Last week was a tumultuous one in which former Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack agreed to negotiate a buyout with the University to step down as head coach. Now the school is tasked with finding a replacement while Mike Pegues is at the helm as the interim head ball coach.
A name that has come up on many fans radars is that of Kenny Payne. Kenny Payne is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, who are struggling in a rather top heavy Eastern Conference. Payne played for hall of fame coach Denny Crum at Louisville on his 1986 national championship team. So, of course he has the ties to the University already. This makes him a front-runner for the job in most people’s minds.
There are other names that have been mentioned. Bruce Pearl was name that shook the guardrails a bit until Auburn decided to lock him in as a lifetime hire, similar to what Kentucky did for John Calipari in recent years.
Other names that have been mentioned are Mick Cronin, Chris Holtmann, and Matt Painter just to name a few. I don’t see why Mick Cronin would leave UCLA to head back to the chilly East coast. That’s out! Chris Holtmann and Matt Painter are both at Ohio State and Purdue respectively. Why would they want to leave now? It is possible that Mike Pegues could do enough to keep the job. Louisville is a potential dream job to some. But, who wants to stand in the Taj Mahal while it’s on fire?
There has been speculation that the Cards should spend their Valentine’s Day trying to tug on the heart strings of an old fling with former coach Rick Pitino. Pitino is currently the coach at Iona and has already stated that he would like to win 200 more games at Iona. He also hopes that Kenny Payne gets the call. Is he playing the role of the “scorned lover”? Maybe. However, his recent success at Iona is nothing short of justifiable.
Louisville needs to hire a guy who can get the Yum! Center jumping again. It needs someone who is part of the program. Look at what Indiana did by bringing back Mike Woodson this season to become their head coach. When the decision is made hopefully the next coach can bring Louisville back to the level it was before all the drama started just a few short years ago. Go Cards!