This changes everything.
For North Carolina. For college basketball. For a coaching carousel that had been unusually quiet — but no longer is, after Hubert Davis and UNC parted ways on Tuesday.
Arguably the best job in the sport is on the market — and for the first time in their history, the Tar Heels have no apparent “in the family” hire ready to inherit it. One of the Cadillacs of college hoops is set to cast a truly national search for its next head coach.
UNC’s wish list includes some of the best coaches in the country, all of whom have won at the highest level, and several of whom may be coaching in the NCAA Tournament into April, according to industry and program sources, who were granted anonymity by The Athletic because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the coaching search.
Two notable names not expected to be in the running, though, according to people familiar with the program’s thinking, are Florida’s Todd Golden and Alabama’s Nate Oats. Both have large buyouts — roughly $16 million for Golden and $10 million for Oats after April 1 — as well as off-court concerns.
For as good a job as North Carolina is, there are complicating factors. UNC’s athletic department is far from cash-flush, in large part because of its massive Bill Belichick experiment in football, and is already operating in a fiscal deficit. Donors have already begun passing the hat for buyout money, according to sources close to the program, but there is skepticism even a program of UNC’s prestige will be willing — and able — to pay a record buyout to land an elite coach. Indiana paid Darian DeVries’ $6 million buyout at West Virginia last spring in what is believed to be the largest buyout in the sport to date.
And that’s without factoring in what the new coach and his staff will cost and the necessary revenue sharing for players. North Carolina’s roster this season cost roughly $16 million, according to a source familiar with negotiations, making it one of the 10 most expensive teams in the sport.
There’s another critical question: Who is making this hire? Outgoing athletic director Bubba Cunningham and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark — a former NASCAR executive who will be making his first collegiate hire — are heavily involved. So too, to a lesser extent, is Chancellor Lee Roberts, who was integral in Belichick’s hiring. The school said it will hire search firm Turnkey ZRG and will consult a group of supporters and former players and coaches.
At the end of the day, it is still North Carolina. As good a job as exists in college basketball, even considering its need for modernization.
Call list (in alphabetical order)
Mark Byington, head coach, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s storybook season is done, which may actually wind up aiding Byington’s chances. The soon-to-be 50-year-old has extensive regional ties, having grown up in Virginia and played collegiately for Jerry Wainwright at UNC Wilmington. He also has ACC experience from his time as a Virginia and Virginia Tech assistant. But most importantly, he’s 47-22 in two seasons in Nashville, Tenn., making the NCAA Tournament both years despite the Commodores’ lackluster hoops history. Byington’s pace-and-space offense would be a delight in Chapel Hill and seemingly help welcome in the next era of star Tar Heels guards.
Because Vanderbilt is private, Byington’s contract details aren’t public, but an industry source said his buyout is roughly $10 million. He’s also, relatively speaking, the least accomplished coach on this list, having never made a Sweet 16. That said, Byington’s arrow is trending straight up.
Billy Donovan, head coach, Chicago Bulls
Donovan, 60, hasn’t been a college head coach since he left Florida in 2015. But because of his vast NBA experience, including six seasons with the Bulls, he should be as well-equipped to handle NIL and the transfer portal as any candidate. He’d immediately improve North Carolina’s on-court product, and it’s hard to imagine his NBA credentials wouldn’t juice the Tar Heels’ recruiting efforts. However, Chicago’s season doesn’t end until after the portal transfer opens, to say nothing of the contract extension Donovan signed with the Bulls in July 2025. Can UNC and Donovan figure out a suitable exit strategy if he doesn’t want to stay with the franchise through a full rebuild? The two-time championship-winning coach at Florida will at least hear North Carolina’s pitch, according to an industry source familiar with Donovan’s thinking.
Tommy Lloyd, head coach, Arizona
Despite serious logistical complications, he may well be the current front-runner. Lloyd, 51, has been a rock star since taking over in Tucson in 2021, going 146-35 with six combined conference regular-season and tournament titles over that stretch, between the former Pac-12 and current Big 12. He’s twice been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — including this season — and never lower than a No. 4. He’s had a top-11 offense in the sport every season on the job, plus a top-10 defense in two of the past three seasons. He’s one of the elite high school recruiters, a savvy transfer portal evaluator and the country’s foremost expert on international recruiting.
North Carolina stakeholders who wanted Gonzaga coach Mark Few to replace Roy Williams in 2021 are especially high on Lloyd, Few’s disciple, according to multiple sources. As the program gets set to move “outside the family” for the first time since World War II, that sentiment may prove powerful. Additionally, the athletic director who hired Lloyd at Arizona, Dave Heeke, is no longer there, and industry chatter suggests discontent between Lloyd and Heeke’s successor, Desiree Reed-Francois (whose son, Jackson, is a senior on Lloyd’s current team).
But the complications are substantial. If Arizona makes the Final Four, can UNC afford to wait for Lloyd, who has also spent his career in the West? Then there’s the matter of his buyout, about $11 million, the largest of any candidate.
Dusty May, head coach, Michigan
May is poised to dominate college basketball for at least the next decade. The 49-year-old is 60-13 in two seasons in Ann Arbor, has already won both a Big Ten regular-season and tournament title, and now his Wolverines — like Lloyd’s Wildcats — are a No. 1 seed. May has dominated transfer portal recruiting like few others since taking over at Michigan and has leaned into positional size and skill to build a pair of top-12 defenses. His creativity using multiple big men in versatile ways makes him one of the most respected X’s and O’s minds in college basketball and would be especially attractive in Chapel Hill, given the program’s historic success with forwards.
But similar logistical hurdles exist with May that exist with Lloyd. Michigan, like Arizona, is a Final Four favorite. May’s buyout is about $7 million, with a $500,000 bump after April 1. Michigan’s deep-pocketed boosters, though, could seemingly match (or surpass) any lucrative external offer.
T.J. Otzelberger, head coach, Iowa State
One of the best defensive coaches in the country, Otzelberger inherited a program that went 2-22 the year before his arrival and immediately turned it around, winning 22 games and making the Sweet 16 in his debut season. He’s 124-52 in five seasons in Ames — including 83-25 the past three, with one Big 12 tournament title — and has built as strong a culture as at any program in the sport. The Cyclones have finished top 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency every season under Otzelberger and have ranked top 20 offensively in each of the past two seasons. The 48-year-old maximizes his resources as well as any high-major coach, effectively identifying, retaining and developing high school talent over multiple seasons, while supplementing that core with well-fitting transfers.
Like Lloyd and May, Oztelberger is still dancing, as his No. 2-seeded Cyclones made their third Sweet 16 in the past five seasons. Financially speaking, he might be the most attainable candidate, with a $4 million buyout.
And the hire is …
Any of the five candidates expected to be considered would be great hires — but Lloyd, May and Donovan are simply in a different class. Of those three, sources familiar with the program’s thinking indicate Lloyd and Donovan are the school’s two present priorities, with Lloyd standing out for the aforementioned reasons. But logistical complications may force UNC’s hand and cause the Tar Heels to look further down their list. In that case, Otzelberger’s proven track record and strong resource management — and relative affordability — would make him an excellent fit.