Kenny Payne is out as the head coach at Louisville after two seasons that did not go well.
The question for Kentucky fans is, do you want Payne back on Calipari’s coaching staff for next season? Like Calipari, Payne is an elite recruiter and is well-known as a great talent developer.
Calipari has been defending Payne for a while now, and it seems like Kentucky’s coach believes Payne could have turned things around if given more time.
Sometimes, coaches aren’t made to be head coaches, but they are excellent assistant coaches, and this could be the case with Payne.
Coach Calipari seems to like his coaching staff at the moment, so it will be interesting to see if he would be interested in moving on from someone and bringing in Payne.
The former Louisville head coach might also be interested in heading back to be an assistant coach in the NBA after spending some time as an assistant in New York with the Knicks before taking the Louisville job.
Payne has always been a good x’s and o’s coach, but the player management side of things was an issue at Louisville as we saw lots of problems with players.
Right now, we don’t know if Coach Calipari would be interested in bringing Payne back, but the two are close, and it wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world if this were to happen.
Payne will likely be back coaching somewhere next season, whether with a college or an NBA team, but you have to assume his next role will be in the assistant capacity.
