After 23 years at Kansas and 33 as a Division I college basketball head coach, Bill Self has begun to openly mull retirement. The 63-year-old has dealt with many health issues in recent years, some that have forced him to take stints away from the sidelines, and he spoke about them following the Jayhawks 67-65 loss to St. John’s in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
"I love what I do, I need to be able to do it where I'm feeling good and healthy to do it fairly well. I'll get back home, and it'll all be discussed," the two-time national champion said in the postgame press conference.
Since those statements, rumors have run wild about Self’s potential retirement. On Wednesday, he spoke with Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star and cleared up the situation, telling him that there is no news to report, there is no timeframe for his decision at this time, and calling some of the speculation “b.s.”
Bill Self tells me as of now there is no news to report regarding his decision. In fact he told me "b.s., bad info" referring to some comments out there. That's as of now from the head coach.
— Gary Bedore (@GaryBedore) March 25, 2026
Bill Self has no timetable to decide his future at Kansas
Self has made it clear that his decision is not related to his team’s on-court performance, though that has left something to be desired in recent years, with four-straight first weekend exits after winning the 2022 National Title.
As much as you want to give a legendary coach like Self his time to make the decision that is right for him and his family, if Kansas needs to hire a new head coach this offseason, it needs to know that soon. On Tuesday night, North Carolina officially fired Hubert Davis, kicking off an extensive search that will include some of the country’s best young coaches, Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May, TJ Otzelberger, Todd Golden, and Nate Oats, if not more.
All of those top coaches would also be in consideration for the Kansas job, which is up there with North Carolina and Duke as one of the most highly coveted in the sport. Kansas will likely have its pick of the litter if Self does ultimately call it a career, but unless something changes quickly, UNC will have the first crack at prying one of those elite young coaches away from their current post.
Another two-time national champion, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, is also in consideration for the UNC job and would likely be in the mix at Kansas. There is speculation that Donovan will be stepping down after the season, and while his timeline may align better with Self’s decision-making, it puts him in an impossible position to start his tenure, taking over the job after the Transfer Portal window.
The portal opens on Tuesday, April 7, and is open for 15 days. Players can still transfer after the portal window closes, so long as they enter the portal during the 15-day window.