Former Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim recently said that he wouldn't be getting involved in the hiring process for the next head coach of the Orange, but his wife Juli certainly made her thoughts known on Friday night.

Per television reporter Samantha Croston:

"I think about what we've had for fifty years. We've had one of our own. I don't think we really know what we're getting ourselves into when we say we want somebody from the outside."

Juli is referring to the fact that Jim was a former Syracuse player who became the head coach for 47 years. When he retired, the job was given to former player Adrian Autry. He held the job for three years, going 49-48 and never making the NCAA Tournament. He was fired last week.

Frankly, all sides of the argument are fair here, so let's break it down as simple as we can.

For a long time, Syracuse was a national basketball brand. The Orange won the national title in 2003 and were perennial contenders in the Big East. Since moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2013-14, the Orange have been to the NCAA Tournament five times and missed it seven times, and that doesn't include an 18-14 season in 2019-20 when the tournament was canceled for COVID-19. It's uncertain if SU would have made it that year either.

Given that the last several years have seen the program lose its position as a national power, some fans want to try something new. The idea of "going outside the family," has merit. For example, Curt Cignetti never played or coached football at Indiana, but he's turned that football program into a national power in just two seasons. Dan Hurley has won two titles in three years at UConn. Fresh thoughts and fresh ideas can breathe new life into a program and bring new successes.

First off, it's understandable that Juli Boeheim wants to protect the legacy of her husband. That's totally fair and goes without saying.

But beyond that, there are plenty of examples of programs hiring alums and having success. Jon Scheyer at Duke is one and Mario Cristobal with Miami football is another. Hubert Davis got to the national title game at North Carolina after succeeding Roy Williams.

Given her comments, it seems she wants to see Gerry McNamara or Mike Hopkins get the job. McNamara seems to be gaining some momentum, with at least one former SU player also endorsing him.

Remember to join our SYRACUSE on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Orange fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!