Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse is a candidate to succeed Roy Williams as the head coach at North Carolina, according to the News & Observer's C.L. Brown.

Stackhouse played for the Tar Heels for two seasons, helping the program reach the Final Four in 1995.

Brown reported current UNC assistants Steve Robinson and Hubert Davis were also interviewed, as were Monmouth coach King Rice and UNC Greensboro coach Wes Miller.

It appears existing ties to the program are a prerequisite to entering the race, and Hall of Famer Larry Brown went so far as to say he wants Williams to make the final call.

"In my gut, I hope Roy Williams picks his successor, and I hope it's someone from the Carolina family," Brown said on Packer and Durham (via ESPN). " ... I know what Coach [Dean] Smith would want, I know what Coach [Frank] McGuire would want. ... Keep it in the family, and let's move forward."

At 46, Stackhouse is also somebody who could occupy the role for many years.

Vanderbillt is 20-37 in Stackhouse's two seasons. While that's not an impressive record to date, the Commodores had 21 wins in the two years before he arrived, and making any judgments based on the 2020-21 season is somewhat foolish because of how much the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything around the game.

Stackhouse's coaching stock rose quickly after he joined the Toronto Raptors' staff ahead of the 2015-16 season. He moved on to coach Raptors 905, Toronto's NBA G League affiliate, and guided them to a G League title in 2016-17.

His move to Vanderbilt came after he worked under J.B. Bickerstaff for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19.

Almost as soon as North Carolina confirmed Williams was retiring, Davis and Miller emerged as the top favorites.

Both played for North Carolina. Davis had been an assistant to Williams since May 2012, while Miller is 185-135 with the Spartans and took UNCG to the NCAA tournament twice. Even more so than Stackhouse, the 38-year-old Miller could feasibly coach the Tar Heels for decades if he thrives right out of the gate.