Richard Pitino fired after eight seasons at Minnesota

Head coach Richard Pitino has been let go by Minnesota after eight seasons at the helm, the school announced Monday evening. Pitino was 141-123 overall, went to the NCAA Tournament twice and won a 2014 NIT Championship.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but after evaluating this season and the previous eight years of our program under Richard, it is clear to me that new leadership is needed,” AD Mark Coyle said in a statement. “We have one of the best practice facilities in the nation, a historic competition venue and a state that produces top-caliber talent. This is an extremely attractive job, and we will immediately start a nationwide search for our next head coach.”

Expect Pitino’s name to pop up for any solid mid-major job that opens this Spring, including the New Mexico job that is already available.

For Minnesota, we have already compiled a list of potential candidates as part of our “Let’s Speculate!” series.

credit to Michael Conroy/Associated Press for the image