John Calipari offers passionate defense of Kenny Payne amid job speculation: 'He's gonna be fine'

As rumors and speculation continue to run rampant about Kenny Payne’s future at Louisville, Thursday was a big night as he tried to flip the script. Rival Kentucky was coming to town, and it seemed like a landmark moment for Payne in his second season as the head coach at his alma mater.

Although Kentucky trailed early, the Wildcats rallied to come away with a resounding 95-76 victory. As for whether Payne’s time is limited, John Calipari doesn’t see it that way. He offered a passionate defense of his close friend in his postgame press conference.

Suffice to say, he doesn’t think Payne deserves to be let go at this point.

“Anytime I text him, ‘Coach your team,'” Calipari said. “That’s what I send him. ‘Just coach your team. All the other stuff doesn’t matter.’ My guess is he’ll have this program, within a year, where everybody wants it. It’s just the growing pains are miserable. We went through it. We went through it. And all of a sudden, if you don’t shoot 30 threes, ‘What’s going on? The game’s passed you by.’ What? I feel for him.

“He’s gonna be fine. And I’ll tell you that when they love you that much and how they’re responding to him, it’s just a matter of time. And again, I watched the games. I know they lost a couple bad ones. We did too. We did too.”

John Calipari: Louisville had some games it ‘easily could have won’ under Kenny Payne

Calipari pointed to a couple close games to prove his point. Remember, Louisville lost to Texas 81-80 earlier in the year, and the Cardinals had an opportunity against Virginia Tech, as well. Considering it’s Payne’s second year as a college head coach, Calipari said fans have to give him some time to build the program back up.

During Thursday’s game, Calipari said the players didn’t stop fighting. That, he said, showed their belief in Payne.

“They lost to Texas by a point — I watched all these games now. Easily could have won,” Calipari said. “They had Virginia Tech on the road, they had a chance to win last minute and a half. Indiana, like, could’ve easily won the game. You lose a couple games. ‘Oh, we should have won those.’ Well, we lost one we should have won, too. That’s all part of this. He’s got a really young team and you’ve got to let him go do what he does.

“The players love him because they played for him. They never let go of the rope. And I’m watching and I feel for him, but shoot, we went through it a couple years ago. The people get mean and nasty. They do, and that’s what you have to deal with in this profession.”

As for when a decision could come down on Payne’s future, it might not be long. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander previously said a call could be made “sooner rather than later,” and Louisville officials might not want to wait until the calendar flips to 2024.