Report: Kenny Payne no longer a ‘lock’ to get Louisville job

When Louisville parted ways with Chris Mack earlier this season, one name immediately stood out as a strong candidate to get the Cardinals’ head job: Kenny Payne.

Payne, who is currently an assistant with the New York Knicks, has the reputation of an elite recruiter from his time with John Calipari at Kentucky. He also played for Louisville from 1985-89.

However, according to the folks at the Field of 68 After Dark podcast

, Payne is no longer considered a “lock” to get the job.

“Less confident than I was like three weeks ago,” college basketball insider Jeff Borzello said when asked about his thoughts on Payne landing the gig. “I’m sure you heard the same thing that it was going to be Kenny Payne within two weeks. He was there, he was interviewed, all these rumors spreading as soon as the job opened. And nothing happened.

“There’s just a lot of whispers about other people h

aving interest or the school having interest in some people and maybe Kenny’s not as interested as people make it seem … And I’m not saying he’s not going to end up getting the job but he doesn’t seem like a lock to get it.”

Borzello and fellow college basketball insider Jeff Goodman speculated that UCLA’s Mick Cronin’s potential interest is what could be causing the delay. Cronin has excelled at UCLA, but is from Cincinnati and was an assistant at Louisville from 2001-03.

“I think it’s Kenny Payne or Mick Cronin,” Goodman added.

Louisville is expected to make a hire in the coming weeks.