UNCs Michael Malone among highest-paid coaches with $50M deal

North Carolina is set to pay new head coach Michael Malone more than $50 million across six years, according to a copy of his contract obtained by ESPN, putting him among the top five highest-paid coaches in the sport.

The Tar Heels made the hire of the former Denver Nuggets coach official Tuesday.

Malone, whose daughter plays volleyball at UNC, was recommended by a search committee led by executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark and director of athletics Bubba Cunningham, the school said in its statement. The university’s board of trustees approved the terms of the hire on Tuesday.

“[Malone] is a brilliant coach who will deliver a modern and disciplined approach to leading our men’s basketball program, which is critical in the current landscape of college athletics,” Newmark said in the statement. “Carolina basketball is unique and special — and we have hired a leader well-suited to continuing our championship tradition.”

Malone will be hold an introductory news conference at Chapel Hill at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Malone is an NBA champion from his time with the Nuggets and won 510 games in 12 seasons as a head coach. He is one of the most respected tacticians in the NBA and has spent the past 10-plus months as an ESPN analyst. He will inherit a Tar Heels team that has been seeking a head coaching replacement for nearly two weeks since firing Hubert Davis.

Malone hasn’t coached in college since he was an assistant at Manhattan in 2001. He also was an assistant at Providence from 1995 to 1998 and Oakland in 1994-95.

“Carolina is one of the most historic programs in college basketball, and I am honored to be the head coach of the Tar Heels,” Malone said in a statement. “It is humbling to follow so many legends in Chapel Hill. I know from the many Tar Heels in the NBA how special the Carolina Basketball Family is, and I will do everything I can to continue UNC’s championship legacy while preparing our players for professional careers and life after basketball.”

Malone, 54, was the head coach in Denver for 10 years, going 471-327 in that time. He has coached 904 games as an NBA head coach, including two seasons with the Sacramento Kings.

“Michael has proven he knows how to build strong, successful teams that can consistently compete in the postseason and win championships — and he knows how to make everyone on the floor better,” Cunningham said. “He understands how to build rosters and coach NBA players — which is exactly what our Tar Heels want to be. We are excited to welcome Michael and his family to Chapel Hill.”

UNC previously had been linked to multiple high-profile college coaches, including Michigan’s Dusty May, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger. But after all three publicly committed to staying at their current schools, the Tar Heels turned to Malone, who led the Nuggets to their only NBA championship in 2023. He was fired by Denver last April and joined ESPN as an analyst one month later.

Davis was fired by UNC on March 24, five days after the Tar Heels squandered a 19-point lead in their first-round NCAA tournament loss to 11th-seeded VCU.