Report: Arkansas in talks with John Calipari as Razorbacks' next head coach

There could be a potentially seismic shift in the SEC basketball landscape coming, with Kentucky coach John Calipari possibly on the move.

According to a report from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas has been in discussions with Calipari about its job opening. The post came open when Eric Musselman departed for the USC job after five seasons.

Calipari, of course, has been on somewhat tenuous ground with Kentucky after 15 seasons with the program.

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But following a few days of speculation about his status with the program after the season ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament exit, Calipari met with athletics director Mitch Barnhart and the two agreed to carry forward with a 16th season for the long-time Kentucky coach, albeit with some planned changes for the program.

Naturally, then, it’s possible that John Calipari could see a move to another powerful SEC program as a way to reset his coaching clock a bit.

There appears to be a ways to go before anything with Arkansas might become official, though. Bob Holt, in his reporting for the Democrat-Gazette, noted that “one source cautioned a deal that could bring Calipari to Arkansas was far from done.”

The ball is definitely rolling, though.

Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com reports that Kentucky has been notified that Calipari is in negotiations with Arkansas on the job opening. John Calipari’s contract stipulates that he must inform the Wildcats if he entertains other offers formally.

Calipari would certainly offer Arkansas a coach with a tremendous track record of success.

The 65-year-old coach has been in charge of the Kentucky program since the 2009-10 season and he has had a considerable amount of success. That success included a national championship in his third season, in 2012.

The Wildcats have been a regular in the NCAA Tournament but haven’t won the SEC since the 2019-20 season. And the last deep run in March came the year before that, to the Elite Eight.

Those results more recently have left Kentucky fans a little dismayed, leading to the speculation about Calipari’s future with the program. The way things are developing, though, Kentucky may end up with a clean break from Calipari without having to make a difficult — and costly — decision.

Florida went through a similar transition two years ago when coach Mike White opted to leave for Georgia as the fanbase had soured on the overall progress of the program. So far that’s a move that has worked out well for both programs, with Georgia achieving more success under White and Florida reaching the NCAA Tournament this year under new coach Todd Golden.