Nine Louisville basketball coach candidates to replace Chris Mack, from Kenny Payne to Bruce Pearl

Chris Mack appears to be on the way out at Louisville.

According to multiple reports, the school and Mack are working toward a separation agreement that could be reached Wednesday. Mack was suspended for the first six games of this season for violating school guidelines during an investigation of former assistant coach Dino Gaudio.

Louisville is also working with an interim athletic director in Josh Heird, who replaced Vince Tyra in December. The school also does not have a full-time president.

That is quite the mess. On the court, Mack had a 68-37 record and 38-23 mark in ACC play. The Cardinals are 11-9 overall and in eighth place in what is considered a down year in the ACC. Interim coach Mike Pegues will be in charge of turning things around.

DECOURCY: Pearl would be crazy to take Louisville job

So, who is next for the program? Sporting News breaks down some possible candidates for what will be an unpredictable search given the instability inside the athletic department and the school.

Louisville Cardinals coaching candidates

Kenny Payne, NY Knicks assistant coach

Payne played on Louisville’s 1986 national championship team under Denny Crum, and he was an assistant for Kentucky coach John Calipari from 2010-20. The 55-year-old jumped to the NBA, where he has been an assistant for New York the last two seasons. Those close-to-home ties would make Payne the make-sense candidate, and the program would make history by hiring its first African-American coach.

Scott Davenport, Bellarmine coach

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde also hashed out the case for Davenport , who has won 386 games at Division 2 Bellarmine in Louisville since taking over in 2005. Davenport is a Louisville native who played for the Cardinals and was an assistant under both Denny Crum and Rick Pitino. The Knights made the move to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2020, and they are currently in second place in the ASun West. Davenport, 64, would be a safe hire with a lifetime-achievement feel to it, but that might be what the program needs.

Bruce PearlAuburn coach

Scan Louisville message boards, and this is among the popular picks. Auburn is the No. 1 in the AP Poll now, and Pearl, 61, has won at every stop. That said, he served a three-year show-cause penalty after his exit from Tennessee, and Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person was fired in 2014 as part of the FBI’s college basketball investigation. Louisville has been in the NCAA cross-hairs since the end of the Rick Pitino era, too.

Nate Oats, Alabama coach

Oats would be an outsider of sorts, but the 47-year-old might be ready for the level up. He led Buffalo to three NCAA tournament appearances in four years from 2015-18, and Alabama was a No. 2 seed and made a Sweet 16 run in last year’s tournament. It took Oats just two years to complete that turnaround, and he will continue to be a candidate for blue-blood jobs when they come open.

Kelvin Sampson, Houston coach

Sampson also had a five-year show-cause penalty stemming from NCAA infractions during his time at Indiana, but there is no question the redemption at Houston has been impressive. The Cougars reached the Final Four last season and haven’t missed a beat in 2021-22 despite major injury issues. Would Sampson, 66, entertain one last shot on the big stage in the ACC if called?

Steve Forbes, Wake Forest coach

Forbes, 56, is quite the story. After getting fired at Tennessee as a member of Pearl’s staff that violated NCAA rules, he took his first college head coaching job at the junior college ranks, and he led Northwest Florida State to back-to-back NJCAA national championship appearances from 2011-13 . He had a 130-43 record in five seasons with East Tennessee State, and Wake Forest has made an impressive turnaround in his second season. Louisville beat Wake Forest 73-69 on Dec. 29.

Mike Boynton, Oklahoma State coach

Boynton, 40, is one of the up-and-coming coaches in the Big 12. The Cowboys are ineligible for postseason play this year. Boynton did get Cade Cunningham to play at Oklahoma State, and that led to an NCAA tournament run last season. Would Boynton be able to handle the level up? He does have a 31-41 record in Big 12 play.

Buzz Williams, Texas A&M coach

Williams has shown no qualms about moving around. He’s coached at Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M since 2008, and he’s on pace for his 10th season of at least 20 wins over the last 15 years. Williams knows the ACC and put together an impressive run with the Hokies, and he would be able to replicate that at a minimum with the resources at Louisville. Williams had a .668 winning percentage at Marquette, the highest of his three stops. The Cardinals could work with that.

Ed Cooley, Providence Coach

Cooley, 52, is in his 11th season with Providence. The Friars are poised to make a move in the NCAA tournament this season. Providence made five consecutive tournament appearances from 2013-17. This would not be a flashy hire, but Cooley is a no-nonsense choice that could work out.