Syracuse is on the lookout for a new head coach. Syracuse fired Adrian Autry after just three seasons, following another disastrous season for the Orange.
Autry replaced legendary head coach Jim Boeheim and worked on the staff of the former coach. Now, Boeheim is standing up for his former player and assistant, according to ESPN.
“I think he's a good coach,” Boeheim said Wednesday on the ACC Network. “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.”
After a 20-win season in 2023-24, things regressed for teams under Autry. They would win just 14 games the next year, and 15 games this past season. With three straight years of missing the NCAA tournament, Syracuse decided to make a move. Still, Boeheim does not believe it was Autry's fault.
“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. I think they would say the same thing. I think they'd say, ‘Yeah, we didn't play well.”
Boeheim did not identify the players who struggled this year, but Syracuse did return J.J. Starlin and Donnie Freeman from the 2024-25 season, and both had down years.
Meanwhile, Autry will be looking for a new job, while Syracuse is looking for someone to resurrect the Syracuse program.
