Louisville and head coach Chris Mack will reportedly part ways

The Chris Mack era at Louisville has come to a predictable end.

According to The Athletic’s Seth Davis, Mack, who has been the head coach of the Louisville Men’s Basketball team since 2018, will part ways with the program pending a Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning. Negotiations of a separation are currently in the final stage.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reports that UL assistant coach Mike Pegues is expected to take over as interim head coach beginning with the Cardinals’ home matchup against No. 9 Duke this Saturday.

A source has confirmed to ⁦@TheAthletic⁩ that Chris Mack and Louisville are finalizing a separation agreement pending Board approval tomorrow.

Louisville, coach Chris Mack negotiating final stages of separation agreement: Source

via @TheAthletic https://t.co/E3utpxJA9Y

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) January 25, 2022

According to Dominique Yates of WLKY, Louisville is interested in four potential candidates to replace Mack: New York Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, LSU head coach Will Wade, and Alabama head coach Nate Oats. Payne is a former Wildcat assistant to Kentucky head coach John Calipari who also played four years at UL from 1985-89. Yates reports that Payne is showing strong interest while Pearl “wants it badly”.

Mack was hired as the head coach at Louisville ahead of the 2018-19 season, posting an overall record of 68-37 (38-23 in ACC play) with one NCAA Tournament appearance under his belt that resulted in a Round of 64 finish.

He’ll be relieved of his duties with a poor 11-9 record halfway through the 2021-22 season, where his Cards have dropped five of its previous six outings. Mack was initially suspended for six games ahead of this season for his role in the Dino Gaudio extortion case.

Mack will leave Louisville with a 1-2 record against Kentucky. It’s almost a shame to see him go. His players probably won’t mind, though.