UNC basketball coach candidates: Who will replace Hubert Davis? Expect big names linked
· Yahoo Sports
Hubert Davis is out at North Carolina.
That means one of the most well-resourced, tradition-rich jobs in all of college basketball is open.
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Expect some of the sport's biggest names linked to the opening. Will UNC stay in the family like it did with Davis, Roy Williams, Matt Doherty and Bill Guthridge since Dean Smith retired after the 1997 season?
UNC announced its "change in leadership" Tuesday, less than a week after the Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead and lost to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the second straight year UNC was bounced in the first round.
UNC says it will conduct a "national search" for its next coach with help from search firm Turnkey ZRG, as well as take input from "former players, former coaches and supporters of UNC Athletics"
Here's a look at some possible candidates UNC may consider:
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls coach
Donovan, 60, was a two-time national champion at Florida and has been in the NBA for the last 11 seasons, including six in his current capacity as head coach of the Chicago Bulls. His history as a college coach for 19 years with the Gators, including 16 straight seasons with 20 or more wins – and his NBA ties – equip him to help UNC adapt to modern college basketball. Donovan brings perspective from the best of both worlds and would be the perfect fit in Chapel Hill.
Nate Oats, Alabama
If UNC wants to fix its NCAA Tournament woes, then how about a coach who’s gone to the Sweet 16 four straight years at a football school? Oats' success includes a Final Four trip in 2024, with the Tide upsetting North Carolina along the way.
Before the NCAA Tournament, Oats fielded questions from reporters about whether Alabama had the necessary NIL support. He said his program can “be competitive” in that space. His remarks didn’t leave you thinking Alabama would outspend a program like UNC. No matter how much Oats wins, football comes first at Alabama.
That’s not such a bad thing. Oats, 51, won’t face the same type of feverish expectations as Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer does. He’ll be celebrated when his teams reach the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight, instead of questioned as to why he didn’t win a national title.
However, if Oats wants to be at a school where basketball rules, he’ll need to leave Alabama.
Oats’ teams shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but they usually make a lot of 3s. They’re an offensive force. His winning ways in March go back to his years at Buffalo. His Bulls pulled off upsets in consecutive years.
Drama accompanies Oats' program. Just this season, you had the Charles Bediako circus, then Aden Holloway’s arrest just before the tournament. That’s nothing compared to the black eye the program endured in 2023, a situation that still lingers today, with one former Alabama player facing a capital murder charge.
If you can stomach controversy, Oats wins.
Dusty May, Michigan coach
May, 49, has built a juggernaut this season at Michigan. One of the top coaches in the sport, May led Florida Atlantic to the Final Four before taking over the Wolverines. Since making the move to the Power 5 level, May has put together fun offenses and defenses built on positional size. He's a modern coach built to lead a modern program.
Mark Byington, Vanderbilt
Byington played in college at UNC Wilmington, and he’s been an assistant within the ACC. So, he knows the terrain but wouldn’t face the type of crippling pressure that comes with coaching your alma mater. That’s a potential sweet spot.
Byington, 49, thrived at a mid-major, taking James Madison to the second round in 2024. Then, he fixed a Vanderbilt program that had been stuck in a rut for the better part of a decade. This isn’t Jerry Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt anymore. Thanks in part to Byington and some NIL support, Vanderbilt is a solid job. Byington has a top-20 recruiting class lined up for next season. He could settle in for a nice ride at Vanderbilt, but with his stock hot, if he craves a program with the loftiest of ceilings, now probably would be a good time to strike.
Other names on this list are splashier, but Byington’s career is on the rise. You could sell this hire to a fan base that knows ball.
Mark Few, Gonzaga coach
Few, 63, has done everything at Gonzaga but win a national title. Roy Williams is a mentor and friend, which could ease the sting of moving on from Hubert Davis and the “Carolina Family” coaching tree. Few has won more than 83% of his games across 27 seasons with the Bulldogs and always seems to produce high-scoring offenses and stingy defenses. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll leave Spokane, but it would qualify as an elite hire.
