Florida has no intention of letting Todd Golden leave for North Carolina or anywhere else

Even before the powers that be at North Carolina bought out the contract of basketball coach Hubert Davis, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin was busy working on a deal that he intends to take Todd Golden off the market for the Tar Heels.

Speaking to reporters after the introductory press conference for newly hired women’s basketball coach Tammi Reiss, Stricklin said, “We've given Todd new contracts each of the last two years. He's a priority for the University of Florida, and we're going to treat him as such.”

Golden, 104-41 in four years at Florida that includes a 36-4 run to the 2025 national championship, is the fastest coach to 100 wins in Florida history. Golden received an extension and a raise after the 2024 season when the Gators made it to the SEC Tournament championship game and the NCAA Tournament. After last season’s championship he was given an extension through 2031 worth $40.5 million over the course of the deal.

The buyout on the current contract is $16 million through April 15, $11 million afterward, so a raise in pay and extending the contract would make the buyout more formidable, even for a deep pockets school like North Carolina, which has won six NCAA championships in its history. Golden’s current $6.75 million salary is the 5th-highest in the country, trailing only Bill Self (Kansas, $8.8 million), John Calipari (Arkansas, $8 million), Dan Hurley (UConn, $7.8 million) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State, $7.2 million).

At 40 years old, Golden is by far the youngest of the nation’s best and highest paid basketball coaches. Self (63) has heart issues and is rumored to be contemplating retirement. Calipari is 67 years old, Hurley (53) is a fixture at UConn where basketball is a priority over football, and Izzo is 71. Because he’s young and had such success, Golden will likely get a significant raise that could make him the highest paid coach in the country.

Matt Hayes of USA Today last week suggested that if UNC parts ways with Davis that the Tar Heels should offer “13-14 million a year over 10 years.” That would be quite an investment, made more expensive by the huge buyout.

Stricklin made it clear that he intends to make sure Golden is locked in at Florida.

“Todd wants to be at the University of Florida," he said. "I wish all those [other] programs really good luck. I'm sure they'll find a good coach out there, and I'm glad Todd's going be here for a long time."

Golden is an exceptional fit at Florida. His personality resonates not only with players, but with students who camped out even in cold weather to get into the O-Dome and with fans who turned the arena into one of the tougher and loudest venues in all of college basketball. Florida doesn’t have the longstanding tradition of North Carolina basketball and the O-Dome seats less than half the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, but since 1999, Florida has won as many national championships (3) as UNC and rival Duke. Only UConn (5) has won more.

Kentucky has always been the program by which everyone else in the Southeastern Conference is judged. While five different coaches have won eight NCAA titles at UK, the last one was 2012 by John Calipari, who got tired of the grind in Lexington and bolted for Arkansas. This year Kentucky spent $22 million on a roster and still lost 14 games. Mark Pope is thought by most UK fans to be a short-timer although he likely gets one more year.

Florida, meanwhile, has surpassed Kentucky as the top program in the SEC and other schools – Arkansas and Alabama notably – are nipping on the Wildcats heels. Carolina tradition would make that an easy place to rebuild for a coach of Golden’s considerable talent, but he elevated Florida to an elite level. Consider also the Southeastern Conference from top to bottom is a superior league to the Atlantic Coast Conference, plus there is far more money. The SEC just distributed more than $72 million to its institutions. The ACC distributed $45 million.  

And, while Carolina is contemplating who’s next as its head coach, the boosters have serious money˙ issues that have to be dealt with. There is a shortfall of some $27 million per school compared to the ACC and that gap will only increase. Also, UNC’s boosters have to contemplate what to do with the Dean Dome. Conservative estimates place renovation in the $500 million range while building a new arena off campus has an estimated pricetag of some $800-900 million. Throw in the buyout for Davis ($5.3 million) plus assistant coaches will have to be compensated. Money will have to be raised to buy out the contract of a new coach who will command at least a 5-year deal plus a quality staff of assistants.

That isn’t cheap. Golden has a good thing going at Florida, which seems more than willing to price him out of UNC’s market.

So, who would Carolina go after? One prominent name that is being mentioned is former Florida coach Billy Donovan, currently the head coach of the NBA Chicago Bulls, whose front office can’t seem to put together a roster capable of competing for a championship. Donovan loves the NBA since it’s all basketball, but he might see UNC as a good landing place. There is also the possibility that Billy will hang on another year in the NBA for the possibility that there will be a conclave called in Lexington where Wildcat fans will look for three puffs of smoke to name a new pope.

Here are some other names that UNC might consider:

Brad Stevens, President of the Boston Celtics: Some say Stevens and Donovan are No. 1 and No. 1A on the list. The former Butler coach might be willing to return to college coaching but only at a true blueblood, which Carolina fits the bill. He’s 49, was 166-49 at Butler and won more than 600 games as coach of the Celtics before becoming the chief executive.

T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State: He’s 48 years old, has a $4 million buyout and he’s in the Sweet 16 for the third time in his five years at a school that doesn’t have money or resources yet wins big in the Big 12.

Tommy Lloyd, Arizona: He has a good thing going at Arizona and may win the NCAA title this year. He’s 51-years-old and was the recruiting guru behind Gonzaga’s success when he was an assistant. Makes $5.25 million, buyout is $11 million. The Big 12 distributed $34.9 million.  

Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska: He is 53, played 10 years in the NBA, and has done the impossible by making basketball relevant at Nebraska, which is in the Sweet 16. Salary is $4.75 million, estimated buyout $8 million.

Josh Schertz, Saint Louis: His teams play racehorse basketball which would be exciting at UNC. He just got a 6-year extension worth $22 million. He wins (career 451-130, 48-21 at Saint Louis) and his teams score plenty of points.

Mark Byington, Vanderbilt: Would be unfazed by UNC academics after proving he can win at Vandy. Played at UNC-Wilmington, head coach at College of Charleston, Georgia Southern and James Madison prior to Vanderbilt. Made the SEC Tournament final this year with 28 wins at Vanderbilt. Only 50 years old.

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER … SOMETIMES

Here are a few coaches from prominent programs who have moved elsewhere.

Arizona State: After years of turning down offers to go somewhere else, Randy Bennett is leaving Saint Mary’s after 25 years and 589 wins for Arizona State. Bennett is an Arizona native so this is coming home.

Saint Mary’s: Associate head coach Mickey McConnell was promoted to head coach after Bennett departed. He played collegiately at Saint Mary’s where he was a teammate of Florida coach Todd Golden.

Cincinnati: The new coach is Jerod Calhoun who was 55-15 at Utah State. He’s a Cincinnati alum who coached for Bob Huggins.

Charlotte: Fired Cincinnati coach Wes Miller has been hired. Miller had a winning record at Cincinnati but couldn’t get the Bearcats in the NCAA Tournament. He’s a former UNC player ‘’

Syracuse: The Orange are keeping it in the family. The new coach is Gerry McNamara, the 4^th-leading scorer in Syracuse history.  

Georgia Tech: Scott Cross, who has won 350 games at UT-Arlington and Troy is the new head coach. He won two Sun Belt Conference titles.

Providence: Byron Hodgson, who won the American championship in his one year at South Florida, is the new coach. Should be a pretty good fit since he’s an upstate New York guy.