Kim English Reportedly Turns Down UNC Role amid Rumors of Joining Michael Malone's Staff

It appears Kim English won't be joining the North Carolina coaching staff after all.

Despite reports that the former Providence head coach was set to become an assistant under Michael Malone, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Sunday that English "has informed UNC officials that he's decided not to pursue an assistant coach position" at the school.

Malone has already added former Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin as his associate head coach, while Sean May and Pat Sullivan—both assistants under former head coach Hubert Davis—are expected to stay in Chapel Hill, as is director of operations Eric Hoots.

The new UNC head coach said getting the right staff in place was a major priority.

"I'm going to surround myself with the best people possible to help me get a better grasp [on college basketball] so we can attack it," he told reporters at his introductory press conference earlier in April. "And as I hire my staff, I want to hire guys that have great contacts, not only in the country, but around the world. So we can continue to bring the best players here and help them develop, so we can field the best team."

Malone also has a prestigious lineage of past UNC coaches he can call upon.

"I am an outsider coming into a really intimate family," he told reporters. "I have to balance—the delicate balance of—being true to the past and honoring tradition, while also having my eyes on the future. The game is always changing. And so if you see us doing things a little bit differently, it's OK. Embrace that. It's OK. ... I have a tremendous amount of respect for what this program and the history that they occupy and NCAA basketball history, but we're going to do it our way. I'm going to use people like Coach [Roy] Williams, Coach Eddie Fogler, Sullivan—all the guys that are here—and learn from them and push forward."

But English would have been a strong addition. The former George Mason and Providence head coach is 82-81 in his coaching career and also spent time as an assistant at Tulsa, Colorado and Tennessee. He would have brought solid experience to Malone's staff, though it appears he'll be seeking other opportunities.