Former Denver Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone finalizing new job
Apr 6, 2026, 4:27 PM
Former Denver Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone will always have a soft spot in the hearts of Denver sports fans. Malone became the first head coach in Nuggets history to bring an NBA championship to Denver.
After winning the title, the Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves the following season in the second-round of the playoffs. The following season, the Nuggets fired Malone with just three games left to go in the regular season with a 47-32 record.
Once Malone was fired after 10 seasons in Denver, he was named a studio analyst for ESPN. Now he is getting a new coaching job.
It’s being reported everywhere that Malone is going to college to be the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team.
Malone hasn’t coached in college basketball since 2001 when he was an assistant coach as Manhattan University.
Being one of the most respected head coaches in the NBA, Malone won 510 games as a head coach and helped turn around the Nuggets franchise as the team’s winningest coach.
North Carolina went 24-9 this season, but lost in the first-round of the NCAA tournament to Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Tar Heels, who are one of the most respected and dominant programs in the country, haven’t won a national championship since 2017 and they lost the title in 2022 to Kansas University. In fact, North Carolina failed to advance past the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in each of the past four seasons.
There’s also a family connection between UNC and Malone, his daughter plays volleyball for the Tar Heels.
Depending on the success Malone has with the Tar Heels, he could make the jump back to the NBA in upcoming years.
