One of college basketball’s biggest jobs is open now after the North Carolina Tar Heels axed Hubert Davis on Tuesday, shortly after the program's historic 82-78 overtime loss to the VCU Rams.
It was the largest blown lead in a first‑round loss in tournament history and marked UNC’s second straight opening‑round exit. Davis finished his five-season tenure with a 125–54 record. While he reached the national title game in 2022, the program suffered consecutive first-round exits in 2025 and 2026.
After the release, Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham is conducting a national search with the assistance of the executive search firm Turnkey ZRG. The university is reportedly expected to honor the terms of Davis's contract, which includes a buyout of approximately $5.3 million.
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While big names like Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May, T.J. Otzelberger, and Billy Donovan have been linked to the vacancy, CBS Sports analyst Chris Walker is pushing for a different candidate entirely. He has publicly urged North Carolina to target John Calipari.
"Carolina, you want to win? Go hire John Calipari," Walker said on air. "If you want it to become what it used to be, every kid wanted to go there, go hire John Calipari and watch what happens. Forget about all the stuff you think comes with him. You bring that guy there, the world changes. He's the one guy that transcends everything."
Calipari just finished his second season at the Arkansas Razorbacks with back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances. However, their latest run ended with a 109–88 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday.
Calipari also recently became the fifth Division I men's coach to reach 900 career wins. After the loss to Arizona, his career record stands at 905–287 across four programs, including six Final Fours and a 2012 national championship at the University of Kentucky.
Whether UNC would actually hire John Calipari is a separate question because for over 70 years, UNC has almost exclusively hired coaches from within the Dean Smith coaching tree.
But because the program has no obvious internal successor after Davis, the program is now looking beyond the family tree for the first time in decades. So, it is hard to ignore Walker's argument.
