SAD NEWS: After quarreling with the head coach star player makes shocking announcement today….

The Louisville Cardinals strongly pursued two head coaches to replace Kenny Payne after he was let go following two disastrous seasons at the helm.

First was Scott Drew, the longtime Baylor coach who announced after private negotiations he is planning to stay in Waco with the Bears for the long term.

Next was Dusty May, the upstart Florida Atlantic coach who led the Owls to the Final 4 last year and an at-large bid this year.

However, May instead took the open position in Ann Arbor at Michigan, sending Louisville back to the drawing board as they try to climb out of the massive hole Payne put them in.

The Cardinals are still a prestigious program with great facilities, a large fan and donor base, in a good basketball conference, and with a desperate athletic department, so they should be able to land a coach with some pedigree who can help turn this thing around.

Below is a look at ten options Louisville should, and likely will, consider during this coaching search now that Drew and May are off the table.

It’s not a surprise to see Cronin’s name on this list, as he worked under Louisville head man Rick Pitino from 2001-2003 and has had massive success elsewhere, including as the head coach at Cincinnati and now at UCLA — leading the Bruins to three straight Sweet 16’s.

This year was a different story, however, as the Bruins finished the regular season 15-16 and 10-10 in the final year of the Pac-12, with Cronin making a lot of headlines discussing his feelings about his team and the school’s lack of NIL funding.