Florida head coach Todd Golden was immediately connected to North Carolina as a potential candidate for head coach when the Tar Heels parted ways with Hubert Davis on Tuesday.
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Golden led Florida to the national championship in 2025 and coached the Gators to a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Gators lost to No. 9 seed Iowa in the second round on Sunday, but that doesn’t seem to be an obstacle for UNC.
John Adams of USA Today argued why Golden should consider taking the job with the Tar Heels this year. At North Carolina, he’d have plenty of resources and would be the “king” on campus.
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However, Adams thinks it might be in Golden’s best interest to wait one season before bolting for another program. He suggested Kentucky could part ways with Mark Pope at the conclusion of the 2026-27 campaign.
“My only hesitation with leaving a good situation at Florida or Alabama in favor of UNC?” Adams wrote. “Well, there’s this: If you wait another year, perhaps you could have the Kentucky job. How’s that for a blue-blood?”
On Tuesday, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin suggested he was prepared to offer Golden a contract extension for the third offseason in a row. Golden’s buyout is set to decrease from $16 million to $11 million on April 16.
Stricklin argued it’s a priority for Florida to keep Golden in Gainesville.
“Todd wants to be at the University of Florida,” Stricklin said. “I wish all those (other) programs really good luck. I’m sure they’ll find a good coach out there, and I’m glad Todd’s going to be here for a long time.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Golden goes for a smaller buyout number if he signs a contract extension this offseason. Florida wouldn’t want to lose its head coach to a rival SEC program in the next spring.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.