Pitino to New Mexico

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Holy Man said:
That’s not the way these things typically work. You don’t normally get to double dip and take both a severance/buyout and the new salary. Typically the out the door package is adjusted by what any new job would pay. The seeking employment clause is a good one as it prevents them from sitting in the living room for a few years on our dime. But it is highly unlikely he gets both complete buyout and a new salary.
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That makes a lot of sense. I buy this. Thanks!

So we're still gonna need to give him $1M, for the first year then, because I think MWC jobs pay in that $750k range.
 


Just from a purely employment perspective, not missing a beat in D1 basketball as a head coach....astounding. I know it was speculated that it might happen, but still blows me away.
 




MplsGopher said:
Do you have a source that confirms this. If so, fine. But if not ... I don't see why Pitino wouldn't still be owed the 1.75 from the U.

Bo Pelini was still paid (a considerable part of) his buyout when he went to Youngstown State the next season.
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Already been posted a couple of places. Not going to take the time to find it. just Look around.
 

A little surprised he was able to get a new gig so quickly but not surprised he got one. Seems like a good guy so hopefully this stop works out well for him.
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
Miles would have been the better fit, given he has already been successful in that conference
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Maybe the problem was New Mexico tried to hire him away from NE in 2017. He either turned them down flat and/or NM couldn't match his salary requests.

Would have been very embarrassing for the Lobos if he turned them down again.
 




Iceland12 said:
Maybe the problem was New Mexico tried to hire him away from NE in 2017. He either turned them down flat and/or NM couldn't match his salary requests.

Would have been very embarrassing for the Lobos if he turned them down again.
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Miles reportedly interviewed for this NM opening, the day before Pitino did.

Wild speculation is that Richard got the job because NM AD has good relationship with Donovan. And also of course because of his father.
 

Iceland12 said:
Maybe the problem was New Mexico tried to hire him away from NE in 2017. He either turned them down flat and/or NM couldn't match his salary requests.

Would have been very embarrassing for the Lobos if he turned them down again.
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Then why would they interview him at all?
 

MplsGopher said:
That makes a lot of sense. I buy this. Thanks!

So we're still gonna need to give him $1M, for the first year then, because I think MWC jobs pay in that $750k range.
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It seems to me that if Pitino wanted to stick it to the U he could have not taken NM job and gotten the 1.75 buy out.
 




Last night on his Twitter post, there were already lots of people running with Pitino to The Pit.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Just from a purely employment perspective, not missing a beat in D1 basketball as a head coach....astounding. I know it was speculated that it might happen, but still blows me away.
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It's tough for Gopher fans to accept, but there is a lot to like about hiring a 38 year old, who has 8 years of Big Ten coaching experience. And as many on this board are warming up to, he is very good (at least above average) as a spokesperson for a program, etc. It's the fact that the 8 years were on Gophers dime/time, that makes it more difficult, but doesn't change he's 38, personable, and if you look at this year alone, I was pleasantly surprised how he pulled a decent roster out of what was looking super dim one year ago. His lack of depth killed him and accentuated his weaknesses on coaching (in-game, adjustments, etc.). All the stuff that's already been discussed.
 

dlnavra said:
It's tough for Gopher fans to accept, but there is a lot to like about hiring a 38 year old, who has 8 years of Big Ten coaching experience. And as many on this board are warming up to, he is very good (at least above average) as a spokesperson for a program, etc. It's the fact that the 8 years were on Gophers dime/time, that makes it more difficult, but doesn't change he's 38, personable, and if you look at this year alone, I was pleasantly surprised how he pulled a decent roster out of what was looking super dim one year ago. His lack of depth killed him and accentuated his weaknesses on coaching (in-game, adjustments, etc.). All the stuff that's already been discussed.
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If he can get San Diego State talent to ABQ, then he should do well there.

Any coach can look great when your players are just better than your opponents. He couldn't do that here.
 

dlnavra said:
It's tough for Gopher fans to accept, but there is a lot to like about hiring a 38 year old, who has 8 years of Big Ten coaching experience. And as many on this board are warming up to, he is very good (at least above average) as a spokesperson for a program, etc. It's the fact that the 8 years were on Gophers dime/time, that makes it more difficult, but doesn't change he's 38, personable, and if you look at this year alone, I was pleasantly surprised how he pulled a decent roster out of what was looking super dim one year ago. His lack of depth killed him and accentuated his weaknesses on coaching (in-game, adjustments, etc.). All the stuff that's already been discussed.
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Yeah, just putting it in a sentence and reading it, have to agree.
 

Good for him. He is a good man, runs a clean program, his players do NOT quit on him (comments on this board notwithstanding), he is personable, he can take criticism and in many/all respects is a model citizen. He has work to do as a coach - offensive scheme, in-game adjustments, use of timeouts ;-), identifying and closing on recruiting targets and development of depth.

