Report: Texas Has Contacted John Calipari Amidst Head Coaching Search
Maybe that rambunctious student section in Tuscaloosa was onto something after all.
Just two days after the Alabama Crimson Tide pummeled Kentucky in a 78-52 beatdown, where Coleman Coliseum chanted "Cal to Texas!" in one of the more disheartening losses in the John Calipari era at UK, rumors have begun swirling around the Hall of Famer potentially packing his bags and heading south.
Travis Branham, 247Sports' National Basketball Analyst posted on a Texas message board on Monday afternoon that the Longhorns have contacted Calipari "through back channels" in regards to becoming the new head coach of Texas basketball.
Texas fired coach Chris Beard on Jan. 5, after a domestic violence arrest that occurred back in December 2022. Beard was in his second season as head coach of the Longhorns. He was previously Texas Tech's head coach for five seasons. The firing of course led to big-time names being thrown around on lists for the next skipper in Austin, with Calipari being one of them.
The approval rating for Calipari from Big Blue Nation is currently at an all-time low, as the Wildcats are struggling miserably on the heels of a season that was upended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by the 15-seeded Saint Peter's Peacocks, which followed the worst season in UK history that saw just nine wins.
Kentucky hasn't won a game in March Madness since 2019, and the current trajectory of the 2022-23 season doesn't provide much hope that that streak will end this coming March.
It was after that 2019 season where Calipari signed a "lifetime contract" to remain at Kentucky, becoming the highest-paid coach in college basketball. He is slated to make $8.5 million this season — his 14th in Lexington.
Branham went on to say in his post that he believes if Texas comes to the table with an offer he can't refuse, he'll make the leap and leave UK:
"I do suspect that if a competitive offer is made then Cal would likely jump at it," he wrote.
"We all got beat. I got beat and our team did," Calipari stated after the Alabama loss. "A lot of work to do, guys."
Calipari has previously stated that he will live out his contract at UK, but the rocky road that he and the program are currently on seem to point in the other direction. Kentucky is set to welcome in the No. 1 class in the nation in 2023, the seventh time that Calipari has managed that feat in his UK tenure.
It's all speculation — which is sure to be denied by all parties involved — but the rumor mill is turning. The end of an era in Lexington could be quite closer than anyone anticipated.
COLUMN: Kentucky basketball feels broken beyond repair.
More on Kentucky's loss to the Crimson Tide here.
More on Oscar Tshiebwe's lackluster performance here.
WATCH: Calipari, Wheeler postgame
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