Louisville will not be retaining interim coach David Padgett next season, the school announced Wednesday. The 33-year-old coach took over the team before the season began after Rick Pitino was fired in the aftermath of the FBI investigation into payments made to players, and led the Cardinals to 22 wins.  

"They are going in a different direction," Padgett told 247 Sports. "They appreciated my efforts and everything I did with this team and to make it a good situation, obviously they wished me nothing but the best and I feel the same about the university."

Padgett finished 22-14 while also netting a pair of NIT wins, but Louisville's  season wasn't defined by win-loss record.

When he was asked how crazy the season was by 247 Sports, Padgett didn't mince words. "On a scale of one to 10, probably a 25," he said. "All things considered and given the circumstances, everything went pretty well. Did we achieve everything we wanted? No, but the players gave maximum effort from the first practice to the last game and gave me some increased learning experiences. I couldn't ask for a better team to coach and all things consider(ed) I think we (did) a good job."

The Cardinals' season was ended in a rout against Mississippi State in the NIT quarterfinals, 79-56, after they narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament.  

Padgett spent two years as an assistant coach under Pitino, but this season seemed to impress teams seeking coaches. He's been linked to Utah State and Little Rock.

"Now I need to turn my attention to getting another head coaching job somewhere else," he said, per 247 Sports. "I think the experience I've gained this year has put me in the position to land a job as a head coach. Hopefully I can land another head coaching position."

Louisville has already been heavily linked to Xavier coach Chris Mack.