Michael Malone’s first North Carolina staff is now official, and the Tar Heels have put the pieces in place for the 2026-2027 season.
The program unveiled the full coaching staff shortly after Malone spoke at the Dean Smith Center on Thursday morning. Most of the names were already known, but with the regular season opener coming on November 2, UNC finally made the group official.
Malone described the staff as a deliberate mix of Carolina ties and outside experience.
"It's a great mix of Tar Heel players who have won championships and maintain a connection to Carolina's tradition of excellence with a blend of coaches from other programs and experiences as we chart a new path forward to compete at the highest level of college basketball,"
At the top of the staff, of course, is Malone himself, now leading the UNC basketball program into a new chapter. Around him is a group built to bring different strengths to the table, from on-court coaching to recruiting to culture-building.
A key priority for Malone was keeping Carolina people in the room. He made it clear he wanted people who understand what the program has meant and who have already been part of winning there.
"Pat Sullivan won an NCAA title playing for Dean Smith in 1993 and Sean May, Deon Thompson and Brandon Robinson were part of three different national championship teams with Roy Williams," Malone said. " Chuck Martin has coached for 30 years with head coaching experience and is one of the top recruiters in the country, Bryan Tibaldi has a blend of NBA and college experience on both sides of the ball and Jorge Sanz has been a part of a top program for nearly a decade with extensive international connections and brings a number of unique basketball experiences to the staff.
It was important to construct a staff that had connections to Carolina's many decades of excellence while also bringing in other individuals who can enhance this great University and basketball program."
That approach is what makes this staff stand out. It’s not just a group of familiar faces, and it’s not just a clean break from the past, either. Malone has put together a roster of coaches with Carolina roots and a wide range of experience elsewhere, and that balance is clearly central to how he wants this era to work.
For UNC, the hire of Malone was always going to come with questions about fit. The program has long leaned on a certain kind of connection, and Malone doesn’t have the traditional Chapel Hill background that some of his predecessors did. But this first staff reveal shows he’s intent on preserving the culture that has long defined Tar Heel basketball.
Now the staff is set, and attention turns to November 2. The start of the Michael Malone era is getting closer, and UNC fans already have plenty to look forward to.
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