Just over a year ago, the Louisville Cardinals were coming off a road win at Wake Forest that lifted them to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. U of L was improving under Chris Mack, going from an NCAA tournament 7-seed in Year 1 to a second-place ACC finish in Year 2. In a relatively down ACC last season, Louisville was hoping to compete for a conference championship.
Twelve months later, Mack is out of a job.
Louisville is set to move on from Mack on Wednesday after less than four seasons. What happened? The Cardinals collapsed after the hot start last season, finishing 13-7 overall and missing the NCAA tournament. Then Mack became ensnared in an extortion attempt by former assistant coach Dino Gaudio, whom Mack fired last spring. The situation landed Mack a six-game suspension over his handling of the matter, and it encouraged further NCAA interest — which resulted in three new allegations against the men’s basketball program.
Since Mack returned from his six-game suspension, Louisville is just 6-8 and has lost five of its past six games after Monday’s listless road defeat at Virginia.
The environment in Louisville has turned toxic, with the drama playing out in an oddly public fashion. Mack mentioned multiple times in post-game news conferences how he was having trouble getting through to his players, and senior Malik Williams offered an “I don’t have a comment for that” when asked Saturday whether players were still responding to the coaching staff.
Mack and interim athletic director Josh Heird had numerous discussions throughout the season and recently, sources told ESPN, the sides agreed the environment had become too toxic for Mack to continue. Both Mack and Heird were on the same page, according to sources: It was time to go in a different direction.
So now the Cardinals will have a chance to assess the landscape of candidates before really diving into the search process — but what’s next?
Job description
Although not one of the classic blue bloods, Louisville is a top-10 job nationally. The Cardinals have everything needed to be consistently successful: plenty of resources, top-tier facilities, an energetic and engaged fan base, and history. They’ve won three national championships (although the 2013 title was vacated) and been to 10 Final Fours (the 2012 and 2013 appearances were vacated).
There are some drawbacks, of course. The lack of an athletic director and president means the next coach’s boss could change weeks or months after being hired. There is still an NCAA cloud hanging over the program, with the Independent Accountability Resolution Process yet to rule on the alleged rules violations under Rick Pitino or Mack. From a recruiting perspective, the region isn’t really an ACC hotbed — and Kentucky is still king in the state.
But weighing all the positives and negatives, it’s still a historically successful program with the money and facilities to be a national factor every season. And outside of Duke and North Carolina, it’s the best job in the ACC.
Who might be interested?
Potential candidates
Mick Cronin, UCLA: This feels a bit far-fetched to me, given that Cronin is at one of the elite programs in college basketball and just led the Bruins to a Final Four before signing a contract extension through 2027. But Cronin is from Cincinnati, spent a couple of years at Louisville as an assistant and is close to Pitino (unclear whether that’s a good or bad thing in this search). If he was legitimately interested, it would be a no-brainer hire for the Cardinals.
Bruce Pearl, Auburn: Judging by the sentiments of the segment of Louisville fans on Twitter, Pearl would be met with universal praise within the fan base. Multiple sources have indicated that it’s unlikely Pearl will be the pick, though. He was given a three-year show-cause penalty back in 2011 and was suspended two games by the NCAA this season; can Louisville really hire someone with past issues given its own NCAA problems? With that said, Pearl is the boss of the nation’s No. 1 team and is objectively one of the best coaches in college basketball.
Chris Holtmann, Ohio State: A Lexington native who grew up a Kentucky fan coaching Louisville? That would be the scenario if Holtmann took over the Cardinals. With that said, it’s one of the few jobs that’s on par with or better than the one he currently has in Columbus. Indiana reportedly reached out to Holtmann last March, but his buyout was eight figures at the time. It’s significantly less now. But he has the Buckeyes in the Top 25 once again and is bringing in an excellent recruiting class next season.
Nate Oats, Alabama: Oats did an unbelievable job with the Crimson Tide last season, leading them to an SEC regular-season championship and a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament. They’ve been inconsistent this season but have already beaten Gonzaga and Houston. This is probably a nonstarter, though: Oats’ buyout after this season is nearly $12.6 million.
Eric Musselman, Arkansas: Another SEC coach who signed a lucrative contract extension last year, Musselman might listen to the Cardinals. His buyout isn’t nearly as large as Oats’, and he has never stayed at one place for very long. But he seems happy at Arkansas, went to the Elite Eight last season and is bringing in two top-10 recruits next season.
