While the Tar Heels are currently experiencing a four-game winning streak on the court, the news off the court continues to come in as well. After the win over Florida State last night, it was reported that UNC had hired NBA agent, Jim Tanner, to be the program’s first-ever GM, a move that was confirmed by the basketball program earlier today. In addition to that news, WRAL’s, Brian Murphy reported, that Hubert Davis signed an extension last summer, extending his contract through 2030. Per Murphy, the extension was agreed upon last July but was not officially signed until December. Under his new contract, Davis’s annual pay increased from $400,000 a year to $1.25 million a year, with an additional $1.7 million being paid to Davis this season, according to Brian Murphy’s initial report.
The contract extension being made public comes after an up-and-down season so far, as Carolina is 18-11 on the season, including being 11-6 in the ACC, but would be on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Davis’s job security has come under fire, after missing the NCAA Tournament two years, which has outweighed him leading the program to the national championship game during his first, and a regular season title, and a #1 seed just last March. That resulted in former head coach, Roy Williams, publicly backing Davis on a national radio interview a little over a week ago, during the current four-game winning streak. Davis is 96-42 as UNC’s head coach, and is 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament, with two Sweet 16s on his resume, along with one Final Four, and a national championship game appearance.
This all but assures that Davis will be back on the sidelines for the 2025-26 season, and a coach who has won nearly 70% of his games, and has had the type of success he’s enjoyed early on in his coaching career, probably shouldn’t have his job called into question. But this is North Carolina, where the expectations are high every single year, and the last coach to miss two tournaments in three seasons wasn’t asked back. But with the addition of Jim Tanner as the program’s GM, Carolina is better suited to win off the court in both high school recruiting, and the transfer portal, amid the ever-changing NIL landscape. When Davis made it known he was overhauling the program back on his radio show earlier this month, he said it was necessary to free him up to focus on coaching. With a GM hired, and a new contract signed, he’s in a position to do that for the foreseeable future in Chapel Hill.
The Four Corners Podcast:
Comments