Kentucky insider addresses the John Calipari, Arkansas rumors

Arkansas’ coaching search since the departure of Eric Musselman has become quite the story to follow the past few days. Now, on Sunday, the most interesting name to date has emerged in the form of Kentucky’s John Calipari.

Still, with that said, no one in Lexington thinks there’s too much steam to the rumor that’s circulating in Fayetteville yet. Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones said as much in a tweet earlier this evening in regards to the potential connection between Calipari and the Razorbacks.

You can watch the tournament live on Prime Video, add on your favorite channels and watch at home or on your phone and laptop at work!

Fwiw, no one on the UK side is confirming any of this Calipari stuff yet

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 8, 2024

“Fwiw, no one on the UK side is confirming any of this Calipari stuff yet,” Jones wrote on Twitter.

Jones continued on the matter in a string of following tweets. For him, he will be working under the assumption that Calipari will be remaining as head coach for the Wildcats until someone with further connections to anything let him know otherwise.

“I would still say this…until someone on the Kentucky side or Calipari side says he is leaving, I will assume he remains in Lexington,” wrote Jones. “We shall see.”

One interesting aspect that Jones did note, though, is the financial point of this possible move. For Arkansas, they would be able to avoid paying a buyout on Calipari since his lifetime contract doesn’t have one if he were to leave willingly. As for Kentucky, it would then allow them to move on from his deal, which is one that has come under increasing criticism since its signing back in 2019.

Musselman left the job last week in order to become the next head coach at USC. Since then, several names have circulated around for the ‘Hogs. Ole Miss’ Chris Beard, Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, McNeese State’s Will Wade, Mississippi State’s Chris Jans, and Little Rock’s Darrell Walker have all had their names come up throughout the past few days.

However, Calipari is by far the biggest name of that group, even if he is the closest to the end of his career than the rest. The Hall of Famer has spent the past 15 years of his 32 seasons as a collegiate coach at Kentucky. In that time, the Wildcats are 410-123 (.769), even with a dip during this decade, with four Final Fours and one national title.

This clearly isn’t nothing with several outlets around Arkansas suggesting the idea that Calipari could very well be heading to Bud Walton Arena. With that said, Jones, like other in the bluegrass, are holding firm on the idea that he won’t be leaving until something suggests otherwise to them.