5 possible replacements for Rick Pitino at Louisville

3. Tom Crean

Immediately upon the news of Pitino’s dismissal/leave of absence, Crean surfaced as a top candidate at Louisville. He is currently unemployed as a coach after being fired by Indiana last March, so he could take over immediately as an interim coach or more likely the long-term replacement for Pitino.

But Crean took over at Indiana under the cloud of recruiting violations committed by predecessor Kelvin Sampson, with a depleted roster right out of the gate. So the situation at Louisville, with recruits already starting to de-commit and a 2018 recruiting class that now has zero commits,  may simply not appeal to him. Rebuilding Indiana to the level Crean did will look incredibly easy compared to what likely lies ahead at Louisville.

Louisville should have serious interest in Crean, since he can theoretically step in right away and he comes with instant credibility as a big name. But it’s still unclear if that interest will be (or is?) at all mutual, and Crean may just sit out a year, work as an analyst and wait for another coaching opportunity to inevitably come his way.