When the Denver Nuggets fired Michael Malone with three games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, fans thought he'd eventually end up with another NBA team. What they (or anyone else) didn't think was that he'd become the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
On Monday, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that UNC "intends" to hire the 54-year-old.
Sources: North Carolina intends to hire longtime NBA coach Michael Malone as the school’s next basketball coach. He’s an NBA Championship coach with the Denver Nuggets from the 2022-23 season and has won 510 games as an NBA head coach. pic.twitter.com/JwJmUNRLQT
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 6, 2026
It's not official yet, but hiring Malone would put an end to North Carolina's two-week coaching search after the school fired Hubert Davis, following the Tar Heels' first-round loss to VCU in the NCAA tournament.
The Tar Heels pursued Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, but he agreed to an extension with the Wildcats last week. Dusty May, Michigan's head coach, was another top option for North Carolina, but he reportedly made it clear over the weekend that he wasn't interested in the job. He will coach the Wolverines in the national championship on Monday evening.
On Monday afternoon, not long before Thamel's tweet, Brendan Marks of The Athletic reported that the school's "top remaining candidate" (subscription required) was Billy Donovan. With the transfer portal opening on Tuesday, it was assumed that North Carolina would make a strong push to land the current Bulls head coach, but it pivoted to Malone.
Mike Malone is reportedly North Carolina's new head coach
It's been 25 years since Malone coached at the collegiate level. He was an assistant coach at Manhattan, which is just a little different than leading the charge for a blue blood like North Carolina.
Still, if there is someone who can lead the Tar Heels back to being a top program in the world of NIL and the transfer portal, it's hard not to believe in Malone. His unmatched edge and extensive basketball resume set him apart.
North Carolina didn't want to hire someone from its family tree, and it got about as far away from it as it could with the Malone hire.
It's a bit surprising that he opted to take the job, considering that he would've been a top candidate for several NBA gigs over the offseason. Malone has an NBA title, though, so maybe he's motivated to branch out and see what he can do for a historic program like North Carolina.
Of course, it probably wasn't that hard to lure him to Chapel Hill, considering his oldest daughter, Bridget Malone, plays volleyball for the Heels. He's become familiar with the campus and its basketball program, making the move slightly less shocking.
It will be odd to see Malone on the sideline at the Dean Smith Center, and not with another NBA team, but this will be an interesting situation to watch play out from afar. That's for sure.