Look at us! Here we are, nearing the end of the cataclysmic failure that is the Kenny Payne era. We are less than two weeks away, so I figured we could start discussing who the replacement will be. A few names that are consistently being thrown around as a possible replacement:

Mick Cronin

Chris Beard

Eric Musselman 

Nate Oats

Scott Drew

Bruce Pearl

Shaka Smart

I am pretty confident UofL's next coach will come from that group, but I honestly have no idea who it will be. Drew and Pearl seem like extreme longshots to me, and I don't really consider them realistic options. 

Let's discuss. 

Any idea how much money they'll want to spend?

42 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Any idea how much money they'll want to spend?

And how much are they paying Kenny Payne when they fire him?

1 hour ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Any idea how much money they'll want to spend?

Not for certain, but I would imagine up to $5-$6 million would be the range. That's purely speculation on my part. I believe they would pay would it would take to get any of those guys on that list. 

21 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

And how much are they paying Kenny Payne when they fire him?

I believe the buyout will be $6 million. 

2 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

Drew and Pearl seem like extreme longshots to me, and I don't really consider them realistic options. 

I personally don't think Oats would leave Alabama myself he is making good money and is getting very good recruits there. I also personally have never been a fan on Mick Cronin. I think either Eric Musselman or Chris Beard would be good hires and I would lean towards Beard being the better one.

24 minutes ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

I personally don't think Oats would leave Alabama myself he is making good money and is getting very good recruits there. I also personally have never been a fan on Mick Cronin. I think either Eric Musselman or Chris Beard would be good hires and I would lean towards Beard being the better one.

There is definitely something to be said for the guys at "football schools." That would be a tough sell, IMO. 

Mick would do fine here, but he's not a sexy pick. 

I don't think the Admin would consider Beard, but I could be wrong. 

4 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

Look at us! Here we are, nearing the end of the cataclysmic failure that is the Kenny Payne era. We are less than two weeks away, so I figured we could start discussing who the replacement will be. A few names that are consistently being thrown around as a possible replacement:

Mick Cronin

Chris Beard

Eric Musselman 

Nate Oats

Scott Drew

Bruce Pearl

Shaka Smart

I am pretty confident UofL's next coach will come from that group, but I honestly have no idea who it will be. Drew and Pearl seem like extreme longshots to me, and I don't really consider them realistic options. 

Let's discuss. 

I will throw a name out there that could be a possibility IMO, and that is Billy Donovan. He is currently about to finish with a losing record for the second year in a row with the Bulls. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he and the Bulls both want to go in separate directions. He may be a long shot, but I think there could be a possible fit there. 

4 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

I will throw a name out there that could be a possibility IMO, and that is Billy Donovan. He is currently about to finish with a losing record for the second year in a row with the Bulls. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he and the Bulls both want to go in separate directions. He may be a long shot, but I think there could be a possible fit there. 

Oh man, I can think of a lot of fans in another fanbase that would be furious if he was Louisville's next coach haha!

I bet the NBA a lot and had no clue that he was coaching the Bulls.

8 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

I will throw a name out there that could be a possibility IMO, and that is Billy Donovan. He is currently about to finish with a losing record for the second year in a row with the Bulls. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he and the Bulls both want to go in separate directions. He may be a long shot, but I think there could be a possible fit there. 

He would fall into the longest shots group for me. I'd imagine he has zero desire to coach college again, but he definitely has the personality for this job.

4 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Oh man, I can think of a lot of fans in another fanbase that would be furious if he was Louisville's next coach haha!

We've already done that once, I'd be fine doing it again. ?

It's crazy, but Billy Donovan has been in our lives as a coach now for 30 years (going back to Marshall) and he is still just 58. 10 years have been in the NBA. Normally, once these guys get out of the college coaching game and in the NBA mix, they remain there. Given the hand he has been dealt, he has proven to be a solid NBA coach.

Beard would be the best coach of that group, in my opinion. UofL should make him say no. Oats would be the most fun for Card fans. Drew is as much a long shot as Donovan would be I think. Mussleman would crawl to Louisville to get out of Arkansas, he's a good coach that for some reason had his team just implode on him this season. Never been impressed by Cronin, but he would be the safe pick. I like Pearl, so for that reason alone I hope that he doesn't go to Louisville. That leaves us with Smart, for me personally, yes please hire Shaka Smart. Just never been a fan plus he's only relevant in leap years it seems. ? 

2 hours ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Oh man, I can think of a lot of fans in another fanbase that would be furious if he was Louisville's next coach haha!

I bet the NBA a lot and had no clue that he was coaching the Bulls.

I do think he will be back in college soon and honestly UL or UK if Cal left after this year are two of the places I could see him going to. 

2 hours ago, bugatti said:

It's crazy, but Billy Donovan has been in our lives as a coach now for 30 years (going back to Marshall) and he is still just 58. 10 years have been in the NBA. Normally, once these guys get out of the college coaching game and in the NBA mix, they remain there. Given the hand he has been dealt, he has proven to be a solid NBA coach.

The Thunder did move on from him, and currently about to finish below .500 for the second year in a row now with the Bulls. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if both he and the Bulls look to move on after this year. With that said though the NBA does love to recycle coaches, so he probably would get another NBA job if he wanted to stay. I just for some reason believe for the right job he would come back to college now after 10 years. Which UL or UK would be jobs I think he would strongly consider.