North Carolina fans will be watching Saturday’s blockbuster national semifinal between Arizona and Michigan through a different lens, as their next head coach might just be manning the sidelines.
Over the past week, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd has emerged as one of the leading candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy at UNC, and Michigan’s Dusty May has been floated as a major target as well. That drama hangs over Final Four weekend in Indianapolis as the latest — and arguably the most extreme — example of how wild the coaching carousel has become in recent years.
North Carolina fired Hubert Davis on March 24, less than a week after the Tar Heels were bounced in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, blowing a 19-point lead in an 82-78 overtime loss to VCU. Across five seasons, Davis led the program to a 125-54 record and four tournament appearances, including a run to the 2022 national championship game.
Lloyd has danced around questions about the UNC job, emphasizing his love for Arizona and commitment to this year’s team but not outright denying that he may leave for Chapel Hill. Asked by Hoops HQ about his reaction to seeing his name pop up in the conversation, Lloyd said, “I already have one of the best jobs in the country. One thing we talk about in our program all the time, and I think I’ve gotten better at, and I think our team has been crushing it this year, is just the ability to have full focus and be present in the moment. … I’m 100-percent focused on Arizona basketball and this program.”
He reiterated that message when pressed about the noise again on Thursday. “I’ve got my full focus on this team. Nothing is distracting me,” he said. “I’m 100-percent locked in on Arizona basketball right now.”
It’s worth noting that to hire Lloyd or May, UNC would have to pay significant buyout fees ($11 million for Lloyd, $7.5 million for May).
The other big name to monitor in Carolina’s ongoing search is Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who is believed to be near the top of the school’s list. Donovan has been at the NBA level for the past decade but previously led Florida to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
There was speculation that another prestigious blue-blood job (Kansas) might open up, but Bill Self put those rumors to rest on Wednesday, announcing that he will return for the 2026-27 campaign rather than retire. “Jayhawk Nation: With renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas basketball competing for a national championship,” Self said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”
While the future of a few coaches at the Final Four remains murky, one coach in Indianapolis has already accepted a new job for next season: UConn assistant Luke Murray. A longtime member of Dan Hurley’s staff and the son of legendary actor Bill Murray, Luke was introduced as the head coach at Boston College earlier this week.
The most shocking development in the coaching cycle so far has been Will Wade’s decision to split from NC State after one season to rejoin LSU, where he was the coach from 2017-22 before being fired for recruiting violations. Wade, who took over for Matt McMahon, said the opportunity to return to Baton Rouge was “deeply personal” and that “the resources, commitment and alignment” at the school make it a place where they can “build something special and sustainable.”
NC State acted quickly to fill its unexpected vacancy, hiring Tennessee assistant Justin Gainey. A former player for the Wolfpack from 1996-2000, Gainey boasts a resume that includes apprenticeships under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara, Sean Miller at Arizona, Steve Wojciechowski at Marquette and Rick Barnes at Tennessee.
As Hoops HQ’s Brett Friedlander reported, NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan took a not-so-subtle swipe at Wade upon welcoming Gainey to Raleigh at a press conference on Wednesday. “We’re here to celebrate a new leader of this program who has everything we need,” Corrigan said, “who has the right moral compass for this fan base, who understands what NC State is all about and who truly is going to take pride in the name on the front of the jersey.”
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Two legendary coaches announced their retirements in March: Butler’s Thad Matta and Creighton’s Greg McDermott. Matta will be replaced by another Butler alum in Ronald Nored, who played point guard for the Bulldogs from 2008-12 and has been an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks for the past three seasons. McDermott already had a succession plan in place: Last April, Creighton hired Alan Huss, a former player for the Bluejays (1997-2001) and assistant under McDermott (2017-23), as the head-coach-in-waiting.
Since Hoops HQ’s last carousel update, all of the high-major openings — outside of North Carolina — have come off the market. Several mid-major coaches are making the leap to the power-conference level, including Siena’s Gerry McNamara (to his alma mater Syracuse), Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett (to Arizona State), Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun (to Cincinnati), South Florida’s Bryan Hodgson (to Providence), Troy’s Scott Cross (to Georgia Tech) and Belmont’s Casey Alexander (to Kansas State). McNamara, Bennett, Calhoun, Hodgson and Cross all led their respective teams to this year’s Big Dance.
With the tournament drawing to a close, most coaches are already looking ahead to the 2026-27 season. Rest assured, there will be no shortage of drama in the college basketball world in the days and weeks that follow Monday’s championship game, which could very well involve North Carolina’s next leader.
When the ball stops bouncing, the coaching carousel will keep spinning.
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