Todd Golden, Florida
Golden was ahead of the curve recognizing the power of building an older team through the transfer portal and spotting undervalued talent who’d polished their skills at mid-majors. That strategy resulted in Golden last year becoming the youngest coach to win a national championship since Jim Valvano. The 2025 Gators' stars included included Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, who were one-time zero-star recruits before growing their game at mid-majors.
Golden’s Gators inexplicably fizzled this March. That included some bad defensive strategy from Golden in Florida's second-round loss to Iowa. Even so, Golden's stock remains as hot as Moderna on the NASDAQ.
The big question: Why would he leave? He can win at the highest level at Florida. He’s proven that. So did Donovan. And, Golden can do it at Florida without facing UNC-level pressure. Football acts as something of a heat shield for Florida basketball coaches, and yet there’s nothing a good basketball coach can’t achieve in Gainesville.
The North Carolina job is the ultimate ego stroke. If the Tar Heels promised to make Golden the sport’s highest-paid coach and to spare no expense on his roster, perhaps that’s enough to make him at least consider leaving his great situation at Florida for a premier opportunity at UNC.
Jay Wright, retired coach
Here’s the classic “Make him say no!” candidate. And, he’d probably say no, but you don’t know if you don’t ask.
Wright went out at the top of his game, retiring from Villanova in 2022 after a Final Four finish at a school where he won two national championships.
When Wright stepped down at Villanova, he didn’t pin it on NIL or the transfer portal. Instead, he explained he felt like he’d lost his competitive edge. Did four seasons away from coaching allow him to regain that edge?
If so, he could return to coaching at a program where he’ll enjoy the resources necessary to compete at the highest level, right from the jump.
Four years into his coaching retirement, Wright, 64, works as a special assistant to Villanova’s president. He’s not shown much public interest in coming back to coaching. Still, considering his resume, it’s worth kicking the tires.
Scott Drew, Baylor
Two years ago, Drew claimed a spot near the top of Kentucky’s wish list. He turned down the Wildcats, a humbling blow to UK. Two years later, you must wonder whether Drew would benefit from a restart. His Baylor team went 16-16 and got trampled within the Big 12. Drew last reached a Sweet 16 in 2021, when he produced a national title.
Take the macro view, and Drew’s Baylor accomplishments are phenomenal. He rescued from the trash bin a program that had been rocked by a deadly scandal. He took the Bears up, up, up, until they reached the top of the sport.
Zoom in, and you realize Drew’s best days at Baylor are behind him. He’s still widely respected, and if Drew, 55, is ever going to leave Baylor, right now is likely his last best chance.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona coach
Like Golden, Lloyd would qualify as a home-run hire. And like Golden, the buyout situation could be tricky for UNC. Lloyd, 53, has won more than 80% of his games in five seasons at Arizona. After spending 22 seasons as an assistant under Few at Gonzaga, Lloyd has become one of the top leaders in the nation. His teams are consistently good on both ends of the floor and perennial national contenders. But would a West Coast guy want to make the move across the country if things are going so well in Tucson?
Mike Malone, former NBA coach
An underrated possibility, the 54-year-old Malone is a championship-caliber coach and has a daughter who plays volleyball at UNC. He’s been around the Tar Heels’ basketball program at times and has history as a college and NBA coach. Malone led the Denver Nuggets to an NBA title in 2023.
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
This here falls into the category of meat-and-potatoes hire. Otzelberger has become a wins machine in Ames, Iowa. A Midwest native, he suits Iowa State.
Iowa State does not have a rich history of Final Fours or Elite Eights. Could he level up at a program that demands banners? It’s a fair question. He tends to do more with less at Iowa State, and that’s a compliment to his abilities. Until this year, though, Iowa State typically struggles to play up to its seed line once the tournament starts.
Otzelberger builds blue-collar teams known for defense and discipline. UNC must ask itself if that’s what it craves. If it is, then Otzelberger should get a look if and when the bigger names say no.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hubert Davis fired by UNC basketball. Candidates possible coach names