The North Carolina Tar Heels have made the decision to move on from head basketball coach Hubert Davis.
After yet another brutal finish in the NCAA Tournament, this time blowing a lead against VCU in the first round, the Tar Heels have decided that it’s time for a change. North Carolina is one of the best coaching jobs in college basketball and should have no trouble finding an elite replacement.
Since the news broke that the Tar Heels were officially moving on from Davis, a lot of names have begun popping up as potential replacement candidates.
There are some popular names like Nate Oats, T.J. Otzelberger, and Todd Golden who have continually been brought. However, there is also another bigger swing that North Carolina could take.
CBS Sports has suggested that the Tar Heels should target Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens as their next lead man.
North Carolina Connected to Brad Stevens for Next Head Coach
Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports named Stevens as a potential candidate and explained why the move could make sense for both parties.
“Brad Stevens is one of college basketball’s best coaches of all-time for the work he did at Butler, and he has shifted into one of the best roster-builders for a storied NBA franchise,” Trotter wrote. “Stevens is well on his way to being a Hall of Famer.”
Unfortunately, the dream of landing Stevens may not be too realistic. He already has one of the best jobs in the NBA. Trotter noted that as well.
“Stevens has all the power for one of the most noteworthy franchises in all of sports. Enough said.”
Stevens Would Be By Far the Best Hire the Tar Heels Could Make
At the end of the day, Stevens is one of the best basketball minds alive today. His runs with the Butler Bulldogs are a thing of legend.
Stevens was the head coach at Butler from the 2007-08 season through the 2012-13 campaign. During that timeframe, he led the program to a 166-49 record.
The Bulldogs were never a college basketball threat, but they were under Stevens. While he never won a National Championship, he led Butler to two championship games in 2010-11 and 2011-12, losing to Duke and UConn respectively in those games.
After that success, the Celtics hired Stevens to be their head coach. He led Boston to a 354-282 record in eight years and only missed the playoffs one time.
It will be interesting to see if the Tar Heels place a call to Stevens. There is a good chance that he would decline the offer, but the call must be made.
North Carolina Could Stun College Basketball With Coaching Move