Rick Pitino was one of the top head coaches in college basketball, but he was fired by the Louisville Cardinals with just cause amid the FBI’s ongoing investigation into corruption in the sport and reports that Pitino knew of payment to top recruits. Pitino has denied the allegations, but he seems to be coming to grips with the harsh reality.
Pitino was briefly linked to the Rhode Island head coaching vacancy, but during an interview with Dan Patrick he claimed he was never contacted.
Not only did Pitino say he wasn’t in touch with the school, he admitted he will “probably” never receive another head coaching gig in college basketball.
“I’ve only been contacted by one school. It was a nice situation, and we talked and I met with them, but it did not fit for me, and it did not fit for them. And, you know what I’ve realized, Dan, is this is probably not going to work for me in college basketball because one of the schools who was very interested in me called me and said, ‘Look, Coach, you showed us everything that you have from a factual standpoint’ – all of the evidence that I gave The Washington Post.
“And they said, ‘We believe in you wholeheartedly. The problem is, we called the NCAA.’ And the NCAA said we cannot investigate anybody – any school, any person – we can’t tell you if they’re innocent or guilty because the FBI has told us not to investigate until their case is closed. So that’s just the way it is.”
Recently, there were reports that Pitino had reached out to the Milwaukee Bucks to express interest in their head coaching vacancy, so if he is going to return to coaching, it appears that his sights are set high.
Rick Pitino Says He's 'Probably' Never Coaching College Basketball Again
