sienna in year two to the NCAA

tournament and no, I don't really care what happens to them in the NCAA tournament.

They're playing Duke in round one.

I think we can all imagine what is actually going to happen, but still tons of success took

over a massive a program and in two years, he took that team to the NCAA tournament.

He deserves consideration.

Having said that, Jerry McNamara, objectively speaking, is not the best candidate out there,

not for Syracuse.

I mean, if you could shoot for the moon and get TJ Altsilberger from Iowa State, he is

1000% a better candidate.

Brian Hodgson at South Florida is a better candidate objectively than Jerry McNamara.

Sarah Calhoun at Utah State, I'm not sure if he's going to be willing to leave out West.

Maybe he has another destination in mind, but if Syracuse is one of those schools that

he would like to go to, that he would be open to, he is objectively a better candidate

than Jerry McNamara.

And I'm sure if we go down the list, we can find other candidates that are better than

Jerry McNamara.

So in conclusion, I understand the family appeal.

I understand the loyalty that comes with it, but the family appeal should only be used

in the event that you have two candidates that are equal and you need a tiebreaker.

What do you think?

Comment your thoughts right now in the comment section below.

Now coming up on Lockdown Syracuse, one more qualification that we can go over.

Does the next step coach of Syracuse have to be good at press conferences?

Is that something that really matters?

We will discuss that in more next on Lockdown Syracuse.

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Locked on Syracuse.

I am Jackson.

Holes are let's go over one more qualification for Syracuse basketball as it's next head coach.

All right, press conferences.

I know it's funny, but I also think that it's important to discuss.

Does the next head coach of Syracuse need to be someone that is good with the media?

Is it someone that needs to be a good public communicator?

My answer is no.

That is not a requirement.

In fact, it's not something that I really care about.

Look, Adrian Archery, he was not the best at the podium, but I've always defended him

on this that it wasn't something that I really cared about.

Adrian Archery didn't lose his job because he was not the greatest public communicator.

He lost his job because he did not get positive results.

He lost his job because he didn't win games.

He could have been the most fabulous communicator at the program anyone has ever seen.

It wouldn't have mattered.

He didn't win a lot of games, and that's what ultimately got him fired.

What matters with a head coach of a program is whether they can effectively communicate

with the people that are within the program, the players, the other coaches on the staff,

maybe some of the big donors, the athletic director.

That's really what truly matters as the head coach when it comes to communication.

Not being the best at the podium before and after games, or at the opening press conference.

What really truly matters about the head coach is if the new head coach can produce wins.

That's what matters.

Winning, winning basketball games.

I don't care if the next head coach is Syracuse in the opening press conference gets up on

the podium.

I'm all excited.

We're ready to hear from the coach for the very first time, and the coach starts speaking

a language that doesn't exist anymore.

Nobody's ever heard of the language.

It doesn't matter to me.

What matters is winning games.

Adam Gase was the head coach of the New York Chets, awful.

I remember his opening press conference and his Googly eyes that he had.

Guess what?

That's not why he got fired.

He got fired because he sucked.

You compare it to someone with the Philadelphia Eagles, and I know I'm talking about different

sports here, different levels, but same premise.

Nick Sirionny did not have the greatest opening press conference with the Philadelphia

Eagles.

He's a pretty successful head coach.

So sure, it's nice if the new head coach can be someone that's good with the media that

can effectively communicate to the public, get it.

It's nice.

Certainly would help me and my job help others as well.

I just want the next head coach to win.

That's what I want.

You want as well.

So the overall checklist here, what does the new head coach need?

Prior, good head coaching experience, it can come from the mid major level, it can come

from the high major level.

Really does not matter to me, just prior, good head coaching experience.

Being inside or outside the family is not something that really matters.

Only can be taken into consideration if you have two candidates that are on the level

playing field, and you need some sort of tie breaker.

So then you find someone with Syracuse ties.

I understand that.

And being good at press conferences is not something that matters to me.

Just win basketball games.

That's it.

Agree with me, disagree with me, comment your thoughts right now in the comment section

below.

As far as what's coming up on the podcast in the near future, it appears that the two

front runners at the time of this recording, which is in the afternoon of March 16th, Monday,

that there are two guys that are standing out right now.

Brian Hodgson and Jerry McNamara look like the two guys that are most likely to get Syracuse's

head coach job.

On our next show, we're going to flip it around.

If it's not Brian Hodgson, and it's not Jerry McNamara, who could it possibly be?

We will talk about that next on Locked On Syracuse.

So folks, thank you all so much for watching.

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