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The search for the next head basketball coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels is underway, and there have already been plenty of names thrown around.
It’s looking more and more likely that the Tar Heels will hire a coach from outside the Carolina family. That has not happened since UNC hired Frank McGuire in 1952. That hire worked out well, as McGuire led Carolina to its first national championship in program history. McGuire left for the NBA in 1961, and that led to Dean Smith being promoted to the head job.
That move led to 65 years of Carolina being led by members of the “family,” coaches who are either UNC alumni or who have coached for the program. That seemingly ended with Hubert Davis being fired earlier this week, and several big-time names have been thrown around. One of those names was Alabama head coach Nate Oats.
Oats had to work his way up, quite literally. He began his coaching career at Division III programs Maranatha Baptist and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
He then left the college ranks to become head coach at Romulus High School outside Detroit, a job he held from 2002 to 2013. He was highly successful there, compiling a 222-52 record and reaching the state semifinals five times.
In 2013, Oats led Romulus to a 27-1 record and a Class A state championship, earning multiple coach of the year honors from the local media. He won similar coaching awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
He joined Buffalo in 2013 in a move that felt almost like divine intervention, after then-head coach Bobby Hurley was impressed by Oats’ coaching style on a recruiting visit. WHen Hurley left to become the head coach at Arizona State in 2015, Oats was promoted to the same position.
He led the Bulls to a 96-43 record and three MAC Tournament titles. In his last two seasons, Buffalo went 59-13 overall and 31-5 in conference play, winning an NCAA Tournament game in each of those years. Oats’ breakout moment came when Buffalo, the No. 13 seed in the South Region, upset No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. In 2018-19, his final season at Buffalo, the Bulls went 32-4 and finished No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll.
Oats took over at Alabama in 2019, and his first season fell flat as the Crimson Tide went 16-15 and missed the postseason. Since then, Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament every year, reaching the Sweet 16 five times in six seasons. Over the last three years, the Tide has been to the Final Four (2024), Elite Eight (2025) and Sweet 16 (this season), and swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles in both 2021 and 2023.
For starters, he knows how to coach under the brightest lights, with his teams consistently making deep NCAA Tournament runs. He is 37-33 against AP Top 25 opponents. By comparison, Hubert Davis went 19-24 against AP Top 25 opponents during his tenure in Chapel Hill.
Second, his uptempo, high-octane offense is what North Carolina fans have been accustomed to over the years. Alabama has ranked first in scoring offense the last three seasons and has finished in the top 10 in five of the seven seasons Oats has been at the helm.
Because of the focus on high-tempo offense and 3-pointers, the defense suffers. The Crimson Tide have allowed an average of 80 points or more in each of the last three years.
However, the biggest issue for Oats is the off-the-court problems.
In 2023, former Alabama player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder, and then-star player Brandon Miller was accused of bringing him the gun. Miller was ultimately cleared of all charges after his account was corroborated by evidence in the investigation. When asked about the situation during the NCAA Tournament, Oats said Miller was “at the wrong place at the wrong time,” a comment that drew significant criticism.
Most recently, starting point guard Aden Holloway was arrested and charged with first-degree marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp, both felonies in Alabama, after he was reportedly found with more than two pounds of marijuana.
North Carolina wants to win, but is it willing to look past the off-the-court problems that have occurred during Oats’ time in Tuscaloosa if he is one of its finalists?
While it looked like a possibility early on, Oats leaving Alabama for North Carolina has become more unlikely for two reasons.
First, he said publicly the day before Alabama’s Sweet 16 loss to Michigan that he had “no reason to leave” and that he has a great working relationship with athletic director Greg Byrne in building a championship-level program.
Second, it’s unclear how interested North Carolina is in him. Given that he has said he’s not interested at the moment, and considering the off-the-court issues, North Carolina may look elsewhere.
Still, things could change at any time.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball: Is Nate Oats the next Tar Heels head coach?
Continue reading...
