INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 19: Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Rick Pitino Reportedly UCLA Boosters' Top Target for Head Coach Job

Adam WellsJan 4, 2019

If UCLA boosters get their way, Rick Pitino will be the next head coach for the Bruins basketball team.

Per Forbes' Adam Zagoria, multiple "influential" UCLA boosters are targeting the Basketball Hall of Famer to take over the program.

Casey Wasserman, whom Zagoria noted had a hand in the hiring of Chip Kelly as football coach, is among the boosters pushing for Pitino to be hired.

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UCLA is in the market for a new head coach after firing Steve Alford on Monday after a four-game losing streak dropped the team's record to 7-6.

Pitino hasn't coached in the United States since being fired by Louisville in October 2017. The 66-year-old lost his job after being implicated in a pay-for-play investigation conducted by the FBI that resulted in four assistant coaches at four different schools and an Adidas executive being arrested.

Panathinaikos B.C. of the EuroLeague hired Pitino as its head coach in December. He won his first game with the team on Dec. 28.