North Carolina’s decision to move on from Hubert Davis landed with the kind of thud that echoes. It came on the heels of a first-round NCAA tournament loss to VCU, a defeat that not only ended a season but crystallized a growing sense that something in Chapel Hill had drifted off course.
Why Stephen A. Smith Endorses Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith for UNC Head Coach
North Carolina carries its past like a well-worn novel, pages filled with names such as Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Vince Carter. But lately, the rhythm has been off.
Since the loss to Kansas in the 2022 national championship game, the Tar Heels have looked like a team searching for its own reflection. The wins have not stacked the same way. Recruiting, once an effortless pull, has become more of a tug-of-war.
That is where Stephen A. Smith steps in, equal parts commentator and provocateur, offering a solution that feels as bold as it is personal: give the program to Kenny “The Jet” Smith.
“Knowing North Carolina, they’re looking internally first. … I believe that Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith is that dude,” Stephen A. said.
“Knowing North Carolina, they’re looking internally first. … I believe that Kenny “The Jet” Smith is that dude.”
—@stephenasmith on his pick for the next UNC men’s basketball head coach 👀 pic.twitter.com/G4s4MS6DNm
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 25, 2026
This was a reiteration of his earlier belief, when he said on his show: “If Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith wants to do it, he should be the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. That’s right, I said it.”
On paper, it is the kind of idea that raises eyebrows. Kenny Smith has not paced a college sideline or diagrammed late-game plays under that particular kind of pressure. But Stephen A. Smith’s argument is less about paper and more about presence.
“That is a man that starred at North Carolina. This is a man that played with Jordan, that boogied on Mark Price and those boys. Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith is a brilliant basketball mind, but I got news for you, I think he’d be an even better recruiter,” Stephen A. said.
Kenny Smith understands the ecosystem basketball lives in today. Through his work with youth programs such as The Jet Academy, he has spent years building relationships where the future of the sport begins, in gyms where the next generation is still deciding whom to trust.
“That man as the head coach of UNC with his connections to the youth basketball in America and all the kids he knows, walking into somebody’s living room to recruit their child? Oh my lord, it would be special,” Stephen A. continued. “A return to glory for the University of North Carolina, as far as I’m concerned.”
Of course, this isn’t a risk-free fairytale. Coaching UNC isn’t a gentle introduction. Stepping into that role without traditional coaching experience would be less of a transition and more of a plunge.
