Seventy year old Rick Pitino, the former head coach for the Louisville Cardinals, the University of Kentucky and the current coach of Iona, has had a successful run so far with his Iona team. In his third season, Pitino has led the team to its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years, and his name has been mentioned as a potential candidate for bigger jobs. However, Pitino recently sat down with CBS Sports and said that he doesn’t see himself retiring any time soon.
“I want to coach five or six more years,” Pitino said. “I still exercise like a demon. I still get after it. And as long as you do that, your mind is sharp. I’m still more passionate about it today than I’ve ever been in my life. And again, it’s because I know my window’s closing. I want to do something special, whether it’s at Iona or it doesn’t matter. I want to do something special, and I think we are doing something special.”
This season, Iona has a record of 20-7 overall and 13-3 in MAAC play. Pitino stated that if he were to leave Iona for a bigger job, it would have to be somewhere “really, really special” and have the same type of president that he has at Iona.
Pitino was offered several job opportunities last year, but he turned them down due to his $5 million buyout. Sources indicate that Pitino was referencing Maryland, who hired Kevin Willard, a former Iona coach. CBS Sports also reported that Holy Cross and Rhode Island reached out to Pitino.
“I have no idea what the answer is about where I’ll be or what I’ll do,” Pitino said. “I know I love the place. I know I’m eight minutes away. I know I love Winged Foot. … I do know that there’s certain places and there’s 20 or 30 states where I don’t want to live.”
Pitino and Kentucky’s John Calipari are the only coaches to have reached the Final Four at three different schools. However, Pitino had 123 wins vacated after a scandal at Louisville in 2017. Despite this, Pitino continues to be passionate about coaching and is looking to achieve something special with his team at Iona or elsewhere in the coming years.
