Sullivan: Ambitious coaches will still see Louisville basketball as a destination job
Louisville basketball is a leap of faith, but not so long a leap as to require Darrell Griffith in his prime.
Since both the university president and athletic director hold their jobs on an interim basis, the chain of command lacks a few links. Because the extent of expected NCAA sanctions may not be known for another six months or more, U of L’s next basketball coach will be hired unsure of how hard he might be hit. So long as that cloud continues to inhibit recruiting, the team’s talent pool will likely remain shallow.
But make no mistake: U of L has been a destination job and it can be again. Its facilities are among the finest in college basketball. Its tradition is top tier. Its membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference provides a high-profile platform and, in most years, an elite level of competition. Louisville hoops is the biggest deal in a big college town and, not so long ago, the most profitable program in the sport.
Some capable coach is going to see all of those selling points, as Chris Mack did four years ago, and accept some short-term uncertainty in exchange for a potential payoff down the road. It may not be Kenny Payne, the morning line favorite, but plum jobs are still not as plentiful as are coaches with confidence, ambition and avarice.
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When the smoke clears enough for clarity, this is a very good gig, one that Mack accepted under an interim university president (Greg Postel) and in the early days of what would become an interminable NCAA investigation. After U of L’s trustees and athletic board signed off on Mack’s $4.8 million separation agreement Wednesday afternoon, interim athletic director Josh Heird said he had asked another coach for an outsider’s view of the job and was told, “unequivocally,” that it was among the top 10 in the country.
“I think we’ll get some of the best, most highly qualified candidates in the country,” Heird said. “... Everybody understands that the expectation here is to win the national championship. That’s not going to change.”
Though Andre McGee, Katina Powell, Brian Bowen, Kenny Johnson, Jordan Fair, Adidas, David Grissom, Dino Gaudio and COVID-19 have all taken a toll on U of L’s signature sport since the Cardinals cut down the nets in Atlanta in 2013, the foundation remains solid and the base remains broad.
“To wake up every day these last four years as the head coach of the University of Louisville has been an opportunity that I will cherish,” Mack said on his way out the door. “Over the past 50 years, this position has been among the most coveted in all of college sports and I count myself lucky to have been a part of this university’s storied history.”
That Mack exits the scene barely halfway through his initial contract speaks to standards unmet despite a 68-36 record, to declining performance and diminishing attendance, and to methods Heird said, “just didn’t seem to resonate.” The parting, Heird said, was mutual, and Mack acknowledged, had “been building.”
Saturday’s home loss to Notre Dame, which ended with the Louisville team being booed off the floor, had been preceded by preliminary but pointed discussions about the program’s direction. After Monday night’s dispiriting 25-8 deficit at Virginia, the salient question was no longer “What if?” but “Why wait?”
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Heird might have saved Mack’s settlement had he been willing to wait for the Independent Accountability Resolution Process to rule on the three Level II allegations that could have given U of L grounds to fire Mack for cause. But to get a jump on the hiring of Mack’s replacement, and to begin rebuilding the eroded enthusiasm of his fan base, he decided against further delay.
“I don’t know about you guys,” he told reporters, “but I don’t want to bet on the NCAA wrapping anything up quickly.”
Mack’s settlement is pricey, but it is to be paid in monthly installments through January 2025 rather than in a lump sum. If a new coach is able to reinvigorate the program, those payments could be offset by a surge in ticket sales. If Louisville basketball can be as good a gig as it once was, that leap of faith could look like a layup.
Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714