Who are the top candidates to replace Roy Williams at UNC?
Roy Williams shocked the college basketball world on Thursday morning by announcing his retirement from coaching after 33 years at Kansas and North Carolina. By stepping down, arguably the best job in college basketball is now open and expect some of the top coaches in the country to be in play to replace the Hall of Famer.
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RELATED: Roy Williams retires
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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Hubert Davis
The Carolina Family is a real thing and keeping the job in that family means something for the Tar Heels. If they decide to go that route, Hubert Davis is currently an assistant coach for the Tar Heels and could help make the transition from the Roy Williams era a little smoother. He’s earned a reputation as a pretty strong recruiter and understands the North Carolina job.
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Tony Bennett
Would Tony Bennett leave Virginia for another job in the ACC? That’s a tough question to answer, but this would be the one that would at least have a chance at getting him to listen. Bennett has established himself as one of the elite coaches in the country in the last decade and it’d be an easy transition for him to Chapel Hill.
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Scott Drew
What Scott Drew has done at Baylor is one of the more impressive coaching tenures in the history of college basketball. He’s taken the program from a tragic situation nearly 20 years ago to becoming one of the consistently great programs in the sport and will be playing in the Final Four on Saturday. By all accounts, Drew is really happy in Waco and has created a terrific culture, but North Carolina is a job where coaches tend to listen. He’s recruited five-stars and has been as good as anyone in the transfer portal. He’d be a terrific hire for the Tar Heels.
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Chris Holtmann
Chris Holtmann has done nothing but win at both Butler and Ohio State. He had the Buckeyes in the top 10 for a good portion of this season in the toughest league in the country and has recruited at a high level. Holtmann, who took over as interim coach at Butler in 2014, did recently turn down overtures from Indiana, but North Carolina is at a different level. He would be another really good choice for the Tar Heels.
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Wes Miller
Could a coach go from UNC-Greensboro to North Carolina? That’s a big jump to make, but Wes Miller has done an unbelievable job of keeping the Spartans at the top of the Southern Conference over the past several years after taking over as interim head coach at 29 years old. The former North Carolina walk-on is apparently very highly thought of by Williams, but it would probably be tough to choose him over some of the other candidates on the board.
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Nate Oats
When Williams had his teams playing at their best, they were playing fast and scoring in the 80s and 90s regularly and recruiting the best players in the country. That’s exactly what Nate Oats wants to do and has proven he can do in his two years at Alabama and his time at Buffalo. He did just sign an extension with the Crimson Tide, but that’s never stopped coaches from looking at a job like North Carolina.
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Brad Stevens
Brad Stevens was the coach many Hoosiers fans were hoping would take over for Archie Miller, but Indiana was unsuccessful in luring the Celtics' head coach back to college. Could the Tar Heels get it done? It’s probably a better chance, but still unlikely. If they did though, it’d be a really strong hire. His NBA background combined with his success at Butler would certainly excite Tar Heel fans.
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Brad Underwood
Underwood has won at all three of his recent head coaching jobs and taken all three programs to the NCAA Tournament. At Illinois, he’s proven he can take a program to the top of the sport as the Fighting Illini earned a No. 1 seed this season. He’s recruited at a high level and shown the ability to adjust his coaching style.
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Jay Wright
Like Tony Bennett at Virginia, Jay Wright feels pretty entrenched as head coach at Villanova. But if it were ever on his mind to try something new before the end of his career, North Carolina might be one of the few jobs that could convince him to leave Philadelphia. Wright is the owner of two national titles, one coming at the expense of the Tar Heels, and is one of the top coaches in the country. It’d be a slam dunk hire if he were the choice.