Sports

North Carolina Basketball Coach Emulating Bill Belichick In Attempt To Save Job

#North Carolina Tar Heels
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North Carolina basketball coach Hubert Davis on the sidelines.

© Matt Cashore-Imagn Images


The North Carolina basketball team continues to struggle on the floor in 2024, leading to questions about head coach Hubert Davis’s job security. On Monday, he announced a plan for staff changes in the offseason.

Emulating recently hired football coach Bill Belichick, he intends to hire a general manager for his program. It’s a move that’s become more prevalent in today’s era of the transfer portal and NIL.

With essential yearly free agency taking place in college sports, many major NCAA teams are beginning to hire a leader to handle the ins and outs of roster management. As the college game continues to progress towards the professional model, so too are coaching and administrative staffs.

Bill Belichick hired friend and colleague Michael Lombardi to oversee recruiting, roster building, and NIL regulations upon accepting his head coaching role. Hubert Davis plans to do the same. He confirmed those intentions on Monday.

“I am going to increase the staff. It’s needed. I never though four years ago when I took the job that 100% what is needed is a general manager… There is so much on the plate that will take you away from doing the most important thing: coaching basketball. We’re going to hire a GM…

“The old model for Carolina basketball is not sustainable. It has to be built out because there are so many things in play with NIL, agents, and international players. You need a bigger staff to maintain things so I can coach basketball.”

-Hubert Davis

The Tar Heels are just 13-10 this season with a 6-5 mark in a weak ACC. They were blown out by rival Duke in their most recent matchup but have a week off before returning home to host Pitt.

That break has given Davis time to evaluate where things have gone wrong. Should changes not be made, his future in Chapel Hill could be short-lived.

A number of former players have come out to criticize the current state of the program, including Joel Berry who now works for ACC Network.

Berry is concerned with the inconsistency seen under the current regime. Davis led the team to a national title appearance in Year 1 but is now in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons. He noted roster construction in his criticism.

Raymond Felton echoed that sentiment in a recent segment, taking aim directly at the Tar Heels’ guard play. He wants to see an upgrade in the backcourt come 2025.

There is still time for Hubert Davis to turn things around this season. His team currently sits on the bubble in terms of an at-large NCAA Tournament invite. Changes will be made in the offseason regardless of this year’s outcome. Davis’s job could depend on them.