Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is considered one of the leading candidates to take over as the head coach of the North Carolina basketball program, league sources told ClutchPoints. Hubert Davis was fired by the UNC Tar Heels after five seasons, and the school is moving quickly to add a high-profile coach to lead its historic program for the foreseeable future.
Whether or not Donovan would actually depart the NBA to become UNC's next head coach after spending the last decade coaching professionally is the major question being asked both in the NBA and collegiate ranks.
North Carolina is expected to contact and hold conversations with Donovan soon about their vacant head coaching role, with sources telling ClutchPoints that the Bulls' coach would “seriously consider” the idea of taking over the historic program if offered the job.
Donovan has never ruled out a potential return to coaching again at the collegiate level, and few opportunities like the one at UNC would ever present themselves again.
Donovan, a two-time NCAA championship coach with the Florida Gators, has spent the last 11 seasons in the NBA. He was originally hired by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 before signing a lucrative four-year, nearly $25 million contract to become the head coach of the Bulls in 2020.
Less than a year ago, in July, Donovan signed a new multi-year contract extension to make him one of the league's highest-paid coaches. Sources say Donovan is being paid in the range of $10 million per year on this new extension with the Bulls.
Although it is not a given that he would leave the Bulls and the NBA to take over the UNC basketball program, Donovan's future in Chicago has become a key talking point among league personnel over the last month.
Billy Donovan's future in Chicago uncertain
While the Bulls hold no intention of moving on from Donovan despite the 2025-26 season being the franchise's fourth straight season missing the playoffs, the latest rumors point in the direction of the 60-year-old head coach being unsure about his commitment to the organization.
The Bulls' lack of direction has led Donovan to contemplate his future, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. As a result, there has been growing speculation about Donovan possibly stepping away to redirect his coaching career back to a successful route.
Donovan has never been one to jump from job to job, dating back to his time as a collegiate coach, which is why his reported sense of doubt in the Bulls' overall direction would be the selling point in a potential new deal to become UNC's next head coach.
Along with having Donovan high on their list of potential candidates, the UNC Tar Heels pinpointed Boston Celtics executive and former head coach Brad Stevens as the university's top choice in their coaching vacancy. However, Stevens has already removed his name from the university's list of potential candidates, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Upon reaching out for confirmation on the matter, league sources told ClutchPoints that Stevens holds no desire to leave the Celtics and is fully committed to competing for and winning more championships in Boston.
Other than Donovan, high-level coaches like Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, Michigan's Dusty May, and Alabama's Nate Oats have come up as rumored targets for UNC.
Since taking over as the head coach role of the Bulls in 2020, Donovan has posted a 224-247 record, including 71 games this season, with just one postseason appearance in 2022. After winning 39 games each of the last two years, Donovan and the Bulls took a step back this year and will enter the offseason with a ton of questions revolving around roster construction.
This has led to many questions being asked among NBA personnel about Donovan's long-term future with the Bulls, one of which revolves around whether he would truly consider heading back to college for a prolific program like North Carolina if offered the job.
