For the second time since 2022, the Louisville men's basketball team is looking for a new head coach.
U of L on Wednesday announced it was parting ways with Kenny Payne, who leaves his alma mater with an overall record of 12-52 across two seasons at the helm.
What qualities should it target in his successor?
Stability would be nice — someone who has cultivated sustained success elsewhere and is willing to start from scratch armed with the Cardinals' resources.
So, too, would a track record of landing marquee talent through the NCAA transfer portal.
Financial flexibility would also be a plus; because Louisville owes Payne $8 million as part of a buyout agreement that was set to decrease by $2 million each year of his tenure. Another former head coach, Chris Mack, is still on the books with monthly payments of $133,333.33 until Jan. 31, 2025.
Taking all of that into consideration, here's a very early look at eight active college coaches, listed in alphabetical order, who could fit the bill:
Mick Cronin (UCLA)
Mick Cronin's name has been one of the most prominent floating around the fan base. The 52-year-old Rick Pitino disciple's three consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 at UCLA speak for themselves.
A fourth is not likely. The Bruins finished the 2023-24 regular season at 15-16 overall and 10-10 in Pac-12 play.
Cronin made headlines in January for calling out his players' "aptitude" after losing to Stanford. He then faced scrutiny for not showing up to a postgame news conference following his ejection from what ended in a loss to California.
In December, he equated his experience of recruiting veteran transfers through the portal only to have them head elsewhere to the Los Angeles Dodgers swooping in and taking players targeted by his hometown Cincinnati Reds.
Despite the frustrating season, Cronin has maintained his desire to stick around UCLA, saying he wants it to be his "last job."
There's also the matter of his buyout, which according to Sports Illustrated is set to drop from $20 million to $16 million on April 1.
Jamie Dixon (TCU)
Jamie Dixon, 58, is nearing a decade leading TCU, his alma mater, and a quarter-century as a head coach.
He hasn't been able to top his 2004-16 run at Pittsburgh, though. It included 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big East regular-season championships, two Sweet 16s, one conference tournament title and one Elite Eight.
The 2023-24 Horned Frogs could earn a third straight trip to March Madness; but it would be just their fourth during Dixon's tenure. They've at least been in the conversation more often than not, notching 20 or more wins in six of the past eight seasons.
A California native, Dixon was reportedly a candidate for the UCLA job in 2019, when it went to Cronin. An $8 million buyout was, according to The Dallas Morning News, "an insurmountable obstacle" in making that happen.
Scott Drew (Baylor)
File under, "Make him say no."
Scott Drew, 53, knows better than anyone what it takes to resurrect a program. When he arrived at Baylor in 2003, the Bears were shackled by a litany of probations stemming from a scandal of grave proportions under his predecessor, Dave Bliss.
All he's done since is set a school record for wins by a head coach, reach the NCAA Tournament 11 times and bring home a national championship in 2021. His 2023 recruiting class ranked 12th on 247Sports' national leaderboard; and his 2024 haul is among the country's five best.
Does he want to start from square one again?
When U of L was searching for Mack's replacement, multiple reports surfaced saying Drew would listen if approached with an offer. That doesn't mean he's ready to leave behind the powerhouse he built in Waco, Texas, after Baylor went 22-9 (11-7 Big 12) during the regular season.
But, if the Cards want to swing for the fences, U of L athletics director Josh Heird should definitely make the call.
Pat Kelsey (Charleston)
The Athletic's Dana O'Neil on Dec. 14 said Pat Kelsey, a 48-year-old in his third season at Charleston, "is going to be a popular name" in the coaching search.
Kelsey led the Cougars to a 31-4 record in 2022-23, during which they rattled off a 20-game winning streak and brought home the Colonial Athletic Association title for the first time since 2018. They finished the 2023-24 regular season at 24-7 overall at 15-3 in conference play.
