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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Kansas coach Roy Williams, a former North Carolina assistant under Dean Smith, has been offered the North Carolina head coaching job but has not accepted it yet.
|  | | Roy Williams might be calling the shots in the North Carolina huddle next season. |
He said Friday night that he will certainly listen to what the Tar Heels have to say.
Bill Guthridge resigned Friday after spending three years as head coach following the retirement of Dean Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. The official annoucement came during a Friday afternoon news conference.
"It's hard to explain," said Williams, who pointed out that more than 20 NBA and college teams have gotten a flat "no" from him over the past decade when asking if he'd be their coach, but that he would meet with North Carolina. "You know, when I was a kid, I dreamed of playing at
North Carolina, of coaching at North Carolina -- but the crazy thing is when
I dreamed of coaching at North Carolina I dreamed of being Coach Smith's assistant. I never walked on that campus a day in my whole life
thinking about the head coach -- never."
Williams left for his beachfront home in South Carolina on Saturday to ponder the decision. Kansas spokesman Mitch Germann told ESPN.com that Williams spoke to North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour about the position Thursday night. North Carolina has not made an official offer in terms of salary or contract length, contrary to some reports Friday.
Williams said an announcement clarifying his situation will come "on or before July 7," the day before he goes on the road recruiting.
Some North Carolina newspapers reported in Wednesday's editions that Williams met Tuesday with Baddour and Smith. The News & Record of Greensboro reported Williams played golf with Smith and Baddour.
One source told The Durham Herald-Sun that Williams verbally
accepted a seven-year deal, subject to approval by the UNC Board of
Trustees.
Kansas athletics director Bob Frederick said Tuesday he couldn't
confirm the news.
"Somebody asked me, 'Can you say no to Dean Smith?' It would be
hard. But it would be harder to say no to my players," he said.
"I feel I owe it to myself and my family, their program and Coach
Smith. I owe it to talk to them."
Should Williams not take the North Carolina job, South Carolina's Eddie Fogler could be a candidate.
South Carolina's athletic director, Mike McGee, said North
Carolina officials have asked to talk to Fogler, who was given a
contract extension in March after his young Gamecocks went 15-17.
Fogler and his family were on a beach vacation and would not
return until Wednesday, but he said in a statement issued by South
Carolina that he would not discuss the North Carolina job.
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Friday, June 30
With the reports of Roy Williams going to North Carolina, the Kansas job would be a plum opening. My top pick of candidates may surprise you:
1. Bob Hill: The current Fordham coach has returned to college after serving as an NBA head coach. He is well respected and would be qualified. His pro experience lends some weight to his name and remember, he was an assistant at Kansas under Ted Owens. Kansas AD Bob Frederick was also a former Kansas assistant under Owens, so there is a connection.
2. Kevin Stallings: His name has been mentioned for prominent job openings in the past. The former Kansas assistant would leave his current job at Vanderbilt in a heartbeat -- not to knock the Commodores.
3. Matt Doherty: It would be tough for him to leave Notre Dame right now. He has a lot invested there with two outstanding recruits verbally committed. Doherty also talked Troy Murphy into returning to school. He was a popular assistant at Kansas under Williams.
4. Steve Robinson: The Florida State head coach was also very successful at Tulsa and he knows the Midwest well.
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Guthridge, 62, led the Tar Heels to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons, but Guthridge recently decided he did not have the energy to continue.
"I think it's time to turn it over to somebody else," Guthridge said at a campus news conference Friday.
Williams talked Thursday night with Frederick. The Kansas AD said he wanted to emphasize to Williams "how strongly the university, the community, the people in the state of Kansas and all of our alumni and fans feel about him continuing as the Jayhawk coach forever."
"I think that based on the conversation we had this morning, I feel we have
a semi-good chance of keeping Coach Williams at the University of Kansas," Frederick said Friday. "I don't want to put any odds on it. I know that he is struggling with his
decision, so based on that I think we have a good chance."
Guthridge, 62, said just a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years despite the battering he took from fans and alumni after the team's worst regular-season record in decades.
"Am I surprised? That's probably not strong enough. I'm absolutely taken aback," Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said of Guthridge's decision.
The head coaching job at Kansas is considered one of the top 15 jobs in the country. And even though it's a week before July recruiting, high-profile candidates will be mentioned should Williams choose to leave.
A source within the Kansas administration said four candidates the school would consider are Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings and Notre Dame's Matt Doherty (both former assistants under Williams at Kansas), current Kansas assistant Neil Dougherty and Fogler, who worked with Williams at North Carolina.
ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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After three years, two Final Fours, Guthridge retires
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Weekly Word: Not blue in Carolina
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Roy Williams' coaching record, timeline
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Roy Williams talks with the media about his coaching future.
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ESPN.com's Andy Katz looks at North Carolina's coaching situation.
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Dick Vitale looks at possible coaching candidates for North Carolina after the retirement of Bill Guthridge.
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ESPN.com's Andy Katz says Williams will take his time with a decision.
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Trey Wingo talks with Jay Bilas and ESPN.com's Andy Katz about the retirement of Bill Guthridge.
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 Roy Williams wants it to be Bill Guthridge's day.
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ESPN's college basketall analyst Dick Vitale on Roy Williams coaching UNC.
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ESPN's Dick Vitale sets the record straight about Roy Williams' future.
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Roy Williams says he will need time to decide if he will coach at North Carolina next year.
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