The Louisville Cardinals are currently 11-9 overall and 5-5 in the ACC. For many college basketball programs, that would be a decent place to be. But for Louisville, that’s not going to cut it, and it appears that head coach Chris Mack might not be around to try and fix things much longer.
Nick Coffey reported Tuesday that a joint meeting for the Board of Trustees and the UofL Athletic Association was called for Wednesday that would involve “pending litigation and personnel matters.” He also noted that Mack’s weekly coaches’ show had been canceled.
UofL has called a joint meeting for tomorrow at 4:00 for the Board of Trustees and the UofL Athletic Association. The meeting will address "pending litigation and personnel matters." Also, the Chris Mack coaches show schedule for tonight has been canceled.
— Nick Coffey (@TheCardConnect) January 25, 2022
Meanwhile, Pat Forde tied everything together by reporting that Mack’s future was the topic of conversation at that meeting.
Sources: men’s basketball coach Chris Mack’s future at Louisville is being discussed by school leadership and could result in a change, but nothing has been finalized as of now. Trustees and Athletics board meeting tomorrow. Mack radio show tonight canceled.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) January 25, 2022
Mack came to Louisville from Xavier where the hope was that he could wash away the stink of the Rick Pitino era and return the program to glory. Things started well enough with a 20-14 finish in his first season and a 24-7 season in Year 2. Louisville was even ranked No. 1 in the country for two weeks that season. However, the shortened third season saw the Cards finish 13-7 and now they find themselves trending closer and closer to mediocrity.
There’s also the fallout from an incident in which Mack was said to have violated school guidelines in his dealings with former assistant coach Dino Gaudio’s attempt to extort the university over potential NCAA violations under his watch. The head coach was suspended for six games to start the season.
From release: "Mack failed to follow University guidelines, policies, and procedures in handling the (extortion) matter. The sanctions imposed upon Coach Mack are unrelated to the extortion attempt itself and the ongoing NCAA process."
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 27, 2021
All of which is to say that it’s not terribly surprising that the Chris Mack era may be over in Louisville. And plenty of people took to social media to share their thoughts on the situation while we wait to find out what will happen.
My take: I’d be beyond shocked if Chris Mack coaches another game as the Louisville head coach.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 25, 2022
When Chris Mack was hired at Louisville, I don't recall any article written, or even a Tweet, that suggested he might flop. As close to a unanimous grand slam hire as you'll ever see. How could it have gone so poorly?
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 25, 2022
Source tells me, if Chris Mack is gone as Louisville's coach, here's some names of interest:
Kenny Payne
Bruce Pearl
Will Wade
Nate OatsNot saying there's interest from Louisville, but I'm told Pearl "wants it badly."
Payne also strong interest.— Dominique Yates (@RealDYates) January 25, 2022
One thing you have to say about Louisville: that is a tightly run ship. Real, professional administrators. Serious people committed to serious goals. A clear vision. A focus on process and continual refinement. Doing the hard, slow work of building something real, and lasting. https://t.co/cBHgzSPbcJ
— No Escalators (@NoEscalators) January 25, 2022
The secret ingredient to Louisville MBB success was crime https://t.co/bXTylImVd9
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 25, 2022
Was last night’s loss to Virginia the last straw in the Chris Mack era 👀 https://t.co/lkN8VtNLuF
— Caroline Darney (@cwdarney) January 25, 2022
Our advice to Louisville? Hire coaches who don’t commit excessive NCAA violations. It’s a good place to start from.
