Texas Basketball: Insider says John Calipari is not the Longhorns top target

As the regular season rages on for acting head coach Rodney Terry and No. 10 Texas basketball so does the speculation regarding the possible candidates to replace the recently-fired head coach Chris Beard. A name that keeps coming up in the discussion of which candidates will Texas athletic director Chris del Conte court to replace Beard is the longtime Kentucky Wildcats and former Memphis Tigers head coach John Calipari.

Calipari seems to be one of the most polarizing names involved in this head coaching search for the Longhorns in the last few days. Given some of the struggles he’s faced at Kentucky in the last few seasons, it makes sense that Texas fans have mixed reactions about his candidacy for this head coaching job.

But it does look as if CDC and Calipari have at least made contact already regarding the job opening at Texas. A report from Travis Branham of 247Sports this week (paid content) indicates that Texas has already contacted Calipari through some back channels.

On the other hand, a report from Matt Norlander of CBS Sports points to his belief that Calipari will not be Texas’ top target among the candidates that CDC looks at to replace Beard. Here’s what Norlander had to say on the topic.

"Do I think Texas will kick the tires on Calipari? Sure, but Calipari’s in PR hell right now. Do I think he’s Texas’ top target? No."

CBS Sports insider Matt Norlander doesn’t think John Calipari will be Texas basketball’s top head coaching target

Norlander believes that other possible coaching candidates such as the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats and Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey (among a few others) are more likely to be top targets for the Texas job over Calipari.

I should also note that multiple reports (including this source from Branham) have mentioned that this process for CDC and the Longhorns to find the next men’s hoops head coach is going to take at least a few months.

Don’t expect a head coaching hire to be announced until next offseason.

In the meantime, though, it is a notable development that Calipari has seemingly become one of the first possible coaching candidates that Texas has made contact with in some form or fashion. Given his track record on the court both at Kentucky and Memphis and his insane track record of success on the recruiting trail, this is still an intriguing potential hire to replace Beard.

Calipari is currently in his 14th season as Kentucky’s head basketball coach. In his 14 years with the Wildcats, he’s posted a record of 252-69 (.785 winning percentage). But in the last three seasons, the winning percentage has dipped a good bit as Calipari posted a record of 45-30 (.600 winning percentage).