The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball head coaching job is the 6th best in the ACC, according to a poll compiled by Jeff Goodman of Field of 68. SU ranked behind Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Virginia, and NC State in this ranking. Goodman said that he polled “a bunch of coaches,” to put together the list.
This is the second time that Goodman has put together a list like this, as he did so for Stadium back in 2018. That time, Syracuse ranked fourth behind Duke, Louisville, and North Carolina.
He explained that the factors that influenced the ranking back in 2018 are significantly different eight years later.
“It’s just so different now because most just value the money and resources component and don’t really care much about tradition, location, etc.,” Goodman tweeted.
In the poll, Syracuse got 138 points, just nine behind NC State, and 14 above Miami, which ranked seventh. Goodman didn’t clarify whether the polled individuals were head coaches, assistant coaches, or otherwise, but it could be implied that there were eleven ballots submitted, as Duke had eight first place votes, and UNC had three.
With the disappointing 9-5 start to Syracuse’s season in 2025-26, the Orange fanbase is not pleased with the current direction of the program. It remains to be seen whether that would lead to a head coaching change, but should SU decide to go in another direction, this poll is an indication that Syracuse would be highly competitive in terms of hiring a coveted candidate in the spring.
