Kenny “The Jet” Smith, a basketball analyst and ex-North Carolina Tar Heel under Dean Smith, made a statement about the next man up for the head coaching job for the men’s basketball team. Hubert Davis was fired after five seasons with the program, creating speculation about who the next coach will be.
Kenny Smith Wants Next North Carolina Coach to Retire a Tar Heel
Smith, who played at North Carolina from 1983 to 1987, spoke about the coaching vacancy during the CBS halftime show of the Sweet 16 game between Purdue and Texas. Although Smith didn’t mention specifically who he wants to take the head coaching job, he made it clear that the next coach should retire a Tar Heel.
He said, “Hubert Davis was going to retire as a Tar Heel. Whoever we bring in, they have to want to retire a Tar Heel.”
With the UNC job open, @TheJetOnTNT has one big requirement for whoever is hired: he wants them to want to retire as a Tar Heel. pic.twitter.com/aylVm86Vk5
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 27, 2026
The panel of Clark Kellogg, Nate Burleson, and Charles Barkley didn’t ask Smith if he was interested in taking the position. Speculation arose that Smith might be interested in the role after he reportedly felt ill while analyzing in the CBS studio during the March 19 game between Michigan and Howard.
On-air, Smith was replaced by ex-WNBA star Renee Montgomery the next day. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently advocated for Smith to become the next head coach for North Carolina. Smith said, “Knowing North Carolina, they’re looking internally first… I believe that Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith is that dude.”
Smith’s son, Malloy Smith, is committed to suiting up as a Tar Heel next season. In his five seasons with the program, Davis went 125-54 as the head coach in Chapel Hill.
Prior to his firing, Davis had four years left on his contract and was owed more than $5 million in a buyout. Davis played for UNC from 1988 to 1992, then went on to a 12-year NBA career.
Before taking on the head coaching position, he was an assistant coach at UNC under Roy Williams from 2012 to 2021. Smith took the time to thank Davis for his five-season stint with the program during the discussion on CBS and said the firing puts the program at a “precarious position.”
He said, “First of all, Coach Hubert Davis, thank you. Your service and what you did for North Carolina as a player and as a coach – you moved it forward. And I think people forget that because of one game here or there.”
He also added, “I also think this is a precarious position for North Carolina and us as Tar Heels because what makes us special when you fire one person, that’s Coach Davis… you have a lineage to every era of basketball that’s Carolina that was on that staff, including Hubert Davis. Every era was connected. That’s what makes us special.”
Whether Smith will be considered in conversations for the position remains to be seen. Smith himself has not publicly expressed interest in becoming a coach for the men’s basketball program at North Carolina.
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has been one of the names considered for the position.
