Louisville Basketball: 8 candidates to watch for potential HC opening

Bruce Pearl

During his decade on John Calipari’s staff in Lexington, Payne was a key recruiter and a major part of the Wildcat’s success, including four Final Fours and a national title. That success on the bench hasn’t quite translated to when Payne is the one calling the shots, but there are a number of directions that Louisville could go that have had that success.

There’s no question that Bruce Pearl is a winner. A former player and assistant under the great Tom Davis, he’s won at all four of his head coaching stops. He won a D2 national title at Southern Indiana, lead Milwaukee to the Sweet Sixteen, and had Tennessee as a regular entrant to the NCAA Tournament. After violations with the Volunteers, he was out of the game for a few seasons but has bounced back nicely at Auburn. Leading the Tigers since 2014, he’s taken Auburn to four NCAA Tournaments and most notably their first ever trip to the Final Four back in 2019.

Coming up on a decade at Auburn, it’s certainly possible that Pearl could be looking for a new challenge. He’s 63 but still has several years ahead of him and could certainly lead a turnaround at Louisville before deciding to retire. Bringing Pearl on campus would be a major boost for a Cardinals program that’s felt very stale, especially with the team continuing to lose very winnable home games. Would he depart Auburn for an opportunity like this?

We have completed today’s look at eight potential names for the Louisville head coaching job if it were to come available at the end of the season. Keep in mind that Kenny Payne remains the leader of this program, but also remember that there are several intriguing names out there if a chance is made.