Hubert Davis is out at UNC. Who could replace him in Chapel Hill?
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The North Carolina Tar Heels fired head coach Hubert Davis on Tuesday evening after 5 up-and-down years as head coach.
Davis’s termination came in spite of the fact that he won 70% of his games during his tenure at Chapel Hill, including a national championship game appearance in 2022 and an ACC regular-season championship in 2024. Ultimately, Davis’s inconsistency and back-to-back Round of 64 exits in 2025 and 2026 led outgoing athletic director Bubba Cunningham and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark, along with Carolina chancellor Lee Roberts and the UNC administration, to believe a change was necessary.
The departure of Davis sends ripples throughout the sport, creating an opening at arguably the best job in college basketball and doing so at a time when there is no obvious replacement within the “Carolina family” — a first since well before the retirement of Dean Smith in October 1997. While Newmark will lead the search, UNC stated it will hire the search firm Turnkey ZRG to assist, the same firm that helped Indiana football hire Curt Cignetti and helped the Florida Gators hire head basketball coach Todd Golden. A core group of Carolina boosters, along with former players and coaches, are also expected to have their say in the hire, which Carolina is unlikely to rush.
The decision to part ways with Davis was not unexpected, with Carolina initially hopeful that Davis would resign willingly and accept a job elsewhere in the administration, according to 2 Carolina sources who were granted anonymity to speak candidly with Saturday Down South. Once that effort failed, UNC made the decision to terminate Davis.
“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader — he has helped make special memories we will never forget,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”
To compete at an elite level again, UNC expects to cast a wide net in its coaching search, focusing on both the collegiate and professional ranks with the most vital predicate being that the Tar Heels will hire a coach who has won — consistently — at the highest levels of basketball.
One notable name not being considered, according to an industry source, is Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats, who is perceived to have “considerable baggage” off the court in addition to a $10 million buyout if hired prior to April 1.
Florida’s Golden, a fashionable betting favorite, has an even larger buyout ($16 million before April 15), and is considered “decidedly unlikely,” according to an industry source and a source at the University of Florida. Golden, who a season ago became the youngest head coach since legendary NC State coach Jim Valvano to win a national championship and followed that up this season with a 1-seed and SEC regular-season championship, is happy with family and professional life in Gainesville, where Florida’s administrative commitment to winning in basketball is higher than ever before.
“Carolina is Carolina, but Golden already has a destination job,” said an industry source close to Golden. “You only move your family if you can’t get what you want at Florida, and that’s not a concern.”
With Oats and Golden, the top 2 coaches in the SEC and among the best college coaches in America, unlikely to bolt for Carolina blue pastures, who will Carolina zero in on in the next few weeks? Here’s a look at a few names likely to be on Carolina’s list.
Billy Donovan, Head Coach, Chicago Bulls
Donovan is 60 years old and has not coached in college for a decade. That said, the college game has tracked the NBA game increasingly over the past few years and, with his reputation as an offensive innovator and NBA experience, Donovan would immediately become one of the top coaches in college basketball if he returned to the college hardwood. What’s more, with the Bulls likely to miss the playoffs and with multiple years expected in Chicago’s rebuild, Donovan may be interested in going a different professional direction.
“There is meaningful interest on Carolina’s end and Donovan is certainly willing to listen,” an industry source told SDS on Monday. “There’s also a wide bridge between meaningful interest and hired.”
Donovan just signed an extension with the Bulls last summer and has lamented the NIL era from afar, but he’s also been candid about his frustration with the Bulls’ long rebuild process. With a GM in place and immense resources, Donovan would be immune from the recruiting frustrations that haunted him late in his tenure at Florida, where he won 2 national championships and built the Gators into a national power. Will that be enough to get him back in college basketball? It would certainly be awesome for the sport.