It’s looking more and more likely that the Tar Heels will hire a coach from outside the Carolina family. That has not happened since UNC hired Frank McGuire in 1952. That hire worked out well, as McGuire led Carolina to its first national championship in program history. McGuire left for the NBA in 1961, and that led to Dean Smith being promoted to the head job.
That move led to 65 years of Carolina being led by members of the “family,” coaches who are either UNC alumni or who have coached for the program. That seemingly ended with Hubert Davis being fired earlier this week, and several big-time names have been thrown around. One of those names was Alabama head coach Nate Oats.
Nate Oats' prior experience
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Oats had to work his way up, quite literally. He began his coaching career at Division III programs Maranatha Baptist and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
He then left the college ranks to become head coach at Romulus High School outside Detroit, a job he held from 2002 to 2013. He was highly successful there, compiling a 222-52 record and reaching the state semifinals five times.
In 2013, Oats led Romulus to a 27-1 record and a Class A state championship, earning multiple coach of the year honors from the local media. He won similar coaching awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
He joined Buffalo in 2013 in a move that felt almost like divine intervention, after then-head coach Bobby Hurley was impressed by Oats’ coaching style on a recruiting visit. WHen Hurley left to become the head coach at Arizona State in 2015, Oats was promoted to the same position.
He led the Bulls to a 96-43 record and three MAC Tournament titles. In his last two seasons, Buffalo went 59-13 overall and 31-5 in conference play, winning an NCAA Tournament game in each of those years. Oats’ breakout moment came when Buffalo, the No. 13 seed in the South Region, upset No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. In 2018-19, his final season at Buffalo, the Bulls went 32-4 and finished No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll.
Oats took over at Alabama in 2019, and his first season fell flat as the Crimson Tide went 16-15 and missed the postseason. Since then, Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament every year, reaching the Sweet 16 five times in six seasons. Over the last three years, the Tide has been to the Final Four (2024), Elite Eight (2025) and Sweet 16 (this season), and swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles in both 2021 and 2023.
Why Nate Oats is a good fit
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For starters, he knows how to coach under the brightest lights, with his teams consistently making deep NCAA Tournament runs. He is 37-33 against AP Top 25 opponents. By comparison, Hubert Davis went 19-24 against AP Top 25 opponents during his tenure in Chapel Hill.
Second, his uptempo, high-octane offense is what North Carolina fans have been accustomed to over the years. Alabama has ranked first in scoring offense the last three seasons and has finished in the top 10 in five of the seven seasons Oats has been at the helm.
Why Nate Oats is a bad fit
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Because of the focus on high-tempo offense and 3-pointers, the defense suffers. The Crimson Tide have allowed an average of 80 points or more in each of the last three years.
However, the biggest issue for Oats is the off-the-court problems.
In 2023, former Alabama player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder, and then-star player Brandon Miller was accused of bringing him the gun. Miller was ultimately cleared of all charges after his account was corroborated by evidence in the investigation. When asked about the situation during the NCAA Tournament, Oats said Miller was “at the wrong place at the wrong time,” a comment that drew significant criticism.
Most recently, starting point guard Aden Holloway was arrested and charged with first-degree marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp, both felonies in Alabama, after he was reportedly found with more than two pounds of marijuana.
North Carolina wants to win, but is it willing to look past the off-the-court problems that have occurred during Oats’ time in Tuscaloosa if he is one of its finalists?
Chances Nate Oats is the guy
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While it looked like a possibility early on, Oats leaving Alabama for North Carolina has become more unlikely for two reasons.
First, he said publicly the day before Alabama’s Sweet 16 loss to Michigan that he had “no reason to leave” and that he has a great working relationship with athletic director Greg Byrne in building a championship-level program.
Second, it’s unclear how interested North Carolina is in him. Given that he has said he’s not interested at the moment, and considering the off-the-court issues, North Carolina may look elsewhere.
Still, things could change at any time.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball: Is Nate Oats the next Tar Heels head coach?
Continue reading...
