John Calipari rumored to join SEC rival

The Kentucky Wildcats have failed on multiple occasions under head coach John Calipari to produce when it has mattered in the NCAA Tournament. This has caused a divide between Calipari and many Kentucky fans. And now, there are even speculation that an SEC rival could be closing in on potentially hiring Calipari as their new head coach.

Former Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman recently departed for the vacant USC head coaching job, which created a vacancy at Arkansas.

Arkansas has quickly looked to find a head coaching replacement, already scheduling multiple interviews with different candidates for the job.

And on Sunday night, speculation began about Calipari potentially departing for the job after multiple reports emerged that linked Calipari to the Arkansas opening.

Multiple sources are telling me Arkansas has zeroed in on John Calipari. Barring any last minute issues, I expect him to be the Razorbacks new head coach. pic.twitter.com/L9BSQHFzqW

— Wess Moore (@Wess_Moore) April 8, 2024

Watch this space. My phone has been blowing up on Cal/Arkansas talk all day. I will say this: He has always held the Arkansas job in high regard. https://t.co/sV5edy2ThM

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 8, 2024

Right now, nothing has been made official about this potential move. But it sure seems like there is fuel to this fire about this rumor.

It would be quite a shock for a coach like Calipari to depart this way from Kentucky. Even though Calipari has struggled to have his teams reach expectations in recent years, he has fielded some great teams in the past and did bring the program a National Championship in 2012.

For Kentucky to lose a coach like Calipari would hurt the program in one major way. He has been an excellent recruiter over the years, frequently bringing in talent that went on to have excellent careers at the professional level.

Calipari’s problem has been in coaching these talented players up at the collegiate level. But now, Arkansas could quickly become the dominant program in college basketball when it comes to recruiting if Calipari does indeed end up leaving for the Arkansas coaching job.

[Wess Moore]