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A major domino looks ready to fall in UNC’s inevitable coaching search

Billy Donovan hasn't coached college basketball in over a decade, but that wouldn't stop the two-time national champ from being a top candidate if he steps down.
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Athletic director Bubba Cunningham and the North Carolina administration are dragging their feet, but after the Tar Heels’ first-round loss to VCU, it’s almost inevitable that the program is heading for a coaching change. As one of the best jobs in college basketball, only A+ candidates should make the short list, and though he hasn’t coached in college since 2015, a two-time national champion would certainly meet that standard. 

Billy Donovan has spent the last 11 years coaching in the NBA, with five years leading the Oklahoma City Thunder and six at the helm in Chicago. Now, reports are indicating that the 60-year-old may be preparing to step down from his post with the Bulls at the end of another underwhelming season. 

Donovan led the Florida Gators to back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, and now, almost 20 years later, he could be ready to re-enter the college landscape, and with big-time programs in uncertain situations, he could force major movement. 

Billy Donovan could throw a major wrench in the coaching carousel

Donovan shouldn’t be North Carolina’s first call if it does the right thing and moves on from Davis. Especially with the current Florida head coach, Todd Golden, currently sitting as the favorite to take over in Chapel Hill. 

A young coach familiar with the machinations of the NIL, Transfer Portal, and revenue-sharing era in college basketball would be a better pick: Golden, Nate Oats, TJ Otzelberger, and Tommy Lloyd all come to mind. Still, Donovan, with his championship pedigree, is not a bad potential backup option, and if nothing else, another top coach on the market will make it easier for UNC to snag its top choice. 

There has been some mid-major and small Power Conference movement, but the coaching carousel hasn’t yet kicked into high gear, and it could reach escape velocity at any moment. Aside from Davis’s precarious situation, Bill Self flirted with retirement after Kansas’s loss to St. John’s on Sunday, and half of Big Blue Nation is ready to run Mark Pope out of Lexington. 

If Donovan becomes available, it could force one of those blue-blood programs to act, or if they make a move before Donovan is officially on the market, he could delay their pursuit of one of the up-and-comers that UNC should have its sights set on. 

However it plays out with Kansas, Kentucky, and Donovan, having another big-name coach on the market in a year your program is making a transition is never a bad thing.

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