That said - again comments here notwithstanding - he was a decent coach and, despite a very bad conference record, there were some good moments during his tenure, including top 5 wins, wins over the #1 team in the country, an NIT championship, 5 seed in NCAA tournament, most (non-vacated!!!!) season wins in school history, an NCAA win and development of some very, very good players, who were very fun to watch (Mason, Coffey, Oturu, et al).

I thank you for your service and representing our university with both class and sass. I truly wish it had worked out better, but there is time for you to improve and become the coach you want to be. This could be a required step for both our program and you personally to get where we all want to be. Good luck and thank you, Sir.
 


PhiloVance said:
It seems to me that if Pitino wanted to stick it to the U he could have not taken NM job and gotten the 1.75 buy out.
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There is really no reason for Pitino to have bad feelings toward the U of M. He has been around coaching his whole life so he knows how the business works. The U gave him 8 years and the overall level of success he produced in that time wasn't high enough to warrant letting him continue here.

Him going to New Mexico seems like best case scenario for everyone. He gets a fresh start, the U gets out of the buyout and everyone moves on.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Then why would they interview him at all?
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MplsGopher said:
Miles reportedly interviewed for this NM opening, the day before Pitino did.

Wild speculation is that Richard got the job because NM AD has good relationship with Donovan. And also of course because of his father.
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Only New Mexico knows for sure. Maybe NM wanted a back-up option. Maybe they wanted somebody younger. Maybe boosters involved in '17 were still disgruntled. Maybe the interview didn't even take place. Miles himself denied that he was interviewed in '17. Wouldn't be surprised if he did it again now.

Rumors are just that. Rumors. You both follow BB. College and/or pro, NO sport has more baseless rumors or deflections than basketball!
 


MplsGopher said:
That makes a lot of sense. I buy this. Thanks!

So we're still gonna need to give him $1M, for the first year then, because I think MWC jobs pay in that $750k range.
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Unless something was negotiated away, that’s probably the case. I’ve never been involved in seven figure severance deals before but I do think there is often negotiations that don’t leave the former employer holding the bag for all of it. Agreement to be nice in public and such.
 

MinnGopher said:
Always so positive. You really think this was a bad hire for New Mexico? lol
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Do you really think it's such a good one?

New Mexico is not a team without some history of success. Here are the overall winning percentages of some of their coaches:

Steve Alford (2008-2013): .749
Dave Bliss (1989-1999): .695 (yes, I know he had some major issues in his career)
Norm Ellenberger (1973-1979): .684

The following NM players have played in the NBA (for at least a short time) this century:

Kenny Thomas
Tony Snell
Daniel Santiago
Alex Kirk
Darington Hobson
Danny Granger
J.R. Giddens
Cameron Bairstow

We have one fewer on our list.
 

MplsGopher said:
I thought the deal was that Pitino just had to seek comparable employment in order to get the 1.75M buyout. So since he interviewed for NM, he is now eligible to get it.

But I don't know how actually landing the job affects that, if at all.

I would assume he still gets it.
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He does not get it, per his contract. He has a comparable job "head D1 mens basketball coach" so the buyout is null and void, per people in the know.
 

EQ - Richard knows how to present himself well and connect with people - that often wins the day!

I'm happy for him - really like him as a person and how proud he is of his family. Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and improves moving forward!
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
He does not get it, per his contract. He has a comparable job "head D1 mens basketball coach" so the buyout is null and void, per people in the know.
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Either this is true, which I could believe if it gets reported by a reputable source, or like what Holy Man said in posts #29 and #54.
 

dlnavra said:
It's tough for Gopher fans to accept, but there is a lot to like about hiring a 38 year old, who has 8 years of Big Ten coaching experience. And as many on this board are warming up to, he is very good (at least above average) as a spokesperson for a program, etc. It's the fact that the 8 years were on Gophers dime/time, that makes it more difficult, but doesn't change he's 38, personable, and if you look at this year alone, I was pleasantly surprised how he pulled a decent roster out of what was looking super dim one year ago. His lack of depth killed him and accentuated his weaknesses on coaching (in-game, adjustments, etc.). All the stuff that's already been discussed.
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Great points. There are about 300ish D1 HC jobs in basketball. This is far different than football, where often if a HC fails, they go back to being an assistant somewhere else. If you are an AD at a mid-major, would you rather hire 1. A guy with previous HC experience on the biggest stage in D1? 2. A guy who has been an assistant for a P6 team? 3. A guy with previous HC experience at a smaller school?

All ADs are different, but that value of dealing with the pressure of running a program under a spotlight like there is in the Big Ten AND also having coached in the NCAA tournament a couple times, cannot be underestimated. The other factor is that New Mexico has a passionate fan base and college hoops IS the main game in ABQ, so they needed someone with top-level experience and a bit of a splashy name to get people excited again.
 


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