Report: Following Oakland’s upset, John Calipari’s future as Kentucky’s head coach will be decided soon.

According to Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio, a decision on John Calipari’s short-term future as the head coach of the Kentucky men’s basketball team could be made really soon.

Two days after Oakland beat the third-seeded Wildcats in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, Jones gave an update on Saturday:

There has been increasing pressure on Calipari.

Although finishing 9-16 and missing the NCAA tournament entirely in 2020–21 was disappointing, it may be explained as an anomaly given the unique circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic. It’s concerning that Kentucky has lost in the first round twice in the past three years, the first time as a No. 2 seed.

Not to add, the time since the Wildcats’ most recent Final Four participation (2015) keeps getting longer.

Calipari is sometimes a victim of his own achievements. In his third season leading the team, Kentucky finished as the national champion, and two seasons later, they finished second. For athletes that wanted to play in the NBA, he made the program resemble a production line.

But Wildcats supporters don’t incorrect for anticipating more in light of the team’s early-2010 performance and the quality Calipari still draws.

According to 247Sports’ composite team rankings for 2023, Kentucky put up the best class. This was meant to be the year Calipari put an end to his growing number of doubters. Rather, the conversation is reaching an intense level.

Should Calipari be fired arbitrarily, the school would be forced to pay a nearly $35 million buyout. That might not be a barrier to changing coaches, according to On3’s Andy Staples.

Considering the wider perspective, Kentucky’s situation may certainly get worse.

Though short-lived, the Billy Gillispie era was nonetheless catastrophic. In his first year, Tubby Smith raised the bar so high that none of his nine seasons after that could quite match it. Fans who are older will remember the situation before to Rick Pitino’s takeover in 1989.

Perhaps the management isn’t deterred by the latest March Madness performance and still has faith in Calipari. It’s unlikely that many fans in the community would agree with that, and it wouldn’t be absurd to assume that Calipari’s time as coach has simply come to an end.