Reports: Former Florida coach Billy Donovan’s name surfacing in Michigan coaching search
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Michigan fans were surprised this week when longtime head coach John Beilein left Ann Arbor to take the open Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching job.
Now the Wolverines are trying to find a new leader for a team that has reached elite status over the past few seasons, including Final Four runs in 2013 and 2018. One of the top candidates for the job has a pair of national titles on his resume — former Florida coach Billy Donovan, who is currently the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Yahoo’s Pete Thamel has Donovan at the top of his list for Michigan, and Vegas odds have him as the second-favorite candidate to land the job:
Who will be the next HC of @umichbball ?
Juwan Howard 3-1
Billy Donovan 7-2
Bobby Hurley 5-1
Mike White 5-1
Shaka Smart 7-1
Kevin Keatts 7-1
Lavall Jordan 10-1
Luke Yaklich 10-1
Saddi Washington 10-1
Brad Stevens 12-1No, @realchriswebber not listed
(odds via @DaveMasonBOL )
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) May 14, 2019
Not everyone is on board with the Donovan hype, though, as ESPN’s Dick Vitale said Donovan is very happy with the Thunder:
All chatter about Billy Donovan & @umichbball is a waste of time / said he is very happy with @okcthunder
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) May 14, 2019
Of course, happy coaches switch jobs all the time — just look at Beilein, for example. We don’t know yet who the next Michigan coach will be, but Donovan is certainly an interesting name to throw into the mix.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
