For the second time in nine days, a Hall of Fame coach resigned from his post leading an NBA team, with Billy Donovan stepping down from coaching the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Doc Rivers did the same last week, and while Rivers has indicated that he could be done coaching entirely, Donovan plans on continuing his coaching career.
Donovan, a two-time national champion at the University of Florida, was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame last year. He has ties to both the pro and college games, and he will undoubtedly be one of the top candidates for either current openings or future ones at both levels. These are the top potential landing spots for Donovan in either the 2026-27 NBA season, or with all of the college jobs filled, for the 2027–2028 college basketball season.
Kentucky Wildcats
Donovan’s first coaching job came when he was 24 years old as an assistant at Kentucky. Things could come full circle as soon as 2027 if Mark Pope underperforms as head coach of the Wildcats. Pope is entering his third year at his alma mater, and each of the five prior UK coaches—who in each case lasted at least three seasons—made the Elite Eight by their third season with the program. Pope has yet to do that, so if Kentucky has another short stay in the 2027 NCAA Tournament, then the UK hierarchy could be looking elsewhere, and elsewhere could be digging into its past with Donovan.
Orlando Magic
Remember when Bill Belichick was the New York Jets’ head coach for all of one day? Many people forget, but that’s the exact same scenario that Donovan had with the Orlando Magic back in 2007. He was coming off back-to-back titles with the University of Florida and decided to leave that job, move 110 miles south, and join the Magic as their head coach. Donovan had his introductory press conference with Orlando on June 1 and then had second thoughts the next day and decided to remain with the Gators.
Well, Donovan may have a chance to make amends with the Magic fan base, and the team’s current head coach, Jamahl Mosley, seems to have maxed out with this current squad, despite it being loaded with top 10 draft picks. Donovan clearly feels at home in the Sunshine State and might welcome a return to it.
Houston Cougars
In 1996, Donovan went to a football school at the University of Florida, achieved unprecedented success there, and made natives care about hoops almost as much as they did about the pigskin. He has the chance to do the same with the Houston Cougars, and while UH football isn’t on the same level as Florida football, the Texas is undoubtedly a football state—maybe more so than any other.
Current Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson is 71 years old, and he openly hinted at retiring after Houston’s NCAA Tournament defeat last month. He’s built one of the top programs in the nation, so Donovan wouldn’t have to do as much work in that regard as he did at Florida. But Donovan could be the one to push the Cougars to the next level, as Houston’s seven Final Four appearances without a national title are the most of any Division I program.
New Orleans Pelicans
It may seem odd that Donovan would resign from a Bulls team that went 31-51 to join a Pelicans team that went 26-56. But the NBA is a superstar-driven league, and the Pels have one in Zion Williamson, whereas Chicago does not. Through all his faults, Williamson is coming off a year in which he played the second-most games of his seven-year career, and he’ll just be 26 next season. New Orleans also has other talented players in their prime, like Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray, promising rookies in Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, and while the Pelicans aren’t holding their 2026 first rounder, they do have a coveted pick swap with Milwaukee for the 2027 draft.
Also, there is a connection between the current New Orleans regime and Donovan. The team’s GM, Troy Weaver, spent 12 years as an executive with the Oklahoma City Thunder, during a period that overlapped with Donovan coaching the team.
Kansas Jayhawks
Bill Self dealt with health issues this past season and considered retiring before announcing he will return next season. His stay in Lawrence, Kansas, may be for just one more year, and the Kansas brass wouldn’t find a better replacement than Donovan if that’s the case. There’s also an appeal with the KU program for the coach as, for the first time, he would work for an athletics department where basketball is the focus, unlike at his time at Florida.
Golden State Warriors
After Golden State’s play-in tournament exit last week, Steve Kerr revealed that all jobs have “an expiration date.” His contract has already hit its expiration, as the two-year deal he signed in 2024 has come to an end, and his time in the Bay may have as well. Kerr isn’t as tethered to Golden State’s GM, Mike Dunleavy Jr., as he was to his predecessor, Bob Myers, while transitioning to Donovan as head coach wouldn’t signal a complete rebuild for the veteran Warriors.
Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler are all under contract for next year, and Donovan has proven chops in getting the most out of his team in his first year on the job. In his first season as an NBA head coach in 2015–2016, he led the OKC Thunder to one win away from making the NBA Finals as they, coincidentally, lost to the Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
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