Multiple Big-Name Coaches Shoot Down Kentucky Wildcats Job After John Calipari Leaves

There are few bluer “blue blood” programs in NCAA men’s college basketball than the Kentucky Wildcats.

And yet, as the ‘Cats look to replace John Calipari, that hasn’t seemed to help them lure some of the nation’s top coaching candidates.

In fact, it appears that Kentucky has already struck out with the three biggest-name coaches on the market today.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a concern,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said when asked if he would be interested in any open positions.

Hurley won his second-consecutive national championship with the Huskies on Monday night.

But he wasn’t the only one to shoot down the Wildcats.

“Bama Nation, I am fully committed to this team and to this university,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said on Monday.

“We have already accomplished some great things here, and there is nothing I want more than for The University of Alabama to win its first national championship in men’s basketball,” he wrote on social media. “Despite any rumors to the contrary, rest assured that I will continue that pursuit as your head coach.”

Strike two.

But what if Kentucky wanted to truly go big-game hunting? What would that look like?

Maybe, retired two-time national champion Jay Wright?

Wright spent March Madness working for CBS and Turner Sports in an analyst role. But could the allure of the Wildcats job bring him back?

Apparently not.

“Was that a firm no,” Seth Davis asked Wright on Monday night. To which Wright replied “yes.”

Kentucky will likely land a big-name coach. It has too much money and is too prestigious of a job not to. But the early part of the search has not been pleasant to the Wildcats. And it appears that finding Calipari’s successor might be far more difficult than many initially believed.