North Carolina athletic director Steve Newmark disclosed that the decision to dismiss men's basketball head coach Hubert Davis in March followed months of evaluation aimed at revitalizing the program, not a reaction to one postseason defeat.
The Tar Heels ended their season on March 19 after blowing a 19-point second-half lead in a first-round NCAA tournament loss to VCU.
Davis declined an offer to resign, leading the university to pay his $5.3 million contract buyout.
North Carolina then hired Michael Malone as head coach, who added Chuck Martin to his staff to strengthen recruiting and revamp the roster.
Newmark discussed the coaching change during an interview with TarHeel247, emphasizing the difficulty of replacing a head coach.
"The most difficult thing that an athletic director or a president of a sports team has to do is when you feel like you need to make a change," Newmark said.
"Sometimes, you have to make a change because the person isn't the right fit, but often you make a change just because things had probably gotten to the point where bringing in some new blood would help energize and re-invigorate the program."
Newmark praised Davis's character and dedication while noting that the decision was agonized over by team leadership.
"And it has really nothing to do with what the person has done anything wrong. It was tough, and we agonized over it.
And Hubert is as good a person as you're going to meet.
He cares for his players as much as anybody that I've ever seen in those types of positions.
He put his blood, sweat and tears into this program," Newmark said.
Newmark noted that while the locker room was despondent after the season-ending defeat, the change was not determined by a single contest.
"It's a brutally difficult situation. And we felt like it was the right time, and it wasn't dependent on one game.
Obviously, that last game was disappointing for everybody, particularly for the kids. Being in the locker room, it was despondent.
You could see how much those kids cared about it, cared about Hubert, and cared about the whole program," Newmark said.
He elaborated on how the final game's outcome reflected broader programmatic needs.
"And I think we all know, in one game and in one half, things don't sometimes go your way, and it was just a perfect storm," Newmark said.
"And so, a lot of people point to that game, but I think it was just more the determination that it was the right time to shake up the entire program."
Davis posted a 125-54 record over five seasons as head coach, leading UNC to the 2022 national championship game and a No. 1 seed in 2024.
However, the team also became the first preseason No. 1 to miss the NCAA tournament entirely and failed to advance past the round of 32 in his final two seasons.
Speaking to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Davis indicated he intends to seek a return to college coaching during the next hiring cycle.
"He is doing well. He was joyous.
Had a great conversation. He wants to coach again," Norlander said.
"He's adamant about wanting to coach again. Next year's cycle, he's going to want to pursue that.
He wants to get back into the game."
