Michael Malone, UNC Agree to Contract Among Richest for CBB Coaches After Hubert Davis Firing

North Carolina has found its new head coach.

The Tar Heels hired former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone to take over after firing Hubert Davis in March, with ESPN's Pete Thamel reporting the six-year deal will make Malone among the top-paid coaches in the sport at an average annual value that exceeds $8.3 million.

Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 reported former Providence coach Kim English will join Malone's staff.

Malone has previously spent 12 seasons in the NBA as a head coach, two with the Sacramento Kings and 10 with the Nuggets. He went 471-327 during his time in the Mile High City, leading the team to the playoffs in six straight seasons while winning the 2023 NBA title.

The 54-year-old Malone was fired by the Nuggets in April 2025 and has since been an analyst for ESPN.

The Malone hiring comes after Tommy Lloyd agreed to a contract extension with Arizona and Michigan's Dusty May withdrew his name from consideration.

Brendan Marks of The Athletic reported on Monday that Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was North Carolina's top target. However, Donovan reportedly wanted to remain with his team through the end of the NBA regular season, which runs through April 12.

In the end, the Tar Heels reportedly decided on Malone.

Davis took over for the legendary Roy Williams in 2021 and had an outstanding first season at the helm, finishing 29-10 to reach the NCAA tournament title game. Unfortunately for Davis, that strong first year was not a sign of what was to come.

The Tar Heels missed the NCAA tournament in 2022-23 after going 20-13. Things improved in 2023-24, but UNC still faced a Sweet 16 exit, followed by back-to-back first-round exits in 2025 and 2026.

The school fired Davis on March 24 following the Tar Heels' upset loss to VCU.

Davis had big shoes to fill after taking over for Williams, but expectations were understandably high since he had been on staff with Williams for nearly a decade. Ultimately, Davis wasn't the person to keep UNC in the mix as a national contender, and the school decided to move on from him.

While the Tar Heels are coming off of a rough couple of years, the standard in Chapel Hill will always be winning. Malone will be tasked with getting North Carolina back to a championship level.