UNC legend Jerry Stackhouse got his chance as a college basketball head coach, leading Vanderbilt from 2019 to 2024. It went so poorly, with zero NCAA Tournament appearances and a total record of 22 games under .500, that he wasn’t considered to replace Hubert Davis in Chapel Hill.
At the time, Stackhouse was serving as an assistant coach on Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State, and he called out the UNC program for not giving him an interview. His contract has since expired, and he, along with former NBA head coach Terry Stotts, was not brought back after the Warriors missed the playoffs and finished under .500 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Now, according to Marc Stein, Stackhouse is getting love for an NBA job. He’s reportedly under consideration to replace Billy Donovan, who was a top candidate for UNC before Bubba Cunningham and Steve Newmark opted to hire Michael Malone as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Another name for the Bulls' coaching search: Jerry Stackhouse, fresh off a stint as a Warriors assistant, has emerged as a candidate in Chicago, sources tell @JakeLFischer and me.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 20, 2026
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Jerry Stackhouse is reportedly a candidate to replace Billy Donovan in Chicago
Airing his grievances with the university, Stackhouse told Jim Rome, “I feel like I have a resume that could stand up to anybody,” while explaining why he felt he should have received an interview. As much as UNC would have liked to keep it in the family by hiring another former Tar Heel, the harsh reality is that just isn’t true.
Not only did Stackhouse fail to win at Vanderbilt, which on its face is excusable. The program has just three conference titles in its history and only 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. He failed to win at Vanderbilt, and then his successor immediately vaulted the program into legitimate contention.
In two years, the two years since Stackhouse’s firing, as he’s spent time on Kerr’s staff in Golden State, Mark Byington has won 47 games, including the programs since NCAA Tournament win since 2012, has led the program to the SEC Championship Game, falling to Arkansas this March, and has made the NCAA Tournament both seasons.
Vanderbilt has long been something of a punching bag in the SEC, but in the NIL era, its location in the booming metropolis of Nashville has uniquely situated both the football and basketball programs to attract talent and win at unprecedented levels. Byington has been able to tap that vein, as head football coach Clark Lea has, but Stackhouse never came close, finishing his tenure with a 9-23 season in 2023-24.
Maybe they could have thrown him a bone with an interview to appease a program legend. It likely wouldn’t have generated much buzz in the fan base, nor much vitriol when they went in a different direction. However, UNC was right not to seriously consider Stackhouse for the job, so seeing him suddenly in the running to take over an NBA team is certainly a bit of a shock.
Now, Stackhouse is a long way from landing the job, clearly, but even an interview would come as a surprise. Maybe Stackhouse is better suited for the NBA, where he’s spent most of his coaching career, but it’d be very difficult to say Chicago upgraded going from Donovan to Stackhouse if that is indeed the move. And that has relevance for UNC fans.
Chicago landed the fourth pick in the NBA Draft lottery this offseason, a slot that has long been reserved for Caleb Wilson, coming off his stellar one-and-done season in Chapel Hill. And while it may be cool for UNC fans to see Stackhouse coaching up Wilson in the league next season, it’s probably not in Wilson’s best interest.
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