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Report: Less than 24 hours after being fired by Minnesota, Richard Pitino lands new head coaching job
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Richard Pitino was only without a job for a few hours. Literally.
The head basketball coach was fired by Minnesota on Monday night after eight seasons with the program. Athletic director Mark Coyle released a statement and Pitino sent out his farewell message to the fans via a post on social media.
But by the time Pitino woke up on Tuesday morning, he had a new job. According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Pitino has been hired to be the next head basketball coach at New Mexico.
BREAKING: New Mexico has hired former Minnesota coach Richard Pitino, sources told @Stadium.
Pitino was officially unemployed for about 12 hours or so.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 16, 2021
Pitino was the head coach at Minnesota from 2013-21, compiling a 141-123 record over eight seasons. He guided the Gophers to three postseason appearances — winning the NIT championship in 2014 and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2019.
Before being named the head coach at Minnesota, Pitino was at FIU for one season. His team finished with an 18-14 record and an 11-9 mark in Sun Belt play.
New Mexico parted ways with previous head coach Paul Weir, who was the leader of the program for the past four seasons. The Lobos finished 6-16 during the 2020-21 season and Weir’s record was 58-63 in four seasons with no postseason appearances.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB