Getty Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls
No, Bulls coach Billy Donovan is not about to bolt from Chicago to go back to coaching in college. He is, after all, in the first year of a four-year deal worth $24 million he signed to coach the Bulls this offseason. With a developing young core and new management in place, things are looking up.
Except, there is one job—and probably only one—in college basketball that could likely tempt any coach, even a well-compensated one on the NBA level. That job is North Carolina, and with the retirement of head coach Roy Williams this week, it is an open job.
As veteran collegiate reporter Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated wrote, UNC could be a peril—though a longshot—for the Bulls.
“For the last couple of years,” Forde wrote, “the speculation was that this is the one job that could bring Donovan back to the college game. But the timing is bad, with Donovan just a year into his tenure with the Bulls, and he’s not a job-hopping kind of guy.”
Donovan Has Had Awkward NCAA-NBA Moment Before
A glimmer of danger, then, but most likely, Donovan stays put. He has, after all, already had difficulty once in his career wavering between the NBA and the NCAA ranks, back in 2007 when he was the head coach at Florida and coming off back-to-back NCAA championships.
Donovan agreed to leave the Gators that year to take over the Orlando Magic, accepting a five-year, $27.5 million contract to coach Dwight Howard and a team that would reach the NBA Finals within two seasons. But just days after accepting the job, Donovan had second thoughts and began to regret the decision.
After a few days of back-and-forth between the sides, the Magic agreed to release Donovan from his contract, allowing him to go back to Gainesville. Stan Van Gundy was hired instead.
Donovan later explained that the situation turned out well for all involved.
“Stan’s great,” Donovan said in 2015. “I was really happy for him and for the Magic that it worked out that way. For me, I was at peace because I knew I had made the right decision for the Magic and myself. Obviously, to me, that happened as long as go as it did. … I’ve kind of moved on from it and was totally entrenched at Florida. I really wasn’t like worrying or wondering would I’d coach in the NBA because I was very, very happy at Florida at the time.”
Donovan Steady in Guiding Young Bulls
Donovan, of course, did eventually leave Florida and signed on with the Thunder, where he compiled a record of 243-157, reaching the playoffs every year even as he oversaw the dramatic departures of stars Kevin Durant, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
Now, with Chicago, even as the Bulls have sunk in the standings (10th in the East, at 20-28), Donovan’s impact has been obvious. He has brought organization and purpose to the team, something lacking in recent years. While Chicago’s defense has plummeted (ninth in efficiency in the NBA last year, 23rd this year), its offense has made a leap from one of the worst in the NBA (29th last season) to the middle of the pack (16th this year).
Those numbers could change more following the acquisition of center Nikola Vucevic from Orlando at the trade deadline.
He has also kept a focus on a key element of the new Bulls regime—player development. Despite his youth and occasional struggles, 19-year-old Patrick Williams has started every game. And Donovan started Coby White at point guard for the first half of the season, only shifting his role to the bench after 37 games.
He’s got an investment in this team. Hard to imagine he’d bolt, no matter how tempting the collegiate job.