But the Hall of Famer also says he’s trying to move on with his life.
With the exception of a couple interviews, Rick Pitino has mostly stayed out of the public eye since his official firing from Louisville last month. He’s also been mum about his future plans.
But no more, thanks to an exclusive interview from ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who caught up with Pitino over the weekend.
Pitino said he is working out three times a day in Miami, where he has moved full-time since leaving Louisville. He told ESPN he plans to attend a few upcoming games at Minnesota -- where his son, Richard, is a coach for the Golden Gophers -- including a couple of home Big Ten games.
"If a school, come April, comes to me in Miami and says, 'We believe you. We believe you were innocent,' I would give it a shot," Pitino said. "I don't care about the money, the salary.
"But the way I'm looking at it now is that I've got to get on with a different part of my life -- build a different life that doesn't include coaching. I need to be happy, be content."
Pitino said the difficult part of getting another opportunity in the college coaching ranks is that there isn't a way for him to clear his name and be "fully exonerated."
"It's the first time in 42 years I'm getting up at 6:15 in the morning and not going to work as a coach," Pitino said. "But I'm trying to keep busy, seeing friends."
Pitino added that he’s been spending some time with former Maryland coach Gary Williams, which has been therapeutic.
I still think his next professional foray is into television, but who knows. It’s hard for me to believe that he won’t, at some point, have the opportunity to coach at a relatively high level again.
