Tar Heels Go Outside Their Comfort Zone With New Head Coach Hire

Much like they did with Bill Belichick for their football program, the North Carolina Tar Heels are venturing outside their own circle with their next head coach--and they're pulling a name from the NBA down to the college ranks in the process.

As first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel, the Tar Heels are hiring former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. An NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets, Malone is best known for his time in the pros. This will be his first college coaching job since he was an assistant for Manhattan University from 1999-2001, and his first time as a college head coach.

Malone takes over a Tar Heels team that suffered one of the biggest first-round upsets of the 2025 NCAA tournament, when they lost as an 11-seed to 6-seeded VCU by an 82-78 final in the Round of 64. The Heels shot just 41.4% from the field, 27.6% from 3-point range, and 60.0% from the free-throw line in one of their most disappointing offensive efforts of the year. Texas was the other 11-seed (west bracket) to lose in Round 1.

The first-round defeat ultimately cost Hubert Davis his job as head coach, and Malone is the ultimate beneficiary of that. Malone brings 984 combined regular-season and playoff games of NBA experience to the table, which may hold value in this new era of NIL money and the transfer portal, which has evolved the college system into something that more resembles professional hoops.

Notably, the Malone hire signals a departure from UNC hiring former players or figures otherwise within their "family," as was noted by both Thamel and Shelby Swanson at the Charlotte News & Observer. Malone played college ball at Loyola, and had no real connections to the North Carolina program prior to his hire.

Sometimes, if you want to reach the pinnacle of your sport, you have to get uncomfortable. You have to think big and bold. This is a big, bold, and likely uncomfortable move for the Tar Heels, but it'll all be worth it if they end up winning their first national title since 2017.