Syracuse defensive coordinator John Odierna
is set to move on to his next career opportunity as the head coach of Fairfield, news that was first reported by Inside Lacrosse on Monday.Odierna joins the Stags after three seasons as ‘Cuse’s top defensive mind, during which he helped lead the Orange to back-to-back Final Four appearances the past two seasons. During his tenure, SU compiled a record of 38-18 while ranking No. 7 in Inside Lacrosse’s adjusted defensive efficiency in 2025 and No. 15 in 2024.
This will not be his first head coaching gig, as he took the reins of the Manhattan program back in 2023 after their previous coach, Drew Kelleher, left after the 2022 season. In his one year leading the Jaspers, Odierna was named MAAC Coach of the Year thanks to a regular season conference title and a defense that led the country in scoring.
He will succeed Andrew Baxter, who coached Fairfield for seven years until the school decided to make a change back in early May. Under Baxter, the Stags went 12-3 in 2025 but were unable to sustain any momentum from that strong season, going just 4-10 this year.
It was always just a matter of time before Odierna departed for another head coaching job as his reputation continued to grow during his time in CNY. This looks like a great fit for both him and the school at a mid-major program looking for a new direction with a young head coach. He rose to the top of a candidate pool that included, among others, Richmond assistant Paul Richards and Penn State assistant John Haus.
His departure is a big loss for a Syracuse team that is already dealing with the graduation of its top-ranked senior class. The Orange will return a handful of veterans on defense, led by redshirt seniors Jimmy McCool and Riley Figueiras, but they now lack their signal caller.
One name that will draw a ton of intrigue right off the bat is that of recently removed Virginia coach Lars Tiffany, a Lafayette native with a defensive background. There’s precedent for a move like this in the Gary Gait era, as ’Cuse’s head man began his tenure by bringing in former Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala as his first defensive coordinator before Odierna.
Gait has a very active summer ahead of him with an opening on his staff and a lot of work still to do in the transfer portal to help mitigate the graduation losses.
The job opening does figure to be a high-demand one given the program, resources and talent involved, so it should be an interesting watch as the Orange search for their next defensive coordinator.
