Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski used Bill Belichick’s first season as head football coach at North Carolina as a reminder to Tar Heels fans not to get too excited just yet about the hiring of NBA champion coach Michael Malone to lead the men’s basketball program.
Krzyzewski was appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday when news broke that Malone was being brought in as Hubert Davis’ replacement.
Malone comes to Chapel Hill with plenty of experience as an NBA coach and having won an NBA championship with the Nuggets in 2023.
But Coach K made a cautionary tale out of Belichick, who came to the Tar Heels after a legendary run as head coach of the Patriots, about the challenges of going from the pros to the college ranks.
“They had an NFL champion hired as the coach, and Duke beat Carolina football this year,” Krzyzewski said. “That doesn’t mean coach Belichick isn’t a great coach, but there is time for adjustments. It takes longer coming from the pros to college.”
While Krzyzewski cautioned an immediate turnaround, he seemed to ultimately think that the hire could be a good thing for UNC.
“Mike is a terrific coach and a terrific guy, there’s a learning curve,” he added. “Whatever the reasoning is, maybe they’re changing; they now have two pro coaches coaching in college. The infrastructure of their athletic department is now going to become more of a pro-organization, which I think everybody should be doing that. He knows how to do that, and so does coach Belichick. Maybe it’s a sign that they’re moving in that direction organizationally.”
Belichick’s first season did not go as many had hoped for the Tar Heels, as the program finished with a 4-8 record overall and had just two wins in the ACC.
That’s without mentioning the constant speculation about Belichick possibly leaving during the season and the off-field distractions due to his relationship with much-younger-girlfriend Jordon Hudson.
There are some eerily similar circumstances with the hires of Belichick and now Malone, with both men making the jump from the pros to college after being let go by the teams that they coached to titles.
They do differ a bit with Malone having some college basketball experience, serving as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan College before jumping to the NBA ranks.
He has been an assistant coach or head coach in the NBA since 2001 and spent a decade with the Nuggets before he was unceremoniously fired by Denver after the 2024-25 season.
