Nate Oats Dismisses UNC Rumors After Hubert Davis Firing, 'No Reason to Leave' Alabama

After being mentioned as a potential candidate for the North Carolina job following Hubert Davis' firing, Nate Oats affirmed his commitment to Alabama on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Sweet 16, Oats dismissed the Tar Heels job because he has "no reason to leave" Alabama"

"I'm not a guy that's always trying to jump around ... I love Alabama. My girls love Alabama. ... [Alabama] is doing everything we can to make sure we've got a competitive program. As long as we're able to compete to win championships here ... I'd love to be the coach to bring us our first national championship. To me, there's absolutely no reason to leave here. ... I'm not a guy that's looking to get out of here any time soon."

Oats went on to say that he hasn't had any discussions with any other program, "nor do I plan on talking to anybody."

North Carolina announced Davis' firing on Tuesday, five days after the team blew a 19-point lead in a loss to VCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The next step in the process was figuring out who the top candidates for the Tar Heels would be. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein provided a list of potential options among currently-employed college coaches, along with the buyout details in their contracts.

Per The Athletic's Brendan Marks, Oats and Tommy Lloyd were "not expected" to be pursued by North Carolina in part because of their large financial buyouts and the university being "far from cash-flush" in the wake of its commitment to the football program after hiring Bill Belichick.

Oats also said on Thursday that his contract with the Crimson Tide is "pretty good" and he wouldn't necessarily ask them to redo it, but he's "open" to it if they want to do so.

Alabama signed Oats to a contract extension in March 2024 that runs through the 2029-30 season. The deal started at $5 million for the first season and increases to $7.55 million in the final year.

Oats is currently the 10th-highest-paid head coach in college basketball. Davis, by comparison, ranked 28th with a $3.75 million salary.

Now in his seventh season at Alabama, Oats has led the program to the NCAA tournament in each of the past six years. The Crimson Tide reached the Final Four two years ago, defeating No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet 16.

Oats has a 170-72 overall record at Alabama. He will lead the team into the Sweet 16 on Friday against Michigan.

Davis went 125-54 in five seasons at North Carolina. He led the program to the Final Four in his first year, but it lost in the first round of the tournament in each of the past two seasons.