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Rick Pitino rumors are going to be a fact of life as long as he’s coaching at Iona, and one popped up on Wednesday afternoon.
The Sports Junkies, a radio program on 106.7 The Fan in the Washington D.C. area, reported that Maryland is “heavily pursuing” Pitino for their head coaching vacancy.
“We’re not saying Rick is the guy [yet],” host Jason Bishop said. “We’re just saying that Maryland really likes Pitino. He’s their top dog.”
Pitino is a logical candidate for a legacy program such as Maryland looking to climb back into national relevance. His track record speaks for itself, and he’s done a good job of rebuilding his reputation at Iona after the fallout from the escort scandal that led to his exit from Louisville.
Whether Pitino would want to go to Maryland, and whether Maryland’s administration would be willing to look past his history, are the two obvious questions at play. Pitino was directly asked by The Post’s Zach Braziller in January about the possibility of leaving Iona, saying he’s “full bore” to stay at the school next year.
He did, however, leave the door open to eventually leaving for another job.
“My goal is to finish my career at Iona. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t entertain to be an NBA coach again,” Pitino told Braziller. “I can’t say [I won’t coach at another college], because then you look like a liar if you ever do. My total motive is to stay here. I’m a New Yorker. I want to end my career in New York. I live in a place I want to live. But you never know.”
Iona is on its way to a second straight MAAC regular-season title, holding a 16-2 conference record with two regular-season games left.
Pitino, who reached the NCAA Tournament with the Gaels last season, isn’t the only local coach to be linked to the Maryland job. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard’s name has been widely circulated since the Terrapins fired Mark Turgeon early on this season.
Maryland, currently 14-15, is well outside of the NCAA Tournament picture as it finishes up its season under interim coach Danny Manning.
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