The Kenny Payne Era is Down To a One Game Elimination
By Caleb Hall
The Kenny Payne era is seemingly on its last legs, and it seems he has put himself in a single-game elimination tournament with his own job security.
Let me elaborate.
Since Payne has taken over as head coach of the Louisville Cardinals they are a whopping 8-34. That is one of the worst numbers you could pull out from Payne's time here at Louisville, and it is ultimately what has led us to this spot. Louisville fans want wins, and if you can't give it to them, well they will run you out of town. It is as simple as that.
Things were thought to be looking up as Louisville put up good fights against Power 5 teams like Texas and Indiana. But since then, Louisville has lost 3 in a row to a decent Virginia Tech team, a terrible DePaul team, and a 12-point loss to Arkansas State at home. Besides the Chattanooga loss the Cardinals had taken care of bad competition (barely) and the losses to DePaul and Arkansas State really were the last straw for people.
With reports coming in left and right that Payne will be fired "sooner rather than later", the next loss may be the tipping point for athletic director Josh Heird to fire Kenny Payne. This could all climax in a loss to Pepperdine today at 2:00.
If Louisville loses to Pepperdine I would not be surprised if Payne was fired that night or first thing tomorrow morning. However, if he squeaks out against Pepperdine they will face a likely top-ten Kentucky team at home this coming Thursday. Kentucky will beat the Cardinals if Payne is the head coach by 30 points and will fill up the arena with blue while doing so.
If that isn't the last straw for Heird then I don't know what would be.
If Payne goes 0-1 he is fired, and if he goes 1-1 he is also fired. The only way Payne keeps his job throughout the season is if the team starts to win games. Not just 2 or 3 games, but a 10-game winning streak. He will have to force his team to win in order to keep his job, and that is not something that I can see Kenny doing.
Win and you keep your job safe, lose and you are most likely out as the Louisville head basketball coach. It is all up to how Payne gets his players to play, and if they play like they have the past week, it is likely all but over for the Kenny Payne era in Louisville.