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North Carolina has plucked both its football and men's basketball coaches from the professional ranks in the last two years, hiring New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick prior to the 2025 season and former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone on Monday, April 6, sources confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of the sport's legendary coaches who has been a part of numerous rivalry games against in-state enemy North Carolina, said it hasn't done the Tar Heels any good yet, though.
"Well, they had an NFL champion hired as the coach and Duke beat North Carolina in football this year," he said on ESPN's "Pat McAfee Show" shortly after the Malone news dropped. "That doesn't mean Coach Belichick isn't a great coach, but there is time for adjustment."
Malone, whose daughter plays volleyball at North Carolina, was fired by the Denver Nuggets prior to the playoffs in 2025, although he won the NBA Finals with the organization in 2023. He has 510 career NBA wins in stints with the Nuggets and Sacramento Kings, and coached 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic with Denver.
While Krzyzewski said Malone is a great coach, he said there's a learning curve when moving from NBA to college, but also noted North Carolina could be shifting its philosophy to more of a professional model with coaching hires.
"It takes longer, if you ever get adjusted from the pros to college," he said. "(Malone) is a terrific coach and a terrific guy. There's a learning curve. ... Whatever the reasoning is, maybe they're changing. (North Carolina) now have two pro coaches coaching in college.
"The infrastructure their athletic department (has), is it now going to become more of a pro organization? Which. I think if that's true, everybody should be doing that. And the fact that he knows how to do that, and so does Coach Belichick, maybe that's a sign that they're moving in that direction."
"They had an NFL champion hired as the coach and Duke beat Carolina in football this year." 🤣
Coach K reacted to @PeteThamel's report of UNC hiring Mike Malone on the @PatMcAfeeShow 🏀 pic.twitter.com/P5irdauRE3
Malone has his work cut out for him, as North Carolina basketball has struggled in recent years to live up to its standard as one of the best programs in college basketball. The Tar Heels haven't won a first-round NCAA Tournament game since 2023-24.
The former Nuggets coach hasn't been in college sports since 2001, when he was an assistant at Manhattan. He'll look to revive the Duke-North Carolina against coach Jon Scheyer, Krzyzewski's former assistant and player.
And maybe Malone will even earn some brownie points with UNC fans if he claps back at Krzyzewski if North Carolina beats Duke in football this year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Krzyzewski says UNC's Michael Malone will have 'learning curve'
