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Legendary former Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim didn’t shy away from the realities that led to Adrian Autry’s dismissal. Speaking Wednesday on Cuse Sports Talk and later on the Atlantic Coast Conference Network, Boeheim said the responsibility for results always falls on the head coach, no matter the circumstances.

“In coaching, you’re always responsible,” Boeheim said on Cuse Sports Talk. “The head coach is responsible. We had a couple bad years at the end of my (tenure). You’re responsible. That’s just the way it works.”

Autry was fired after three seasons leading the Orange, a tenure that followed Boeheim’s 47-year run manning the Syracuse bench. The program has missed five straight NCAA Tournaments across the two coaches’ tenures, something it hasn’t done since the 1960s. Boeheim said Autry’s firing reflected both SU’s performance and broader structural issues facing the program.

He pointed to the growing influence of name, image and likeness money across the ACC, arguing there’s a clear connection between spending and winning.

“The coaches that have been fired in the league — Boston College, Syracuse and Georgia Tech — have the lowest NIL budgets,” Boeheim said on ACC Network. “Now, it’s no coincidence the top four NIL budgets in our league are in first, second, third and fourth place.”

On Boeheim’s murky exit in 2023, Boeheim said he “had no say” in Autry becoming head coach.

“I had no say in his hiring,” Boeheim said. “I never did. That was done by the athletic director.”

However, he added Autry was still “the right choice, but it just hasn’t worked out.”

Reflecting on Autry’s exit, Boeheim said Syracuse struggled because its top players didn’t perform at the level needed to compete near the top of the conference.

“The one thing with Adrian this year — he’s not going to say this, and people will think I shouldn’t say it — his two best players had bad years,” Boeheim said. “They had bad years on offense. They had bad years on defense. The best two players have to have great years. That didn’t happen.”

“He got let down by those guys, I think,” Boeheim added. “I think they would say the same thing. I think they’d say, ‘Yeah, we didn’t play well.’”

The Orange’s two key returners this season were senior guard J.J. Starling and sophomore forward Donnie Freeman.

Freeman was the No. 15 recruit in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports, and Autry’s highest-rated recruit. After playing only 14 games last season due to a foot injury, Freeman increased his points per game from 13.4 to 16.5 this campaign.

Starling, a native of Baldwinsville, New York, was a marquee transfer Autry acquired before his first season at the helm. The guard’s points per game average slipped from 17.8 last year to 10.9 in 2025-26.

Boeheim added that if Duke’s star players Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans, per se, had an off year, the Blue Devils would struggle.

Even so, Boeheim believes Syracuse can eventually close the financial gap with other programs. He said the university’s leadership, including chancellor-elect Mike Haynie, understands how resources have become in the modern landscape of college athletics.

“Syracuse can get there,” Boeheim said. “I’ve tried to help, and we’ll continue to try to help. I think the new chancellor understands athletics and understands fundraising. We just haven’t got there yet.”

Boeheim said current NIL spending across the conference far exceeds what many fans realize.

“Football is crazy now,” he said. “The big-time schools are paying 35 to 40 million. Basketball is 10 to 20 — some at 20, some at 15, some at 10. That’s the reality.”

A source told The Daily Orange that SU spent just under $8 million on its roster this season. They guessed that figure places the Orange seventh-to-ninth spending-wise in the ACC.

With Syracuse beginning its search for a new head coach, Boeheim offered a simple formula for the program’s next move.

“This is not rocket science,” he said. “Hire the best coach you can, and give him the resources.”

Boeheim added that the modern transfer portal era means rebuilds can happen quickly.

During his interview on Cuse Sports Talk, Boeheim mentioned former player and assistant coach Gerry McNamara as a potential candidate. Two years after departing SU to become Siena’s head coach, McNamara won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament with the Saints on Tuesday, reaching the NCAA Tournament. McNamara has received calls from Boston College and Georgia Tech about their head coach openings, Boeheim said.

“I’m so happy for Gerry McNamara,” Boeheim said. “I kind of laugh a little bit, because Syracuse says, ‘We have to have an outsider.’ Gerry McNamara is outside. He’s coaching Siena. He’s getting his reputation based on what he’s doing at Siena.”

McNamara arrived at Siena following a 4-28 season for the Saints. Two years in, he’s guided them to March Madness for the first time since 2010. Boeheim said it was “probably the best turnaround in college basketball this year.”

“Not to even think about Gerry McNamara is coaching malpractice,” Boeheim said.

Boeheim said SU is a massive “rebuilding job” with Autry and all his staff fired, but pointed to Virginia hiring new head coach Ryan Odom ahead of this season and finishing second in the ACC as a sign Syracuse can bounce back quickly.

“At the end of the day, the head coach is responsible,” Boeheim said. “Adrian Autry knows that. I think he’s a good coach. I think he got in a situation where his best players just didn’t play the way they needed to play, and it cost him his job.”

Published on March 11, 2026 at 3:13 pm
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal