Rick Pitino’s Iona Season Ended at the N.C.A.A. Tournament. Is a Bigger Job Next?

Pitino, at 70, has become a red-hot commodity among men’s college basketball teams searching for a coach. Although he has long been respected as a great on the court, he was considered toxic just a few years ago: He was ousted by Louisville in 2017 amid an F.B.I. investigation in which two assistant coaches under Pitino were accused of funneling money from the university’s apparel sponsor, Adidas, to high school recruits.

Pitino has long said that he did not know about the scheme, or another involving a staff member soliciting prostitutes and strippers for players and recruits, and he was not penalized when the N.C.A.A. announced discipline in the case in November.

Since then, Pitino has been linked to high-profile jobs at St. John’s, Georgetown and Texas Tech, and even Providence — which he led to the Final Four in 1987 — if its coach, Ed Cooley, were to leave for another job.

Other coaches tinged with scandal have also been hired anew. Will Wade, a former Louisiana State coach who was a key focus of the F.B.I. investigation into bribery in college basketball, was recently hired at McNeese State, with an agreement that included a five-game suspension to start the 2023-24 season. Former Arizona Coach Sean Miller, also a high-profile subject of the investigation, resurfaced at Xavier last season after Arizona parted ways with him in 2021. Chris Beard, fired by Texas in January in the wake of a domestic violence charge, was hired at Mississippi after the charge was dropped.

Though Pitino has joked that he hasn’t been to St. John’s in 30 years and would not “even know how to get there,” the university in Queens that plays in the Big East Conference appears to be the most likely destination if he opts to leave Iona. Pitino has a previous relationship with the St. John’s president, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, and would not have to move from his home on the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/sports/ncaabasketball/iona-rick-pitino.html