CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Officially, North Carolina filled its coaching vacancy from outside its basketball “family” for the first time since a young assistant named Dean Smith was elevated to the position in 1961. But even though Michael Malone has no previous playing or coaching connection to the program, it’s not as though he’s a stranger to either Tar Heels or their storied tradition.
And not just because his daughter Bridget is a freshman hitter on the UNC volleyball team.
Because of his relationship with former Tar Heel and long-time NBA assistant Pat Sullivan, the 54-year-old New York native was able to gain some intimate knowledge into the workings of the UNC program from none other than the man he’s replacing, when he was invited to attend practices while between coaching jobs last season.
“Hubert Davis let me in,” Malone said during his introductory press conference at Smith Center on Tuesday. “He allowed me to come in and watch and be part of this family, which doesn’t happen very often. If ever. I always spent time with the coaches and I was rooting for them all year long.
“Sully and I would talk about ‘What are you seeing, Coach? What can we do better? What recommendations do you have?” I wish I could have been better help.”
Davis, a former UNC All-American, was fired after five seasons on the job following the 19-point second half implosion against VCU that led to the Tar Heels’ second straight opening round NCAA Tournament exit.
Because of the connection between Davis and Malone, and the message of support the former coach sent him upon his arrival to Chapel Hill, the new UNC coach called his hiring “bittersweet,” while adding from experience that job openings such as this come with the territory.
“Unfortunately in this business,” Malone said, “you don’t get a chance to see it through all the time.”
Malone understands that all too well. Just two years after coaching the Denver Nuggets to the first NBA championship in franchise history and a year after getting the team back to the Western Conference semifinals, he was unceremoniously fired with just three games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season. The son of former NBA coach Brendan Malone spent the past season as an analyst for ESPN.
While the UNC job search attracted plenty of high-profile names — including Final Four coaches Tommy Lloyd of Arizona and Dusty May of national champion Michigan, along with Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, incoming athletic director Steve Newmark said Tuesday that Malone was the first candidate he contacted and the only one that was offered the job.
“We had him in the top few we thought checked all the boxes for what we wanted in a coach, in a person, in an ambassador,” Newmark said.
It’s a fact that surprised even Malone after his first informal conversation with Newmark and current AD Bubba Cunningham nearly two weeks ago.
UNC COACHING SAGA
Mired in Dysfunction and Still Without a Coach, North Carolina Pivots to an Uncertain Future
The university hired a Duke graduate as Chancellor and fired its basketball coach, Hubert Davis. That may be the least of its troubles.
A Bad Break, a Painful Divorce: Where Does North Carolina Turn After Firing Hubert Davis?
The injury to Caleb Wilson and collapse against VCU brought the Davis era to a shocking end. Now UNC will likely have to hire a coach from outside the family.
“It was an interesting conversation, because it was an introductory call,” Newmark recalled. “We were talking about our histories and experiences, and at the end of it he said, ‘I’ll be honest, I did think this was just a courtesy call as a favor to (Sullivan). But it sounds like you guys are really serious in potentially having me consider this job.’ That’s when I think that light bulb went off.”
Malone signed a six-year contract worth $50 million, plus incentives. With the transfer portal already open, he plans to waste no time building a staff and assessing which current players intend to stay and how many roster spots he’ll have to fill.
As intrigued as Malone was about the UNC job, he was reluctant to actively pursue it at first. Not only is his college experience limited to stints as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan in the late 1990s, but he was also considering potential NBA offers.
It took several more inquiries from Newmark and Cunningham, not to mention other members of the UNC family, before Malone finally decided to make the move to Chapel Hill. The deal was sealed on Easter Sunday, when the Tar Heel delegation paid a visit to his home in Colorado to make one final pitch.
“Everytime I said no, I was regretting that,” Malone said. “Jobs like North Carolina do not come open (often). I told (Newmark) that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It wasn’t a situation where I could say now is not the right time. It’s now or never. So when he came to the house on Easter Sunday, just hearing his vision of the job … that he wanted a coach who could build something special, it changed my mind and my wife’s mind. That night I felt so much better. I’m just taking this job, I’m attacking this job.”
It’s a job that’s not without pressure or high expectations. His predecessor Davis went 125-54, went to a Final Four, won an ACC regular season championship and is the only coach in conference history to win 20 or more games in his first five seasons on the job. And it still wasn’t good enough.
“I didn’t come here to be second best,” Malone said. “I didn’t come here to lose in the first round of the (NCAA) Tournament.”
Although Malone admitted that his actual knowledge of UNC is still “a work in progress,” he’ll have plenty of help in becoming a member of the Tar Heel family from the actual family members anxious to see him succeed. It’s a group that includes retired coach Roy Williams, Hall of Famer Tyler Hansbrough, several other former players in attendance at Tuesday’s press conference and a freshman volleyball star who shares his last name.
“I’m not from North Carolina, I didn’t play here,” Malone said. “I’m from outside the family to become a new member of the family and I’m excited about that. Every time I talked to my wife, I said this is North Carolina. This is Roy Williams, Dean Smith, Coach (Bill) Guthridge, and I want to be a part of something so much bigger than me. I am thankful for this opportunity and I do not take it lightly.”
Tar Heel Nation Divided: Battle Lines Drawn Over Fate of Dean Dome
With the future of North Carolina’s Smith Center in question, some fans are rallying to kill a new development plan — and save a titan of Tar Heel history
Meet your guide
