NEW YORK, N.Y.— Johnnies fans, fear not — it appears The Godfather is staying put in Queens.
In the wake of ex-Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s surprising [dismissal](https://www.silive.com/knicks/2025/06/knicks-fire-head-coach-tom-thibodeau-after-teams-best-season-in-a-quarter-century.html) — despite guiding New York to its first Conference Finals appearance in 25 years — speculation quickly began swirling about who might replace him.
Among the names floated has been St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino, who emerged as a possible candidate given his New York ties and previous stint as Knicks head coach from 1987-89.
But during an appearance at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday to watch the Bombers take on the Guardians, Pitino took a moment to set the record straight: he’s not going anywhere.
While on the air with Michael Kay of the YES Network, Kay half-jokingly asked Pitino, “The Knick job is open; you want it?” to which Pitino replied, “Absolutely not.”
“I think whoever comes in, if he doesn’t get to the Finals, it’s going to be deemed an unsuccessful season. So whoever comes in has so much pressure on them to take this team to the next level. Because that’s why they’re doing it, obviously, in their minds,” Pitino said of the Knicks’ championship-or-bust mentality.
Pitino went on to detail his own surprise at Thibodeau’s firing, saying that “I think everybody’s kind of shocked. You don’t fire people (who) take you to the Eastern (Conference) Finals. The whole town (was) so excited about the team; they made the decision and they gotta live with it,” he went on.
The Johnnies’ bench boss also expressed his sympathy for Thibodeau, [telling](https://x.com/sny_knicks/status/1930379328547684405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1930379328547684405%7Ctwgr%5E1c749fd8670acc814e9eb231b6fb496d2cae8cb8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnba%2Frick-pitino-feels-bad-tom-thibodeau-after-knicks-firing) reporters before the game that “I feel bad for Thibs because he captured all of New York, built something very, very special...A lot of us don’t comprehend what happened, but Thibs is going to be well taken care of and he’ll move on to other pastures.”
As the Knicks prepare to launch their head coaching search, Pitino will be focused on another season at the helm in Jamaica, aiming to build on last year’s sweep of the Big East regular season and tournament titles.