Todd Golden Addresses Coaching Rumors, Florida’s 2026 Outlook
Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden has been one of the most talked about names in college basketball after suffering an early exit in the NCAA Tournament. Over the Final Four weekend, Golden acknowledged the rumors around him leaving Florida for available coaching jobs and the Gators’ potential talent next season.
North Carolina reportedly is set to hire to Michael Malone with only one day left before the NCAA transfer portal opens Tuesday and will remain open until April 21. Former coach Hubert Davis was dismissed on March 24 after five seasons and a 125-54 record.
Golden would come at a big cost for the Tar Heels as his contract with the Gators includes a $16 million buyout, along with a coaches salary that already ranks among the highest in the country. At 40 years old, he’s the youngest coach since 1983 to win a national championship – the program’s third in school history to end its 18-year drought last season.
As coaching rumors continue to swirl, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin expressed confidence that Golden will remain with the Gators despite speculation. Golden, asked in an interview with Barstool about how his name will be mentioned in future job openings, stayed true to Florida.
“I’m incredibly fortunate at Florida right now,” Golden said. “We’ve obviously had great success and I have great support.
“I am locked in and I am very happy to be at Florida.”
In addition to discussing coaching rumors, Golden spoke about the Gators’ future for next season. Some of the team’s leaders from last season already announced their return, including Boogie Fland, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown. Florida fans are awaiting the decisions of key playmakers Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. The team had great success this season winning the regular season SEC title and Chinyelu winning Naismith defensive player of the year. With the portal opening and the NBA early entry deadline approaching in April, Golden discussed the team’s potential for next season. when asked in an interview with BETMGM.
“I think we’re trying to be a top-15 team right now,” Golden told BetMGM “If some things swing our way, we could be a top-10 type team here in a couple weeks.
“We’ve done a good job retaining a lot of the younger guys in our program that we think are going to become really good players. We haven’t lost any young guys that we want to stick around, and now we have our guys that are deciding what they’re going to do NBA wise, so we’ll have a lot more direction over the next couple weeks here.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
