Report: Richard Pitino would 'highly consider' leaving Xavier for Providence job if open

Xavier head coach Richard Pitino would “highly consider” leaving the school for Providence, should the job open. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported the possibility on Tuesday.

The son of Hall of Famer and current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino is in his first season with Xavier. Previously, Richard Pitino led New Mexico from 2021-25 following his nine-year stint with Minnesota.

Ironically, Xavier (13-14) hits the road to take on Providence (12-15) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Due to the Friars’ struggles, current Providence head coach Kim English has been under fire.

Pitino never coached at Providence, but attended the university and earned a Bachelor’s degree in 2005. He served as the team’s manager under Tim Welsh and coached high school basketball. He began his college coaching career in 2004 at Charleston.

A return for Pitino would make sense, considering it’s his alma mater. Not to mention the fact that his father, Rick Pitino, was successful in his two seasons as head coach (1986 and ’87), including a Final Four run in the latter season.

Richard Pitino is 260-200 in his head coaching career with FIU, Minnesota, New Mexico and Xavier. He led New Mexico to a Mountain West Tournament title in 2024 and a regular season title in ’25. In those years, he led the Lobos to the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 and Round of 32, respectively.

While at Minnesota, Richard Pitino and the Gophers won the NIT in 2014, his first year on the job. But, they only made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and ’19, only getting as far as the Round of 32 in the latter year. He went 141-123 as head coach of the Gophers before getting fired.

So if he follows his father’s footsteps at Providence, it could be quite the pairing next season. Richard recently praised his father for 900 career wins, but conceded Rick would have more if he were at Kentucky his entire career.

“I’m happy for him that he won 900,” Richard Pitino said. “I think he’s the best coach to ever coach college basketball. He’d have a lot more if he had stayed at Kentucky.

“But when your dad is 73, you just want him to be healthy and happy. We all are reminded way too much of how short life is. So to see him doing great, coaching, being celebrated at St. John’s, that’s all I care about. It keeps him young. I hope he continues to coach. He’s a phenomenal coach, but I’m really, really lucky to have him as a father.”