Despite a career still firing on all cylinders, Rick Pitino made a brief nod to retirement at this week’s Big East Conference Media Day.
Pitino’s tenure at St. John’s Red Storm has been nothing short of a renaissance. The program that once struggled to find its footing now stands atop the conference, picking up its first outright Big East regular-season title in decades and earning an unprecedented high national ranking heading into the 2025-26 season. With that kind of momentum, the idea of Pitino stepping away seems premature to most observers.
Still, the public nature of his musings invites speculation.
What Did Rick Pitino Say About Retirement?
During Tuesday’s Big East Media Day, New York Post Sports shared a clip of Rick Pitino addressing how long he plans to continue coaching.
“I think my time is coming to an end,” Pitino said.
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His son, Richard Pitino, Xavier’s head coach, responded to the comment on social media. He assured fans they have nothing to worry about and that the St. John’s head coach’s sentiment is merely temporary.
“I get it. Big East Media Day makes me want to retire too,” Richard wrote on X, empathizing with his father. “He will snap out of it once he’s done for the day.”
While at 73, Pitino is indeed in the last lap of his coaching career, he has shared in the not-so-distant past that he is not interested in calling it a day yet.
In an August interview with Jon Rothstein on CBS Sports College Basketball, Pitino said he wanted to complete his six-year contract with St. John’s. He dismissed any possibility of coaching in the NBA again but said he would coach in the EuroLeague if the opportunity presented itself.
St. John’s Athletic Director Ed Kull recently said that the school is willing to go to any lengths to retain Pitino.
“From my perspective, we’re going to do anything and everything it takes to keep Rick Pitino here,” he said, according to New York Post Sports. “Whatever it takes, you have my word, we’re keeping Rick Pitino here.
“We are committed to Rick Pitino ending his career here. At the end of the day, it’s his terms, his timeline, but we are fully committed that this is his last stop.”
In the same interview with Rothstein, Pitino also shared a conversation with Richard about retirement. During that chat, his son asked him what he would do once he retired, which made Pitino realize he didn’t have an answer.
“If I’m without basketball, I think I would age considerably,” Pitino confessed.
