Richard Pitino reportedly out as candidate in Louisville basketball coaching search
The search for a new Louisville men's basketball head coach led athletics director Josh Heird to a familiar name, Pitino.
It didn't amount to much.
A source on Tuesday confirmed with The Courier Journal multiple reports saying Richard Pitino, son of Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, had emerged as a candidate to succeed Kenny Payne. But on Wednesday morning, reports surfaced saying the younger Pitino is staying at New Mexico and is no longer in contention for the job.
This comes after Heird's pursuits of Baylor's Scott Drew and Florida Atlantic's (now Michigan's) Dusty May fell short. Other popular names floating around the vacancy include Charleston's Pat Kelsey, Seton Hall's Shaheen Holloway, Arkansas' Eric Musselman and Indiana State's Josh Schertz.
Richard Pitino, 41, just finished his third season with the Lobos — his third Division I head-coaching gig. Across 12 years in the business, he owns a 220-178 record and a .553 winning percentage.
In 2023-24, New Mexico went 26-10, won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and broke a March Madness drought dating back to 2014. It earned a No. 11 seed to the Big Dance but fell to sixth-seeded Clemson in the first round.
That was Richard Pitino's third trip to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach. He got there twice during his time at Minnesota but has just one win, against U of L in 2019, to show for it.
The Golden Gophers went 141-123 during his tenure, which included an NIT championship during his inaugural 2013-14 campaign. He won the Big Ten's Coach of the Year award three years later but was fired in 2021 after they failed to finish higher than 10th place in the conference five times across eight seasons.
His ties to the Cardinals are as obvious as they are complicated.
His father succeeded Hall of Famer Denny Crum in 2001, went 416-143 across 16 seasons, reached three Final Fours and won the 2013 national championship; which the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee later ruled had to be vacated as punishment for a scandal involving payments made to strippers and prostitutes to dance for, and have sex with, former players and recruits.
He was fired in 2017 amid another investigation into alleged recruiting violations. But in 2022, an independent NCAA panel exonerated him in the case. Now, he's coaching at St. John's.
Rick Pitino has maintained his desire to stay away from the university. When asked if he would visit in the event the 2013 national championship banner could return to the KFC Yum! Center rafters, he said this: "I love the fans. I think, when they reconcile with (former athletics director) Tom Jurich, then I would possibly consider coming back."
Richard Pitino served on his father's Louisville staff first as an assistant from 2007–09. He spent two seasons working with Billy Donovan at Florida, then returned to the 502 as the Cards' associate head coach for the 2011-12 campaign. He took his first head-coaching job, at Florida International, after it ended.
He graduated from — and was a student manager at — Providence, which is where his father coached before a two-year stint with the New York Knicks led to his arrival in the Bluegrass State in 1989 to take the job at Kentucky.
Other stops on Richard Pitino's coaching journey include assistant roles at Charleston (2004-05), Northeastern (2005-06) and Duquesne (2006-07).
Per New Mexico Athletics, his base salary was $1.1 million for the 2023-24 season. His buyout is set to drop from $1.1 million to $750,000 on April 1.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Richard Pitino reportedly out of Louisville basketball coaching search
