Report: FIU Coach Heading To Minnesota

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida International University will soon be searching for a head basketball coach for the second time in two years. Current head coach Richard Pitino has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to become the next coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, according to CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman.

According to the Associated Press, two people with knowledge of the hiring said Pitino engaged in negotiations with Minnesota on Wednesday.

Pitino took the Florida International Panthers to an 18-14 record in his first year with the school. It was the team's first winning season in 13 years. At just 31-years-old, Pitino fits the young, up-and-coming coach Minnesota was looking for to replace Tubby Smith.

Smith was fired last week after six seasons with the Gophers. Smith has since been hired at Texas Tech University.

Besides the FIU job, Pitino has previous assistant coaching experience at Louisville under his father Rick Pitino and at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan.

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