Two Big Ten schools fire coaches
Two Big Ten men’s basketball coaches lost their jobs Monday, including one with a notable surname: Pitino.
Minnesota dismissed Richard Pitino, the son of longtime college men’s basketball coach Rick, according to a report from Stadium.
Richard Pitino might not be out of work for long, as he and former Nebraska coach Tim Miles are finalists for the New Mexico head coaching job, according to the same report.
Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament twice during Pitino’s tenure (2017, 2019); his teams were 141-123 but finished below .500 in back-to-back seasons. The 42-year-old was hired in 2013 after his first season as a head coach at Florida International.
The Gophers didn’t win a road game this season. Pitino won Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2017. After pandemic-related salary cuts, Pitino made $2.19 million this past year.
Earlier Monday, after four years spent struggling to break into the top half of the Big Ten, Indiana fired Archie Miller. He finished his IU career with a 67-58 record, just 33-44 in Big Ten play.
Miller’s buyout was $10.3 million. It’s the 15th richest in the country, per USA TODAY’s coaches salary database. According to the terms of his contract, signed upon his hiring in 2017, Miller would be owed 100% of remaining base, deferred and outside, marketing and promotional income, were he to be terminated without cause before March 31, 2022.
One of the brightest young coaches in the country when he was hired from Dayton, Miller brought big expectations and plenty of hope to Bloomington. He promised a hard-nosed defensive style, a team that attacked relentlessly in transition and a program defined by toughness. And he recruited well, particularly in-state.
But that success too often did not translate to the floor. Miller’s teams struggled badly with consistency, finishing .500 in Big Ten play once in his four seasons in charge and never higher than a tie for sixth. Not once in the past two seasons did Indiana win more than two games consecutively in league play.