The Secret Meeting That Convinced Michael Malone To Become A Tar Heel

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Easter Sunday at the Malone household didn’t include a visit from the Easter Bunny. Instead, it brought a five-hour meeting with Steve Newmark and Eric Hoots — one that ultimately convinced Michael Malone to become the Tar Heels’ next head coach.

For most families, Easter is filled with church services, egg hunts or brunch. But for Malone and his wife, Jocelyn, the holiday centered on a visit from UNC’s executive associate athletic director and the basketball program’s director of operations.

And for Malone, the request itself was perplexing.

He had been the first candidate Newmark and athletic director Bubba Cunningham contacted at the outset of North Carolina’s coaching search — and had already told them he wasn’t interested. According to sources close to the program, he’d declined multiple times – to friend and UNC assistant Pat Sullivan, to Newmark, and even to legendary former coach Roy Williams.

“If you want to know something about Steve Newmark — persistence defined that guy,” Malone said with a laugh. “Would not take no for an answer.

“When they said they wanted to fly in from Indianapolis, I was like, ‘No, I’ve already said no.’ But I’m so happy they came. It changed my mind. It changed my wife’s mind. And that night, I felt so much better about — I’m not only taking this job, I’m attacking this job.”

Unbeknownst to the college basketball world and all but a handful of search participants, Newmark and Hoots spent five hours inside the Malone family home on Sunday — a duration Malone joked was “a lot longer than we wanted him there” — convincing the 2023 NBA champion to accept the job in Chapel Hill.

“My dog didn’t bite him, so we knew he was okay,” Malone said of Newmark. “And that night, we talked — my wife and I — and we made the decision to come here.”

Malone, who was let go by the Denver Nuggets last April, had been focused on returning to the NBA after 12 seasons as a head coach. Sources indicated he was in conversations with the New Orleans Pelicans about their open position. The college game, by his own admission, wasn’t on his mind.

“He said the collegiate opportunity wasn’t really on his radar,” Newmark said of their first conversation. “But he told us, ‘This changes things — because it’s Carolina.’”

“Every time I said no, I regretted it,” Malone said. “I was like, ‘I think I’m making a mistake.’ Jobs like North Carolina don’t come around. I told Steve this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This wasn’t a situation where I could say, ‘Now isn’t the right time.’ This was now or never.”

Newmark and Hoots were already in Indianapolis for the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention during Final Four weekend. Instead of heading home, they made one more trip — to Boulder, where Malone had remained after his dismissal from the Nuggets — a visit that would prove to alter Carolina basketball history. 

Two days later, Malone was in Chapel Hill agreeing to terms on a six-year, $50 million contract to become North Carolina’s next head coach — even if, Malone joked, Newmark and Hoots showed up on Easter without flowers for his wife.

“Just hearing his vision, talking through the ins and outs of the job,” Malone said. “And something he said really resonated with me — he wants a partner in this.

“He wants someone innovative, someone with character, someone who understands the tradition here. But also someone he can build something special with. And I’m glad they came out.”