North Carolina’s coaching search appears to have concluded on Monday. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Tar Heels are expected to hire Michael Malone, the former Denver Nuggets head coach.
Malone seemed to come out of nowhere, and if North Carolina were going to pursue the NBA route, it would likely target Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported on Monday that Donovan wanted to wait until after the Bulls’ season before making any decisions and might have taken the position.
Did North Carolina Panic During Its Coaching Search
“Billy Donovan wanted to wait until end of season to make a decision on North Carolina and one source close to Donovan felt as though he might have taken it,” Goodman wrote on X.
However, Goodman also noted that North Carolina didn’t want to wait for Donovan, as it might have “panicked” amid other coaches, such as Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Michigan’s Juwan Howard, withdrawing from the job.
“But source said that new North Carolina AD Steve Newmark panicked after Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May spurned the Tar Heels,” Goodman added.
The Bulls’ season doesn’t wrap up until Sunday, but North Carolina couldn’t afford to wait another week for Donovan to take the position. With the NCAA transfer portal opening on Tuesday, the Tar Heels needed to have a head coach in place to navigate the process. It’s crucial for players currently on the North Carolina roster to know who their new coach will be, whether they are considering entering the portal or looking for new prospects who might want to join the Tar Heels.
If North Carolina had waited a week to try to hire Donovan and, at the last minute, he decided not to take the job, then the Tar Heels would have been in major trouble.
Lloyd and May were already hesitant about taking the head coaching job in North Carolina. If the position were offered to Malone, there was a strong possibility he could have also pursued an NBA opportunity, leaving the Tar Heels with few options.
Could Malone Be a One-and-Done With The Tar Heels
Malone has been coaching at the NBA level, either as an assistant or a head coach, since 2003. One major reason for his current interest in the North Carolina job is that he may use it as a stepping stone to secure another head coaching position.
Surprisingly, no NBA team hired Malone as its head coach last offseason. Perhaps there isn’t much interest in him from teams in the league, which might explain why he’s heading to North Carolina.
Last year, North Carolina made headlines on the football field when it hired former NFL head coach Bill Belichick. With no NFL team showing interest in hiring Belichick as its head coach, this was a significant factor in ending up in Chapel Hill.
Belichick probably thought he could use his one year at North Carolina as a stepping stone back into the NFL, but it didn’t pan out: he won only four games. Perhaps Malone is looking to do something similar, but have success and get back into the NBA.
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