College hoops insider thinks John Calipari would leave for Texas because 'it's miserable' at Kentucky

Could things really get so bad at Kentucky that John Calipari would just take another high-major head coaching gig? CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish seems to think so.

Speaking on the “Chris Vernon Show” on Friday, Parrish said he thinks Calipari would leave Kentucky if offered the Texas job at this point. And it’s not because Texas is an upgrade — few, if any, college hoops gigs offer more resources and interest — but because things have just gone that far south in Lexington.

“To be clear,” Parrish said, “if Texas offered John [Calipari] the job, he would go at this point. Because it’s miserable there.”

When the Texas job came open midseason due to former head coach Chris Beard being fired as a result of a domestic incident where he allegedly assaulted his fiancé, Calipari’s named was immediately floated around, even if it seemed a long shot at the time. Now, not so much.

And for those arguing that a coach wouldn’t just leave Kentucky, Parrish had a counter argument: This wouldn’t be the first time a Kentucky coach didn’t really want to keep coaching the Wildcats.

“When this first came up, I had people on Twitter saying ‘oh yeah, like the Kentucky coach would leave for Texas.’ I’m like, ‘The Kentucky coach left for Minnesota.’ Because it got miserable. Tubby Smith was at Kentucky 10 years, made the NCAA Tournament every single year, and still got ran out,” Parrish said.

And with fans at Rupp Arena showing up with signs urging the Calipari to up and go to Texas — and then getting kicked out — Parrish doesn’t think it’s a crazy idea at all, anymore.

“Cal’s probably — or at least possibly — about to miss it for the second time in a three year span,” Parrish said. “They are literally holding signs telling him to go to Texas. If he can get the Texas job, he’ll go.”