Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope‘s seat just got hotter.
On Tuesday, Billy Donovan surprised many by stepping down as Chicago Bulls head coach, instantly making the two-time NCAA champion coach one of the more coveted coaches on the open market.
When announcing the decision, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf said, “We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in question.”
Per ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, “Donovan, 60, plans to continue his coaching career and will be a viable target moving forward in the NBA landscape.”
He’ll be in the running for a number of NBA openings as they emerge, and for coaches like Pope, they better hope Donovan gets snatched up before next offseason, when he might come for their jobs.