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The Kentucky Wildcats (most recent #2 seed to lose to a #15)

Buyout would cost them $33MM. That's a lot of $$ to pay someone not to coach. That, coupled with a coaching crop of potential replacements that is pretty damn weak makes it a tough situation for big blue. You just hate to see it.
These lifetime contracts for college coaches don't seem to work out. Cal obviously doesn't have any incentive to grind harder than others and give maximum effort. I recall Jim Valvano's autobiography - after being pressured out of coaching NC State - "They gave me a lifetime contract and then they declared me dead." The moral of the story is the school will find a way to get rid of you if they really want, no matter what the contract says.
 
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These lifetime contracts for college coaches don't seem to work out. Cal obviously doesn't have any incentive to grind harder than others and give maximum effort. I recall Jim Valvano's autobiography - after being pressured out of coaching NC State - "They gave me a lifetime contract and then they declared me dead." The moral of the story is the school will find a way to get rid of you if they really want, no matter what the contract says.
Oh, I'm sure they can get rid of him, but eating $33MM is a lot to swallow. I'd imagine some big money boosters would have to step in to take some big bites of it. This tweet with the breakdown of the before/after the lifetime contract is telling. Cal was never a great in game coach/tactician. He always just recruited the best talent and beat teams on that disparity. While he still is bringing in top classes every year, the gap between UK and everyone else has narrowed in recent years. Six, seven, eight years ago his classes would commonly have four or five 5* kids...sometimes al top-10 ranked...now he's typically getting two or three. That's not creating enough of a talent gap to overcome his coaching ability, or lack thereof.

 
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If Calipari leaves, who are you betting on to replace him at Kentucky?

Odds To Be Kentucky’s Next Basketball Coach​

Coach Current Job Odds Implied Probability
Dan Hurley UConn +200 33.3%
Jay Wright Former Villanova coach +400 20%
Shaka Smart Marquette +600 14.3%
Brad Underwood Illinois +1000 9.09%
T.J. Otzelberger Iowa State +1250 7.4%
Scott Drew Baylor +1500 6.25%
Bruce Pearl Auburn +2000 4.8%
Lamont Paris South Carolina +3000 3.2%
Amir Abdur-Rahim South Florida +4000 2.4%
Rick Pitino St. John's +6000 1.6%
Kevin Ollie interim Nets coach +9000 1%
The Field +900 10%
Odds provided by BetKentucky.com and not available at Kentucky betting apps.
 
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Billy Donovan on Kentucky job opening: Committed to Bulls​

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he has not had any contact with the University of Kentucky about its men's basketball coaching vacancy and reiterated his commitment to the Bulls prior to the team's game Tuesday night loss to the New York Knicks.

"I have not been contacted by anybody, I haven't spoken to anybody," Donovan told reporters, adding that his answer would remain the same even if he was contacted. "My total commitment and focus is here to this team and to this group."
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However, Donovan left the college ranks to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 before joining the Bulls in 2020. And while he didn't shut out a return to college at some point in his career, he indicated he was content coaching in the NBA.

"I'm happy here at this level," Donovan said. "I know I enjoy coaching and I know I enjoy coaching in the NBA."

Donovan has two years remaining on his contract after this season. The Bulls are 37-42 and headed for the 9/10 play-in matchup in the Eastern Conference, trying to secure the No. 9 seed and home-field advantage in that winner-take-all matchup. Donovan is 154-161 in his career in Chicago, but sources told ESPN the Bulls are happy with the coaching job he has done all season, helping the team bounce back from a 5-14 start.

"I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and battling through some of the things they've had to battle through," Donovan said. "I'm with them on that. I'm committed to them with that. A lot of this stuff turns out to be speculation."
 
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