Richard Pitino defends father Rick, says he ‘wants to still coach’

We’ve heard a bit from former Louisville coach Rick Pitino since he was terminated by the Cardinals, but now his son Richard is speaking out about his past and future.

Richard Pitino, the head coach at Minnesota, defended his father, saying all wrongdoing at Louisville would have occurred without Rick Pitino’s knowledge and emphasizing that he’d like to coach again.

“I haven’t spoken much about it because we were still in our season, but I worked for my dad for three years. I know the expectations when you work for him,” Richard Pitino told Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune. “Unfortunately, he had some people that let him down. The tough part of this recent thing is nobody knows how long this FBI stuff is going to take. You see these other universities and schools taking a wait and see approach with those implicated in it. So it’s hard for my dad’s situation because I don’t think anybody knows what the truth is. They would obviously have to believe him. I know 100 percent he had zero to do with any of that stuff. I know 100 percent he wouldn’t in a million years tell anyone to be involved in that stuff. If anyone was ever involved in a NCAA violation of some sort they were doing it without him knowing.

“So I don’t know if he’ll coach next season. It’s going to have to be somebody who believes in him. He’s one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. He wants to still coach. If I’m an AD that has an opening, I think I would be crazy not to consider him.”

Rick Pitino’s innocence is certainly a matter of dispute, to say the least. Given how Richard discussed college jobs, it seems unlikely that New Zealand is on Pitino’s radar at the moment.