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Could new AD's hire alter Jim Boeheim's retirement timetable?

Jim Boeheim (AP)
Jim Boeheim (AP)

From the moment Syracuse announced last year that Jim Boeheim intends to retire after the 2017-18 season, there has been speculation that the legendary basketball coach has no intention of sticking to that timetable.

That will only increase now that the Orange have hired a new athletic director who has a strong relationship with Boeheim.

John Wildhack, ESPN’s executive vice president for programming and production, has been hired to replace Mark Coyle as Syracuse’s athletic director, the school said Wednesday. The ESPN executive is a Buffalo native, a 1980 graduate of Syracuse and a longtime friend of Boeheim.

Boeheim told Syracuse.com he views Wildhack’s hire as “a great positive.” He was non-committal about how Wildhack’s arrival would affect his retirement date, telling Syracuse.com “We’re trying to get a lot better for this coming year. I’m really focused on that right now.”

Syracuse’s announcement of Boeheim’s retirement timetable in March 2015 arrived soon after the conclusion of a lengthy NCAA investigation that uncovered academic misconduct, extra benefits violations and impermissible booster activity. The timing suggested that the decision the decision may have been forced upon Boeheim, 71, though he has never confirmed that.

That Syracuse remains one of the nation’s premier programs can only embolden Boeheim to remain at the helm beyond the 2018 deadline.

The Orange struggled to a 4-5 record during Boeheim’s nine-game midseason suspension but thrived after he returned, making the NCAA tournament and then going on a surprising run to the Final Four. They’re set up for another solid season next year despite the early departure of NCAA tournament hero Malachi Richardson.

Boeheim came to Syracuse as a freshman in 1962 and later served as an assistant before becoming the head coach in 1976. He built Syracuse into a national power, reaching five Final Fours and winning the 2003 national championship. Longtime assistant Mike Hopkins has been tabbed to be Boeheim’s eventual successor.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!