The North Carolina Tar Heels are in upheaval after firing head coach Hubert Davis on Tuesday evening. Davis was sacked after the No. 6-seeded Tar Heels were upset 82-78 in overtime by the No. 11-seeded VCU Rams in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament last week.
ESPN Analyst Details Candidates for the North Carolina Vacancy
Several prominent names in college basketball and the NBA have been linked to the vacant North Carolina job since the firing.
During Wednesday’s segment of “The ACC Basketball Show” podcast, ESPN analyst Jeff Borzello broke down the seven candidates in contention to be the next Tar Heels coach, including Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
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“This is going to be the first time that they’re going outside the family to hire their next coach. It’s always been a Carolina guy,” Borzello said. “This time they’re gonna take some big swings. I think they’re gonna go after Billy Donovan pretty heavily. It’s a very different game to the last time Donovan was in college, leading Florida to two titles.
“After that, you’re going to hear the biggest names in college basketball; Tommy Lloyd at Arizona, Dusty May at Michigan, T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State. Going down the line, Todd Golden (Florida), Grant McCasland (Texas Tech). The problem for some of those guys is an enormous buyout.”
Since reports linking them to the top job have dropped, Otzelberger and Lloyd have already distanced themselves from the speculation, committing their futures to their current programs.
During Wednesday’s segment of “First Take,” ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith linked prominent North Carolina alum Kenny Smith to the vacant head coaching job.
“Knowing North Carolina, they’re looking internally first. I believe that Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith is that dude,” Smith said. “Make sure that he has no desire whatsoever to be the next coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. But if he wants that job, you don’t even think about interviewing another coach. You hire Kenny Smith.”
Kenny Smith played for North Carolina from 1983 to 1987, leading the Tar Heels to two undefeated ACC regular-season records and two Elite Eight appearances before departing for the NBA and eventually becoming a renowned TNT analyst.
The last time the Tar Heels hired a head coach with no prior connection to the program was in 1952. At that time, they appointed Frank McGuire, who was the St. John’s Red Storm coach.
