Chris Russo contests Stephen A. Smith touting Kenny Smith for UNC: ‘He’s never coached!’

Everyone feared Stephen A. Smith might ruin Inside the NBA by forcing his way onto the show. IInstead, he’s looking to break up the crew by shipping Kenny Smith off to UNC.

In the wake of the University of North Carolina firing Hubert Davis, Stephen A. Smith has quickly pivoted to touting Kenny Smith as the best fit for their men’s basketball head coaching vacancy. Smith repeated the claim Wednesday morning on First Take, believing the NBA analyst and former Tar Heel is ready to become a college basketball coach.

“They just had Hubert Davis, who was an assistant for Roy Williams for nine years…they’re not bringing Kenny Smith in, who’s 61 years of age, who’s never coached a game in college basketball.” Chris Russo pushes back on Stephen A. Smith touting Kenny Smith for UNC pic.twitter.com/lJJe8wP0nC

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 25, 2026

“It’s about whether or not you can walk into a living room and convince a kid to come play for your program,” Smith said on ESPN. “I believe Kenny ‘the Jet’ Smith is that dude.”

Stephen A. has often touted his strong relationship with Kenny Smith. So, it’s reasonable to assume they discussed this opinion, especially considering this isn’t the first time Stephen A. brought it up on First Take. But the ESPN host insisted this opinion is his own, claiming Kenny Smith would be annoyed at him for even bringing it up on national TV. Additionally, it’s an opinion that Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo believes is a bad one.

“Steve, they just had Hubert Davis, who was an assistant for Roy Williams for nine years and it didn’t work out,” Russo said. “They’re not bringing Kenny Smith in, who’s 61 years of age, who’s never coached a game in college basketball. They’re not doing that. They just had Hubert Davis and it didn’t work, why would they go to Kenny Smith? And I like Kenny Smith too, he’s never coached a day in his life!”

Smith used Davis’s nine years as an assistant against him, implying it was a sort of indictment that he didn’t receive other head coaching opportunities before he was hired by UNC. Additionally, he maintains Kenny Smith will be a better recruiter than Davis.

But Russo is the voice of reason here. Smith ignored the fact that college basketball programs aren’t really built on coaches sitting in living rooms attempting to convince kids and their parents that this school is the best fit for them. In the modern era of college basketball, recruiting is more about which program is going to pay a player the most.

As much as Kenny Smith might mean a lot to UNC, the school needs to hire a head coach who is more of a sure thing than a question mark, especially in the wake of having to move on from Hubert Davis after just five seasons. And similarly, Smith giving up his salary and relatively easy gig as a TV analyst for the grind of being a college basketball head coach seems farfetched. Although it’s equally farfetched that Stephen A. Smith would be pushing Kenny Smith to UNC without his approval.