The Adrian Autry saga is over in Syracuse.
After posting a 49-48 record in three campaigns and failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in any season, Syracuse fired Autry on Wednesday, the school announced.
The Orange’s 86-69 loss to SMU on Tuesday in the first round of ACC Tournament secured a fifth straight season without an NCAA Tournament bid, with the first two misses coming under Jim Boeheim.
“This is one of the most storied programs in college basketball, and we intend to hire a proven winner who will build on that legacy, Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement. “We are looking for a coach who can recruit at the highest level, develop players and compete for championships, conference and national. Syracuse fans deserve nothing less, and that is exactly what we are going to deliver.”
Autry took over for Boeheim in 2023.
Under his watch, Syracuse posted back-to-back losing seasons across the past two years — including a 15-17 record in 2025-26 — for the first time since the 1960s.
The Orange previously had not missed out on five straight tournaments since doing so six straight times from 1967-72.
“I don’t shy away from the job that I did,” Autry said postgame Tuesday. “I’m harder on myself than anybody. I didn’t get the results that we wanted. So, I don’t shy away from coaching.”
Autry got the job by steadily working his way up the totem pole at Syracuse.
First, he starred on the court for the Orange from 1990-94. He averaged 12.7 points and 5.2 assists per game as Syracuse’s primary starting point guard and finished fifth in program history in total assists (631).
He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2011-12 following a stint at Virginia Tech before being promoted to associate head coach in 2017.
When Boeheim shockingly retired after the 2022-23 season, he endorsed Autry as the choice for his replacement.
Autry won 20 games in his first season, backed by a sophomore quartet of Judah Mintz, J.J. Starling, Quadir Copeland and Maliq Brown.
It’s all been downhill from there.
Across he tenure, there have been numerous issues. To start, he reeled in a subpar transfer portal class for his second year, relying on mid-major transfers who were forced into starting roles.
Brown and Copeland had solid sophomore seasons at Syracuse, but they’re now two of the ACC’s best players at Duke and NC State, respectively, talent that was never unlocked by Autry and his staff.
This season, the Orange reeled in a top-40 transfer class and two four-star freshmen in Kiyan Anthony — Carmelo’s son — and Sadiq White.
But most of them failed to live up to their potential, while Starling dropped from 17.8 points per game to just 10.9 in his senior year.
The Orange went 4-31 in Quad 1 games under Autry, a major factor in their tournament drought.
Syracuse’s only “signature wins” under Autry came against then-No. 7 North Carolina in 2024 and then-No. 13 Tennessee this year.
Now, Syracuse must search for his successor, even with Wildhack headed for retirement.
It’s possible it looks for a familiar face again in Siena’s Gerry McNamara, who played and coached at SU for a combined 19 years.
McNamara guided Siena to the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night, resuscitating the Albany-area program.
CBS Sports reported that Mike Hopkins, another Syracuse product, is also in the running to replace Autry. Hopkins is currently an assistant with the NBA’s Pelicans.
Other candidates, according to the site, are Saint Louis’ Josh Schertz, South Florida’s Bryan Hodgson, Merrimack’s Joe Gallo and UConn assistant Luke Murray.
