Colin Cowherd asked Mick Cronin if he would be open to coaching at Kentucky
For whatever reason, Colin Cowherd sure does like buddying up with Mick Cronin. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the two were talking on Cowherd’s Fox Sports radio show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, about John Calipari and whether or not he and Kentucky should part ways (spoiler: Cowherd said he should).
Well, now that it appears Calipari and Kentucky will ultimately part ways (a five-year deal with Arkansas has been reported since Sunday night), the two decided to sit down once again on Monday morning to talk even more about the Hall of Fame head coach. But before they could even dive into the discussion, Cowherd asked Cronin, who has been the head coach at UCLA since 2019, if he would take the Kentucky job if offered.
Cronin only halfway answered the question.
“Their fan base is second to none, period. I grew up 60 miles from there. If (Kentucky) called me tomorrow to be their coach? I’d turn left on Sunset (Boulevard),” Cronin, a Cincinnati native, said. “When we leave here I’m going to the Grand Havana room in Beverly Hills to watch the (national championship) game tonight.”
What exactly does Cronin mean by saying he’d “turn left on Sunset?” Admittedly, your guess is as good as mine, but he sure sounded like someone who didn’t want to explicitly say no, but knew he had to in the moment. However, Cronin did acknowledge how difficult coaching at a place like Kentucky can be.
“Some of these jobs, the expectations are so high, that the magnitude of the job, you can’t feed the beast forever,” Cronin added. “And when you build the beast early — (Calipari) had unbelievable success. And when you can’t repeat that, it’s really hard. It’s just a hard existence. My guess would be, that basically it was time for a change was his mindset…”
“That job is really different than any other job. It really is. Because of the fanbase and no pro sports.”
Cronin has found success during his tenure at UCLA. In year two (2021), he took the Bruins to the Final Four, but failed to advance past the Sweet 16 the following two seasons and then saw his team finish 16-17 this past season. Cronin also led Murray State to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2004 and 2006 during his three seasons with the Racers (2003-06) and coached Cincinnati to nine straight NCAA Tournament bids from 2010-19 during his 13-year run with the Bearcats (2006-19).
That being said, Cronin isn’t likely to be high up on the list of candidates to replace Calipari — at least not right now.
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