North Carolina's firing of head coach Hubert Davis on Tuesday opened up one of the most high-profile jobs in College Basketball. Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is one of several candidates at North Carolina, according to multiple reports.
Other college head coaches who are expected to be candidates at North Carolina include Nate Oats of Alabama, Dan Hurley of Connecticut, Todd Golden of Florida, T.J. Otzelberger of Iowa State and possibly Grant McCasland of Texas Tech, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
Alabama, Connecticut and Iowa State remain alive in the NCAA Tournament. Defending National Champion Florida and Texas Tech have been eliminated. Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan are other candidates that have been mentioned.
North Carolina will almost definitely hire a high-profile candidate. Golden, Donovan and Hurley have won NCAA Championships. Stevens had two NCAA Championship Game appearances at Butler and led the Celtics to an NBA Championship in his current position.
"I think second on Carolina's list might be Tommy Lloyd" - @GoodmanHoops 👀
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 25, 2026
Reaction to Hubert Davis out at UNC ⬇️https://t.co/ESw3aj6tHShttps://t.co/hxQunHO4Rb
Tommy Lloyd Arizona accomplishments
Lloyd became only the second coach to lead his program to four regional semifinal appearances in his first five seasons. Steve Lavin of UCLA was the first to reach four regional semifinals in his first five seasons as a head coach. The regional semifinal has been as far as Arizona has advanced under Lloyd.
Arizona not advancing past the regional semifinals in past seasons and making a much deeper run this year could help Lloyd stay in Tucson. North Carolina likely has someone at the top of their candidate list. Donovan and Stevens are at the top of the candidate list per Borzello.
The likelihood is that Lloyd stays. Other coaches who will be considered at North Carolina have accomplished more in their careers. Lloyd will be a candiate though, as reported by most major media outlets. Expect as long as Lloyd is at Arizona, when true blue blood jobs open for him to continue being mentioned as a candidate.