Seth Davis lists John Calipari as potential replacement for Chris Beard at Texas

John Calipari is no stranger to rumors. During his first 13 seasons at Kentucky, speculation has linked him to several other schools but, in the end, remained committed to the job in Lexington. Now, amid a tumultuous 14th season so far with the Wildcats, Seth Davis at The Athletic has linked him to yet another job.

From an article he penned yesterday following the firing of Chris Beard at Texas, Davis suggested Calipari might be an option to take the Longhorn’s job. He noted that these rumors don’t usually amount to much with Calipari. However, considering the current criticism from Kentucky’s fanbase, many could consider it more likely now than ever before.

“Calipari’s name gets tossed around for jobs a lot (mostly by people who are ‘close to Calipari’ and presumably at his behest). But, most of the time, the specter of his leaving Lexington is hardly worth considering,” said Davis. “UCLA found that out in 2019. (They) had enough substantive conversations with Calipari that he was able to leverage the school’s interest into a lifetime contract from Kentucky that pays him north of $8 million per year. In light of Kentucky’s current struggles and the fan base’s commensurate impatience? The notion that Calipari would actually leave this time is a lot more credible.”

Calipari is 375-105 over his career with Kentucky. However, it’s obvious that his success rate with the Wildcats has slowed significantly over the last few seasons. They’ve had several high-level teams that have still competed, but the competition has very obviously caught up to them.

With so much still going right for Calipari at UK, Davis is curious how much is Texas willing to pay? It would likely require Calipari to take a pay cut from his current lifetime deal too. Considering all things, though, he thinks any speculation about Calipari making the switch is more tangible now than ever.

“Would Texas be willing to pay him what he’s making at Kentucky? And perhaps more? Possibly. Would Calipari be willing to take a pay cut to make the move? Possibly,” Davis said. “The timing of this is a challenge for Calipari. Because he will undoubtedly be asked about it for the remainder of the season (although he has usually found conjecture about his next move to be quite useful).”

“This remains a long shot, but it’s not nearly as long as it seemed a couple of months ago,” said Davis.

There’s still a lot of season to go for Calipari this year at Kentucky. He could also eventually decide to call it a career rather than take another college job. Still, with Beard now out, Texas could swing for the fences and potentially lure Calipari to lead their program.