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Mark Byington, Head Coach, Vanderbilt
Byington has exceeded every expectation in 2 years at Vanderbilt, advancing to 2 NCAA Tournaments and winning 47 games in 2 seasons at a program that won just 50 games in the 3 years prior to his arrival in Nashville. A bright offensive mind who plays a fun, high-tempo brand of offense, Byington also has North Carolina and ACC roots, having played at UNC-Wilmington in the 1990s and serving as an assistant at Virginia and Virginia Tech. Byington’s never made a Sweet 16, but at just 49 years of age, he’s a rising star in the industry and might be worth a swing if bigger names like Donovan decline.
Tommy Lloyd, Head Coach, Arizona
Like Golden at Florida, Lloyd is already at a “destination job.” Also like Golden, Lloyd plays a style of basketball (think, Roy Williams high tempo, big man heavy) that resonates in Chapel Hill.
Only 51, Lloyd has done wonders in Tucson, posting a Lute Olson-like 146 wins with 6 regular-season and conference-tournament titles between the old Pac-12 and current Big 12. He’s coaching a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, and could finally get over the Sweet 16 hump this weekend if Arizona gets past Arkansas. One of the best recruiters in America, Lloyd has also adapted to NIL, using the portal and the same international evaluation skills that he used to help build Gonzaga into a power as Mark Few’s top lieutenant.
This might be the best hire if Donovan declines — the only catch is Carolina may have to wait until mid-April, well into the portal season, before Lloyd makes his decision.
T.J. Otzelberger, Head Coach, Iowa State
Otzelberger has worked wonders in Ames without a fraction of the resources he’d have in Chapel Hill. He’s a defense-first coach, which would be a bit different at Carolina, but the Cyclones identify and develop talent as well as anyone in America and the results speak for themselves, with an 124-52 record over 5 seasons with a Big 12 Tournament title and 3 Sweet 16 appearances and counting for Iowa State.
Only 48, Otzelberger has also coached top-20 offenses over the past 2 seasons, a nice rebuttal to the notion that he’d play joyless rockfight ball in the Dean Dome. Like Donovan and Lloyd, the timing could be messy, as the Cyclones are still playing in the NCAA Tournament. But Otzelberger is likely the most affordable big-name option, with just a $4 million buyout and less star power than other big-name options.
Dusty May, Head Coach, Michigan
Would May, who just arrived in Ann Arbor 2 seasons ago, really bolt the Wolverines, especially if he reaches the Final Four or wins a championship in Year 2?
“A little like Todd (Golden), he’s at a destination job where you get what you want when you win,” an industry source told SDS on Tuesday morning.
One of the best tacticians in the sport, May blends tremendous defensive nous with an excellent understanding of roster construction in an NIL world. He’d modernize Carolina’s talent evaluation operation instantaneously and, with Carolina’s vast resources, would likely be even more effective in blending the portal with high school recruiting, a modern day roster building must. With a $7 million buyout, he’s less cost-prohibitive than other high-profile options, but it’s hard to imagine he leaves Ann Arbor if he’s a national champion come next month.
Ben McCollum, Head Coach, Iowa
Want an outside the box name? McCollum is intriguing. He’s won 4 national titles, although they all came at the Division II level, a figure that might not impress the old guard Carolina fans who remember the good old days with Dean and Roy. Then again, Dean Smith was a young assistant when he took the Carolina job from Frank McGuire. His hoops IQ and savvy turned out okay.
McCollum, who just put together a masterclass of coaching while upsetting top seed and defending national champion Florida in the NCAA Tournament last week, has only 2 years as a Division I head coach. He also plays a methodical, slow tempo that isn’t always easy on the eyes and seems best suited to teams suffering from talent differentials. But McCollum only wins, and at both Drake and Iowa, he’s blown past analytical expectations, getting every ounce of water out of the talent sponge. At Carolina, he’d have the immense talent to match his coaching acumen. That was a good recipe for Dean Smith. Perhaps it would be again for Carolina?
Here’s the latest Kalshi market for who will be the next North Carolina head coach:
Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
