After Eric Musselman took the USC head coaching job last week. Arkansas has been looking at plenty of big-name coaching candidates, but one shocking name has emerged as a favorite for the position; John Calipari.
Big Name Candidate Emerging as the Favorite at Arkansas
Musselman’s departure left Arkansas scratching its head. The early targets were Chris Beard and Jerome Tang. However, each candidate decided to stay at his respective school. This meant the Razorbacks had to pivot to other candidates. Many thought this meant that they would have to look at candidates from mid-major schools, like Will Wade. But rumors began swirling Monday night that Arkansas has been focused on longtime Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Multiple sources are telling me Arkansas has zeroed in on John Calipari. Barring any last minute issues, I expect him to be the Razorbacks new head coach. pic.twitter.com/L9BSQHFzqW
— Wess Moore (@Wess_Moore) April 8, 2024
Why would Calipari Leave?
Although things started well in Lexington, the past few years have been pretty rough given the expectations at Kentucky. In 2022, the Wildcats were upset by 15-seed St. Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and in 2024 they were upset by 14-seed Oakland. In fact, Kentucky has not made the second weekend of March Madness since 2019 and has not made a final four since 2015.
Needless to say, this has made fans unhappy. Kentucky fans have been calling for his job for years now. As one of college basketball’s blue bloods, the fans expect national championships and Final Four appearances regularly. If the team is not meeting these expectations, then they want a coach who will be able to do so. This unrest is known by Calipari and he regularly deals with questions about his leaving or being fired. However, there has been a problem with Calipari; his buyout. Calipari has a “contract for life” and has a buyout of nearly 35 million dollars. Almost no team would be able to afford this. However, one school with a donor base at this level is Arkansas. With billionaires such as Jerry Jones and the Walton Family on the athletic director’s Rolodex, Arkansas would be able to afford the buyout.
Will This Happen?
We are still in the early stages of these rumors, so take some information with a grain of salt. But there appears to be some serious steam to these rumors. Many insiders have reported that Calipari is going to meet with Arkansas soon and things could move fast. Calipari is also good friends with the Tyson brothers, who are some of the biggest donors to Arkansas athletics. However, we see talks like this break down often so don’t think this is 100% over yet. One thing for certain, these rumors are picking up steam and quickly.
Fit as Arkansas Head Coach
Calipari would be a great fit as the next Arkansas head coach. As we know, he has had plenty of success in the SEC and there is no reason to think this would change should he leave Kentucky. He has been able to recruit wherever he goes, so keeping high talent levels will not be a problem. However, the best part of this move is lowered expectations. Although Arkansas has some basketball history, the fanbase cares more about football. This is not the case at Kentucky which is definitively a basketball-first school. These lowered expectations could end up being better for Calipari as he will feel less stress from fans, boosters, and the athletic director.
One of his first moves would be trying to get Tramon Mark out of the transfer portal and maybe some Kentucky Wildcats. Regardless, this move would cause a cataclysmic shift in the college basketball world.
