Can Louisville pry Scott Drew from Baylor? If so, N.I.L. may play a key role

Scott Drew has emerged as Louisville's No. 1 target to replace Kenny Payne .... Is he finally ready to move out of Waco and rebuild a traditional college basketball power?

Louisville’s miserable 2023-24 season is almost over. So is Kenny Payne’s disastrous tenure. Now, a once-proud power begins search for a new coach capable of restoring the Cardinals to college basketball glory. 

Baylor coach Scott Drew, by most accounts, is the top target on Louisville athletic director Josh Heird’s list. 

This is most important to understand: Louisville is down, way down. The program has taken one negative blow after another for the better part of the past decade. But this is still LOUISVILLE. And whenever this job is available, unless Kentucky, North Carolina or Kansas also are available, Louisville will be the most coveted job on the market by qualified college basketball coaches. 

Louisville might not be a Top 5 program all-time, but the job Heird will formally offer someone in the coming days definitely is widely considered one of the Top 5 ‘jobs’ in college basketball. 

There are many reasons Denny Crum and Rick Pitino, both Hall of Famers, called Louisville home for decades. Same for Peck Hickman long ago. Louisville has everything — elite facilities, passionate, loyal fanbase, N.I.L. warchest, and ACC conference affiliation —  an ambitious coach needs to win N.C.A.A. titles and cement Hall of Fame status. Denny Crum did it. So did Rick Pitino. 

It may not appear so, but Louisville’s next coach (Scott Drew?) is walking into an ideal situation. It’s often said a coach doesn’t want to follow a legend. Pitino has been gone a long time and Louisville supporters are desperate for a great coach to take the reins and remake the program into a national contender. If I were Scott Drew I’d be licking my chops about the possibility of following Chris Mack and Kenny Payne at Louisville. It’s perfectly teed up for a coach of Drew’s caliber to drive the green, so to speak.

That’s why Drew, who has milked Baylor for all its worth, is entertaining the idea of finally making a major move and take on a new challenge. Drew fits exactly what Louisville needs leading its program. Baylor’s program was in worse shape than Louisville finds itself today. His rebuilding job in Waco has been absolutely remarkable, taking the Bears from criminal scandal and N.C.A.A. issues to a national title a few years ago. 

The key question: Will Drew ever leave Baylor? It’s a question I’ve been asking around to industry sources for weeks and based on those responses I definitely think he might. 

Here’s the main reason why Drew might be ready to bolt Baylor for Louisville: N.I.L.