New Mexico men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino, the son of former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, is a candidate for U of L’s coaching vacancy, The Courier Journal confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

Richard Pitino just finished his third season with the Lobos. His team lost to Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Mountain West champions made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years.

Richard Pitino has gone 61-41 in three seasons at New Mexico.

He also has coached Florida International and Minnesota.

A new contender has stepped into the ring for the vacant Louisville men’s basketball head coaching job, and it’s one who Cardinals fans are very familiar with for a multitude of reasons.

New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino “has had conversations with Louisville about its vacant coaching position.

Pitino is coming off of his third season with New Mexico, guiding the Lobos to a 26-10 record while winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

UNM ultimately fell to Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, Pitino is the son of former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, who was in charge of the Cardinals from 2001 to 2017.

Richard also served as an assistant coach at UofL under Rick from 2007 to 2009, and was the associate head coach during Louisville’s 2011-12 Final Four season after a two-year stint as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan.