Report: ACC school prepared to lose head coach to Lady Vols
According to a report from Gene Henley of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Louisville Cardinals are prepared to lose head coach Jeff Walz to the Lady Vols at the end of the season. The timing of this report is interesting because Lady Vols head coach Holly Warlick hasn't been fired yet. Though at this […]
According to a report from Gene Henley of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Louisville Cardinals are prepared to lose head coach Jeff Walz to the Lady Vols at the end of the season.
The timing of this report is interesting because Lady Vols head coach Holly Warlick hasn't been fired yet. Though at this point, Warlick's dismissal seems inevitable.
Tennessee was ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend. They also failed to win at least 20 games for the first time since 1976.
If Warlick is fired and Walz is hired to replace her, it would be a tremendously good hire for UT.
Walz, a Kentucky native, has been Louisville's head coach since 2007. During that time, he's compiled a 330-99 record. The Cardinals have been to three Final Fours during that span (2009, 2013 and 2018). Walz also led Louisville to an ACC regular season championship and ACC Tournament championship in 2018.
Of course, just because Louisville is prepared to lose Walz to Tennessee, doesn't mean it will actually happen. Coaching searches are very fluid (as we all learned during the 2017 UT football coaching search) and situations can change a moment's notice.
But it does seem likely that a coaching change will be made. Athletic director Phillip Fulmer knows the history/legacy of Lady Vol basketball as well as anyone and I doubt he's ok with the possibility of that legacy being tarnished because of an underperforming program.
Featured image via Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