Mack, under whom Kelsey served as associate head coach at Xavier from 2009-12, called his former colleague "the most energetic and passionate coach in the country" in a statement to Charleston athletics upon his hiring in 2021.
"He will connect with his players, the campus and the community like no other," Mack said. "A good family man and a heck of a coach."
Before joining the Cougars, Kelsey spent nine seasons at Winthrop, where he averaged 20.7 wins per campaign. Making the move to a high-major program would give him a better shot at reaching March Madness — something he's done only three times during his 11 years as a head coach.
Kelsey signed a five-year contract extension with Charleston last February, according to The Post and Courier. His buyout is $1 million.
Dusty May (Florida Atlantic)
Dusty May, 47, became one of the most sought-after coaches in the country after leading Florida Atlantic on a magical run to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed.
Reaching Houston earned the Illinois native a 10-year extension, paying an average base salary of $1.57 million annually, which called for the university to boost the program's operating budget by at least 20% from 2021-22.
Not bad for someone who got his start as a student manager at Indiana.
May did not lose a player to the portal during the offseason. The key pieces of his Final Four team either signed with the Owls out of high school or had a year or more to develop after transferring. They went 24-7 (14-4 AAC) during the 2023-24 regular season.
Per The Palm Beach Post, May will owe FAU $1 million if he takes another job before Feb. 29, 2025.
Does he want to trade the Boca Raton beaches for the banks of the Ohio River? It's a question Heird should ask, just maybe with better phrasing.
Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
All aboard the Muss Buss?
Eric Musselman, 59, has taken Arkansas to three straight NCAA Tournaments, including back-to-back Elite Eight berths in 2021 and 2022, while establishing himself as one of the most active DI coaches in the transfer portal. He has close to a .700 winning percentage to boot.
Might the Ohio native be interested in taking over a program ranking higher on the list of the sport's winningest?
It's probably worth asking — but also worth noting the Razorbacks underperformed in 2023-24, finishing 15-16 overall and 6-12 in SEC play.
Per The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Musselman has a $1 million buyout through the end of the season. It falls to $750,000 for the final two years of the contract.
Nate Oats (Alabama)
Nate Oats, 49, has built Alabama into a perennial SEC contender with an exciting brand of basketball.
The Crimson Tide has won 20 or more games in three of his five seasons in Tuscaloosa, during which it has ranked no worse than 37th on KenPom.com in offensive efficiency. In 2021 and 2023, it both won conference tournament championships and reached the second weekend of March Madness.
Alabama finished the 2023-24 regular season at 21-10 (13-5 SEC).
Last February, Oats signed a contract extension through 2028-29. Earning $4.5 million in 2023-24, he ranks among the country's top 10 highest-paid coaches.
His buyout, per The Tuscaloosa News, will drop from $12 million to $10 million on March 15.
"The buyout is big for a reason," Oats said last February. "I don't plan on leaving for anywhere. I was a high school teacher not long ago. I'm not paying a $12 million buyout."
Jerome Tang (Kansas State)
Back in September, a college basketball insider operating incognito on X, formerly Twitter, under the pseudonym Trilly Donovan reported Louisville already had its eyes on Jerome Tang.
It's easy to see why.
Tang, like Payne, is a 57-year-old, second-year head coach. Except he's been much more successful.
In Year 1, Tang received the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year award after leading Kansas State to a 26-10 record and its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2018. It went 18-13 (8-10 Big 12) during the 2023-24 regular season.
Intrigued? Well, Tim Fitzgerald, the publisher of GoPowercat.com, said during a Dec. 14 radio appearance he believes there's a 95% chance Tang heads elsewhere after the 2023-24 season due to the handling of forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin's dismissal from the program after he was arrested and accused of disorderly conduct in connection with a fight at a sports bar in Manhattan, Kansas.
"Short of the (university) president making the approach and trying to mend fences," Fitzgerald said, "I don't see any way there's a resolution that exists with these two men working together beyond this basketball season."
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
