Chris Mack lets two assistants go - Luke Murray and Dino Gaudio - to open 2021 offseason

The Louisville basketball program got an early start to its offseason when the Cardinals were left out of the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday, and head coach Chris Mack isn’t wasting any time making changes.

This morning, KSR’s own Matt Jones broke the news that Louisville assistant Luke Murray had been let go after serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator for the past three seasons.

Source tells KSR that Chris Mack has let Luke Murray go as an Assistant Coach on Louisville’s basketball staff

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 18, 2021

And then later this afternoon, WDRB’s Eric Crawford not only confirmed Murray’s departure, but added that Louisville assistant Dino Gaudio will no longer be on Mack’s staff after his contract was not renewed.

Well there’s timing. Wrote about changes on the way in the Louisville basketball program this morning, now school confirms that the contracts of two assistants will not be renewed. Sources say Luke Murray and Dino Gaudio are the coaches moving on. https://t.co/DRS2xNZtQG

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) March 18, 2021

Gaudio, who also joined Mack’s staff three years ago in 2018, previously served as a basketball analyst at ESPN for eight years after spending three years as the head coach at Wake Forest. In total, Gaudio has 26 years of coaching experience.

While the school has confirmed that two assistants will not have their contracts renewed, they are refusing to name the assistants, referring to the situation as an “internal personnel matter.”

“Yesterday, head men’s basketball coach Chris Mack informed two assistant men’s basketball coaches that their contracts will not be renewed after their April 30 expiration date,” sports information director Kenny Klein said Thursday, via Shannon Russell of the Courier-Journal. “Coach Mack’s focus turns to hiring new coaches to help move the program forward.”

When asked about the future of the program and potential offseason moves, Mack confirmed earlier this week that “critical questions” may be necessary regarding his staff.

“What do I need to do better? Where do I need to grow as a coach? How can I put the best coaching staff forward that works together to help our team improve?” Mack asked. “I ask those questions in the offseason every year. And they probably have to be a lot more critical questions after this year.”

Louisville finished the 2020-21 season with a 13-7 final record.