Getty Image
John Calipari is leaving Lexington and on his way to SEC rival Arkansas this offseason. According to recent reports, he’s been looking to bail on his employer for some time now!
Prior to being linked to the Razorbacks‘ gig, he apparently showed interest in an opening in the Big 10. An agreement never came to fruition, but it shines a light on the tension experienced in his final month on the job at Kentucky.
Most knew the relationship between Calipari and Kentucky was souring. After losing to 14-seed Oakland in the opening round of the latest NCAA Tournament, Coach Cal’s immediate future with the school was in jeopardy.
A $33M buyout swayed administration from firing him, though many still wanted to see the program part ways. Calipari, himself, was apparently one of those people!
According to recent reports, he’s been shopping his name around for other gigs since March.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports says the head coach “privately expressed interest” in the Ohio State job.
John Calipari leaving Kentucky has been on the table going back to February, sources tells CBS Sports.
He privately expressed significant/serious interest in the Ohio State job but the timing wasn’t right, per source. Arkansas coming available was a dream shot out of Lexington.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 8, 2024
Timing reportedly wasn’t right in that situation, possibly due to the Wildcats’ participation in the NCAA Tournament. The team’s season ended on March 21st while Jake Diebler was officially hired at OSU on March 17th.
Luckily for everyone involved, the Arkansas job gave Kentucky a second opportunity to part ways without paying that massive buyout.
It will be interesting to see where the Wildcats go from here, but with John Calipari having been looking elsewhere for some time now, it was a split that seems inevitable. Kentucky will surely swing for the fences with the next hire.