When you’re the school that produced the Jumpman logo, a program with six titles and a history as rich as any in men’s college basketball, you shoot high in a coaching search.
In this case, North Carolina’s ceiling includes potentially courting one of the few coaches with multiple college championships and other elite options.
North Carolina is expected to potentially target former two-time Florida and current Bulls coach Billy Donovan, along with current top coaches in the sport, after firing Hubert Davis, according to reports.
Billy Donovan coaching Florida in 2011. REUTERS
Former Butler and Celtics coach and current Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens emerged as an early possible option, but he has removed himself from consideration, per CBS.
Other intriguing names include three coaches leading Sweet 16 teams in Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Michigan’s Dusty May and Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger, according to CBS, while Florida’s Todd Golden and Alabama’s Nate Oats also received mentions.
Jobs like North Carolina don’t come open very often and one could argue it’s perhaps the premier job in the sport due to the program’s rich history.
What’s notable about this search is it seems the Tar Heels are finally willing to break free from their tradition of employing those with ties to the program after the Davis era did not pan out.
Each of the program’s last five coaches spanning 65 years, dating back to Dean Smith taking over the program in 1961, either previously played for or served as an assistant for the program.
The aforementioned list is not one filled with North Carolina names, meaning it’s likely an outsider will be taking over the program.
Donovan is perhaps the most interesting name due to his past college success and the possibility of him returning to that level after 11 seasons in the NBA with the Thunder and Bulls.
He won back-to-back titles with Florida from 2006-07, one of only two coaches to do so in the 21st century, before leaving after the 2014-15 to coach Oklahoma City.
There are rumblings this could be his last year in the NBA with the Bulls struggling, and Donovan would be “intrigued” by the opening since he’s always held them in high regard, per CBS.
Donovan went 467-186 across 19 seasons with Florida from 1996-2015, reaching four Final Fours.
Stevens had been linked initially to the job since he’s shown he can win at both levels, but it appears he would rather remain in a cushy front office role than return to the sidelines for now.
While he never won a title in college, he guided Butler to back-to-back national championship game appearances from 2010-11 in what some consider as good coaching performances as any in the sport.
The other names mentioned include most of the younger top coaches in the sport today, with only Golden having won a national title.
Last year’s Kentucky search showed, though, that getting top coaches to leave elite programs can be tough, no matter the pedigree.
Dusty May has Michigan in the Sweet 16. AP
UConn’s Dan Hurley turned down the Wildcats to stay with the Huskies, which some would have never fathomed since Kentucky is supposed to be a one-of-one job.
CBS noted how North Carolina’s finances are not in the best spot due to the money being spent on Bill Belichick, and top coaches usually have large buyouts.
Lloyd’s sits between $9 million to $12 million, Golden’s is $16 million, Oats’ is either $10 million or $18 million depending on the date, May’s is $7 million and Otzelberger’s is $4 million, per ESPN.
UNC is still reportedly expected to land the best coach this offseason among all the programs in the market in what could be a turning point for the program.
Davis inherited a program that won three titles under Roy Williams and he guided them to the national title game in his first season in 2021-22 before it went downhill.
The preseason No. 1 team in 2022-23 missed the tournament completely, and the last two editions went one-and-done, with this year’s team blowing a 19-point lead to No. 11 seed VCU.