There’s still a lot of basketball to play before any decision gets made on the future of Adrian Autry at Syracuse.
Even today, outgoing athletic director John Wildhack said no decision has been made on Autry, and at the very least, he will finish the season.
But Wildhack made another thing clear – the standard still is that Syracuse needs to play meaningful games in March. And SU isn’t headed in that direction.
As the Orange slip further and further away from March Madness, it’s the time of year when names are going to start popping up for who could be in consideration to be Syracuse’s next coach.
The first big name? Bryan Hodgson. Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 posted yesterday that “if/when Syracuse makes a move on Red Autry, I’d expect Hodgson – who is from just outside of Buffalo – to be in the mix.”
First thoughts? This would be a home run hire. The Olean, New York native is in his first season with South Florida, an upper-echelon mid-major program, and has made a splash. The Bulls lead the American Conference. This comes after a strong two years with Arkansas State and assistant coach experience at Buffalo and Alabama.
In less than three seasons as a head coach, Hodgson already has over 60 wins, a CBI bid, a NIT bid, and a Sun Belt regular-season title. Add in the resources that Syracuse has, and this could be a perfect match.
If Syracuse is on the market for a head coach this offseason, it’s time for SU to look away from past players and coaches and do a nationwide search.
While there’s still plenty of time and many decisions to be made before the Orange could get to this stage, Hodgson immediately stands out as someone with head coaching experience who could possibly be a program-changer.
