A day after The Sports Junkies reported Rick Pitino was at the top of Maryland’s head coach search, Pitino took to Twitter to shoot down the rumors.
The 69-year old Pitino has been the head coach of Iona for the past two seasons. The Gaels won the MAAC conference tournament last season to reach the NCAA Tournament. This season, Iona is in first place of the MAAC and holds a 24-5 overall record.
Wednesday, The Sports Junkies reported donors have been leading the charge in Maryland considering Pitino.
There could be a number of unknown factors behind Pitino quickly removing himself from consideration. A Hall of Fame coach, Pitino ran premier basketball programs, reaching the Final Four with Kentucky, Providence and Louisville.
But his checkered ending at Louisville has played a large part in him coaching a lower-tier program such as Iona.
For a program such as Maryland to hire Pitino, everyone has to be onboard. Maybe Pitino doesn’t want to endure the scrutiny of bringing back up his past? Or maybe there’s a better situation than Maryland that Pitino is searching?
Last month, he was reportedly negotiating a lifetime contract to remain at Iona. He has had a legendary career with over 800 wins. Finishing his career out of the limelight may be more appealing.
