That clip of Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green in a huddle after their last game gave the Bay Area shivers. It has sparked discussions about their future together, and since Friday, rumors of Kerr’s exit have been rampant. Both veterans on the team were also unsure whether their boss would return. Amid this unnerving chaos, the Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has already zeroed in on the next target, with whom he shares a great rapport.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor said on his podcast that the Dubs will pursue the Florida Gators’ head coach. “[Todd] Golden is the coach that they’re targeting, and that’s in part because the Lacob family has a relationship with him. Golden was the head coach of the San Francisco Dons for three years before he went to Florida and won a national title there. They’ve been together. They’ve had lunches together. Those guys know each other, and Golden is a very, very talented young head coach, so I think for the Warriors, Golden would be near the top of their list, if not at ‘the top’ of the list.”

That relationship traces back to Golden’s time at USF, where he revitalized a dormant college program and led the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998, results that put him on Lacob’s radar long before Florida came calling. His resume has become one of the most impressive in college hoops. Beyond the national title, he was named 2026 SEC Coach of the Year and became the fastest coach to reach 100 wins, doing so in just 139 games.

The championship run itself was a statement. Florida entered the tournament as a mid-seed and knocked off several bluebloods on the way to the title, a performance that underscored Golden’s ability to overachieve and keep a roster locked in when the stakes are highest. Florida’s athletic director, Scott Stricklin, has had to fend off interest from programs like North Carolina, which ultimately chose Mike Malone. At 40, Golden will enter the second year of a six-year, $40.5 million Gators deal. But will that really be a hurdle for the Warriors, who made Kerr the highest-paid coach in the league at $17.5 million?

Golden has an $11 million buyout for other college programs, and only a $2 million buyout for NBA teams through March 2028. If he chooses to jump to the NBA, it will be similar to former Florida coach Billy Donovan’s path, which led to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015. Golden’s appeal to an NBA franchise isn’t just his record. He has built Florida’s offense around player movement, spacing, and quick ball rotation, principles that align closely with the motion-heavy system the Warriors have run for over a decade. However, we have seen great NCAA coaches turn down NBA jobs, and Golden might follow suit.

A few years ago, UConn’s Dan Hurley declined a six-year, $70 million deal to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, as he wanted to focus on his dream of three-peating. Similarly, Golden can choose to focus on the Gators and make them better, rather than take the uncertain route into professional basketball. He will have immense pressure on him to contend in Curry’s final seasons after the recent debacle of missing out on the playoffs twice in the last three years.

Part of the reason they’ve missed out on success has been Kerr’s over-reliance on Curry. The Bay Area veteran was fit to play only 43 games this season, which is understandable considering the schedule. However, the Warriors were 13-26 in the 39 games their sharpshooter missed. They managed to sustain a four-game winning streak just once. Kerr went through 43 different starting lineups trying to find that winning combination. Of course, the front office would also consider season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, but Jonathan Kuminga’s storming out midseason didn’t do their morale any good either.

“It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr vaguely said about his future after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and were eliminated from the play-in tournament. “I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas.”

“The thing is, would Golden even want to leave the Gators?” O’Connor concluded. “He has a great situation there in Florida. They’re 1 year removed from a national title, no guarantee he would want to be going to an uncertain situation with the Golden State Warriors. That said, though, that’s what I’m hearing for the Warriors as their main target at the college ranks when it comes to who that college coach is, it’s Todd Golden.”

Alongside Golden, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell could also emerge as a decent replacement, given his status as one of the NBA’s most respected assistants. He played 15 seasons in the league, including three on championship teams. However, he has never held a head coaching job. But does that really matter, after the Lakers hired JJ Redick solely on the basis of his playing and broadcasting experience? While Joe Lacob looks to the future, the doors for Steve Kerr’s return aren’t completely shut, as a recent ESPN report outlines the timeline for a decision.

This Warriors veteran remains uncertain about Steve Kerr’s return

ESPN’s report from Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater stated that Steve Kerr has “placed a timeline of about one to two weeks, which is in alignment with management’s desired urgency.” It further stated that Dub Nation remains keen to have the head coach for a “multiyear deal, instead of setting up a last dance farewell tour that would feel more about emotion and nostalgia than wins.” While reports state this stance, the mood inside the locker room is completely different…

“I hope he’s our coach next year,” stated Draymond Green. “I also hope I’m on this team next year. We also don’t know that, which we’ll get into. But I don’t know, man. It felt like that was it.” After the exit, Stephen Curry even said that the viral huddle with Green and Kerr was “definitely weird.”

As the veterans remain shocked, Pat Spencer credited the head coach for his growth and pleaded for his return. Now, it depends on the front office and which timeline they want to pursue, whether they bring in a new coach with no NBA experience for the final years of Curry, or trust the foundation Kerr built, despite the recent setbacks.