Kevin Willard, Seton Hall: Also a potential candidate at Maryland, Willard ticks a lot of the same boxes as Cronin outside of the regional ties (though Willard did play college basketball at Western Kentucky). But he’s a longtime Pitino guy, spent several seasons at Louisville as an assistant coach and has achieved plenty of success at multiple schools. Willard led the Pirates to four straight NCAA tournaments from 2016 through 2019 and then won a share of the Big East title in 2020. He has long been linked to other jobs but hasn’t left South Orange yet.
Dana Altman, Oregon: He might not have the personality Louisville is looking for in the post-Mack era, but Altman is one of the best coaches in the country and has been to seven of the last eight NCAA tournaments — including a Final Four in 2017 and five second-weekend appearances. He’s also proven he can recruit consistently (albeit in Nike’s backyard at the brand’s flagship school). I also think Altman might listen if Louisville called.
Ed Cooley, Providence: While not a natural geographical fit in a coaching career spent almost exclusively in the Northeast and New England, Cooley has Providence in the Top 25 this season after a 16-2 start. He went to five straight NCAA tournaments between 2014 and 2018 and would’ve gone in 2020 before the tournament was canceled. Cooley last signed a contract extension in 2019, when he was linked to Michigan.
Mike Boynton, Oklahoma State: Boynton boosted his stock with last season’s success, landing No. 1 recruit and eventual No. 1 draft pick Cade Cunningham and then winning a game in the NCAA tournament. The Cowboys aren’t eligible for this year’s tournament, but they just won at Baylor two weekends ago. He also signed a contract extension last spring, and the buyout is more than $9 million.
Brad Underwood, Illinois: Underwood has been a consistent winner at three schools now, going to three NCAA tournaments in three seasons at Stephen F. Austin, guiding Oklahoma State to the dance in his one year in Stillwater and then leading Illinois to a 1-seed in last year’s NCAA tournament before a second-round upset. The Fighting Illini are back in the Top 25 this season. Underwood did sign an extension in September through 2027.
Steve Forbes, Wake Forest: Forbes has done as good a job as anyone in college basketball this season, leading the Demon Deacons to a 17-4 start — after going just 6-16 in his first season at the helm. Forbes has won everywhere he’s been, winning 130 games in five seasons at East Tennessee State before heading to Winston-Salem. He has excelled at quick turnarounds and at having success in the transfer portal, which could help here. He also has a one-year NCAA show-cause penalty on his record, though, for failing to cooperate with an NCAA investigation of Tennessee while an assistant under Bruce Pearl in 2011.
Kenny Payne, New York Knicks assistant: Payne will undoubtedly get mentioned early and often in connection to this job. He played his college ball at Louisville before getting picked in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft, then spent a decade a couple of hours away as an assistant coach at Kentucky. He’s an elite recruiter and has been credited with the development of several of the Wildcats’ big men. Payne has been with the Knicks the past two seasons but was briefly linked to the DePaul job last spring.
Wes Unseld Jr., Washington Wizards: Here’s a wild-card name — but a real long shot. People simply don’t leave NBA head-coaching jobs for college jobs very often. But Unseld Jr. is the son of Hall of Famer Wes Unseld, who grew up in Louisville and played for the Cardinals in the 1960s. He would have plenty of momentum if he was at all interested.
Wes Miller, Cincinnati: He’s been with the Bearcats for only one season, but he has done a pretty good job thus far and went to two NCAA tournaments in his final four seasons at UNC Greensboro. His buyout is a reasonable $3 million before March 31, $2.5 million after March 31. Miller played in the ACC at North Carolina.
Scott Davenport, Bellarmine: I don’t really see this happening, but there’s enough local support to at least put his name on the list. Davenport was born in Louisville, went to Louisville and spent a decade at Louisville as an assistant coach. He’s been the head coach of Bellarmine since 2005, guiding them from Division II to Division I and winning a D-II national title in 2011.
Prediction
I don’t think there’s an obvious pick for Louisville yet. As mentioned, Cronin has to be one of the first calls. If interested, he should be the target. To me, Pearl would be a terrific hire: He would bring excitement to the program and reenergize the fan base on the court and on the recruiting trail. If Pearl really isn’t an option and Cronin says no, however, where does Louisville turn? Buyouts and money could take Oats, Musselman and Boynton off the list. Fellow Pitino protégé Willard could be the answer in that scenario.