By Aidan Joly
One of the top jobs in college basketball is now open after North Carolina fired Hubert Davis on Tuesday after five seasons at the helm.
Davis, the hand-picked successor to Roy Williams after Williams retired in 2021, went 125-54 but the NCAA tournament results left much to be desired. The Tar Heels made the national championship game in Davis’ first season, but he only went to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament once since. Last week, UNC blew 19-point lead to VCU and lost in the first round of this year’s tournament.
A big question: who is making the hire? Athletic director Bubba Cunningham is one his way out at the end of May and is being replaced by NASCAR executive Steve Newmark. Chancellor Lee Roberts, who was a big part of hiring Bill Belichick for the football program, is sure to be involved too.
All signs point to UNC hiring outside of the family for the first time in more than half a century. They will have plenty of options. Here are a few of them:
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls head coach
It has been long rumored that Donovan, who has been in the NBA for a decade now, would make a return to college basketball eventually.
Donovan has been with the Bulls since 2020 after spending four seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But before that, he was the longtime head coach at Florida and won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
He was thrown around for the Kentucky job in 2024 but it never felt serious. The Bulls are going to miss the playoffs and the last game of their season is on April 12. Could it be more serious this time around? He would immediately become one of the best coaches in college basketball.
Nate Oats, Alabama head coach
One thing to note about Oats: he has one of the largest buyouts in the country: around $18 million. It will certainly be challenging to pry him out of Tuscaloosa.
It has been rumored that Oats was the guy North Carolina wanted when Williams retired in 2021, but it was not to be.
Nonetheless Oats is the most successful coach in Alabama history, having brought the Tide to its only Final Four in 2024 and has reached the NCAA tournament six times.
It will be tough for UNC to bring him to Chapel Hill, but it’s worth a look.
Todd Golden, Florida head coach
Golden is one of the top young minds in the business. He led Florida to its first national championship since the Donovan days last year and had another strong year this year.
His teams also play a fast, physical style not too different from the style many of Williams’ teams played at UNC.
However, he’s another guy with a huge buyout – around $16 million. It will be difficult to get him away from Gainesville.
TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State head coach
From a perspective of how much it would cost, Otzelberger is the most affordable top tier coach on the market right now. His buyout is only $4 million.
Despite the low buyout, Otzelberger remains an elite coach. He took over an Iowa State team that went 2-22 in the 2020-21 season and immediately turned around. He got to the Sweet 16 in year one and has won at least one NCAA tournament game in four of his five seasons in Ames. He has a big-time reputation as a player developer.
Iowa State is 83-25 in the past three seasons. He might be the most attainable candidate.
Mark Byington, Vanderbilt head coach
Byington has had a meteoric rise as a college head coach. After a stint at Georgia Southern he was awesome at James Madison, before going 47-22 in the past two seasons at Vanderbilt.
He also has extensive regional ties. He is from Virginia and played collegiately at UNC Wilmington.
He has a reputation for finding under the radar talent, something that has done him well in his coaching career. He would certainly be a good fit in Chapel Hill.
Dusty May, Michigan head coach
May has quickly become one of the top coaches anywhere in the country. He has gone 60-13 in the past two seasons with Michigan after making a Final Four at Florida Atlantic.
He is also a dominant recruiter and has one of the most interesting and exciting play styles of any coach in the country.
May is going to have a ton of options over the next handful of years. He is going to be linked to every blueblood job as long as he is at Michigan, on top of any potential NBA opportunities he could get. Or he could be a Michigan lifer. This is the first of many chances he’ll get at a top tier gig.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona head coach
Lloyd is another one of college basketball’s elite coaches who has a very large buyout: in the $11 million range.
He has gone 146-35 in Tucson since he took over in 2021 and has won multiple conference titles and has never been lower than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. This year is the second time he has been a No. 1 seed.
The athletic director who hired Lloyd at Arizona, Dave Heeke, is no longer there. Desiree Reed-Francois is the new AD in Tucson, which is worth noting.
Arizona has a clear path to make the Final Four. It comes down to if UNC is willing to wait that long, and pay a buyout.
Prediction: Let’s go with Otzelberger. Some of the higher end guys should be the priority, but there are large buyout at play as well as a need to wait it out until their seasons come to an end. You have to do that with Otzelberger too, but one of those issues isn’t as pertinent.
Otzelberger is an elite coach and it makes the most sense. Donovan should be a close second.
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