Former Tennessee Vols coach is reportedly a strong candidate to land in very unique college basketball role

A former Tennessee Vols head coach is reportedly a "strong potential candidate" for a unique college basketball job. 

According to On3, Buzz Peterson is a strong candidate to become the general manager of the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program. 

Peterson, who played at UNC, was the head coach at Tennessee from 2001 to 2005. 

Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis recently expressed the need for a general manager due to the changing landscape of the sport. 

“The old model for Carolina basketball just doesn’t work,” said Davis on his weekly radio show. “It’s not sustainable. It has to build out because there’s so many things in play with NIL, the transfer portal, agents, international players. You just need a bigger staff to be able to maintain things. You need a bigger staff so I can do what I’m supposed to be doing -- and that’s coaching basketball. I'm gonna increase the staff, and it’s needed. I never would have thought in the four years that I took the job that 100 percent, what is needed, is a general manager.”

Peterson served as an assistant general manager with the Charlotte Hornets in 2016-17 (he also served as the interim general manager at one point). At that time, Peterson's former college roommate at North Carolina, a guy that you might've heard of named Michael Jordan, was the majority owner of the Hornets. 

Peterson spent four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee. He never led the Vols to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Peterson was replaced by Bruce Pearl in 2005.