In what’s become a near-annual tradition, a big-time collegiate program has expressed interest in hiring Brad Stevens as its head coach, and the Celtics’ top personnel man has politely declined.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander on Wednesday reported Stevens has “removed his name from consideration” for the head-coaching position at North Carolina, which fired Hubert Davis after its first-round NCAA tournament loss to VCU.
Stevens, who led mid-major Butler to two national championship games before being hired by the Celtics in 2013, has not coached since ascending to his current role as Boston’s president of basketball operations in 2021. Since that move, the 49-year-old has built one of the NBA’s consistently successful rosters — including the one that brought the Celtics their 18th championship in 2024 — and shown no interest in rejoining the college ranks.
“I thoroughly appreciate being a Celtic and love the people I get to work with every day,” Stevens told The Field of 68 last year after choosing not to pursue the vacant head-coaching job at Indiana, his home state.
Stevens’ desire to remain with the Celtics is a major win for the franchise. He was the NBA’s Executive of the Year in 2023-24 and could be in the running again this season after assembling a roster that’s kept Boston in championship contention while escaping the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax (and, eventually, ducking the tax entirely at the trade deadline).
The Celtics entered Wednesday as the betting favorite to win the Eastern Conference for the third time in five years.