Jim Boeheim is out as Syracuse head coach after 47 years

After nearly a half-century patrolling the sidelines for the Syracuse Orange, legendary head coach Jim Boeheim's time has come. 

On Wednesday, Syracuse announced that Boeheim's 47th season as the program's head coach would be his last. 

"Jim has invested and dedicated the majority of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student-athletes and representing his alma mater with pride and distinction," Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement released by the school. "I extend my deep appreciation and gratitude to an alumnus who epitomizes what it means to be 'Forever Orange.'" 

The 78-year-old left some breadcrumbs throughout the year, hinting that this could be it for him at Syracuse. Boeheim seemed worn out by the changing landscape of college basketball and was vocal about his disproval of NILs and the NCAA's transfer portal, which he said drove the likes of Villanova's Jay Wright and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski to walk away from legendary careers on the bench. 

While talking with reporters following Wednesday's 77-74 loss to Wake Forest, knocking Syracuse out of the ACC Tournament, Boeheim implied that his ride with the Orange was over, adding that he made his "retirement speech" last week. 

It's unclear if the decision was Boeheim's alone, as some of his comments contradict that notion. When asked about his future at Syracuse, Boeheim told reporters that he hoped the two sides could come to a "good agreement" and that it was up to the school whether or not he would come back to coach or not. 

Boeheim has been a member of the program at Syracuse in some form or fashion since 1962, first as a student and player. After two seasons as a graduate assistant, Boeheim became an assistant coach for eight seasons before beginning his tenure as head coach in 1976. 

A four-time Big East coach of the year, Boeheim led Syracuse to a 1,116-440 record, 35 trips to the NCAA Tournament and National Championship in 2003. 

Now, Boeheim's successor, Adrian Autry, assumes the helm. Autry played under Boeheim from 1990-94 and became an assistant and associate head coach at Syracuse in 2011 after three seasons as an assistant and director of basketball operations at Virginia Tech.