Bob Huggins Makes Pitch for Louisville Head Coaching Job

The Hall of Fame coach resigned from West Virginia last offseason following back-to-back off-court incidents.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the last several days, there have been a plethora have candidates floated around as to who could take over as the head coach of the Louisville men's basketball program. Bob Huggins is trying make himself one of them.

Speaking with Jerry Eaves on 790 KRD on Wednesday morning, the 70-year-old Naismith Hall of Fame coach made his pitch to become the next coach of the Cardinals, citing his love for the fanbase, his ability to rebuild programs and his overall coaching philosophy.

“I would be really excited to be there," Huggins said. “I would want to be and do what what Coach (Denny) Crum did. I've always had a love for Louisville, believe it or not. I love going to Louisville and playing. I love the fan base, the way the way they embrace the team, the way they they embrace Louisville basketball.

“I think it's a great place. I think it's something that fits me perfectly. Much like Cincinnati did when I got to Cincinnati. I mean Cincinnati was in dire straits when I got there and the city of Cincinnati fell in love with what we did, the way we played, who we played. We weren't afraid. We weren't afraid to play anybody. And I think the people that we brought in to Cincinnati to play were people that ended up being NBA All Stars and I think they appreciated the fact that we didn't hide from anybody. We were gonna play whoever it was. Line them up and let’s go play.

"I think that's the mentality that Louisville people would would like to see. Not running and hiding from people, but rather challenging people. Come on, we're ready. Come on, come try to beat and that's been my philosophy anywhere I’ve ever been.”

While Huggins has the coaching pedigree for a job like Louisville, compiling 935 career wins between stints at Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and most recently West Virginia, he certainly does not fit the criteria established by UofL athletic director Josh Heird. On multiple occasions, Heird has established his desire to bring in a coach without any baggage, which Huggins is certainly not lacking.

Huggins resigned as the head coach of the Mountaineers last June following back-to-back off-court incidents. On May 8, he used homophobic slurs on a Cincinnati radio show while describing fans of Xavier, who is UC's chief rival. On June 16, Huggins was arrested in Pittsburgh and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. A breathalyzer test determined his blood alcohol content to be 0.21 percent, more than two times the legal limit of 0.08. He resigned from WVU the next day.

Huggins noted during his interview with Eaves that he had recently completed a rehab program, and has not had any alcohol in more than 300 days.

After Louisville parted ways with head coach Kenny Payne earlier this month, a multitude of candidates have been established. Baylor head coach Scott Drew and FAU head coach Dusty May were quickly established as Louisville’s top two targets, but Drew announced that he would be staying with the Bears, then May spurned Louisville at the 11th hour for the Michigan job.

Not long after May chose to take the Michigan job, three head coaches - Seton Hall's Shaheen Holloway, College of Charleston's Pat Kelsey and South Florida's Amir Abdur-Rahim -were reported as UofL's next targets to pursue. Additionally, New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino - the son of former UofL head coach Rick Pitino - was also reported to be in the mix.

Louisville officially fired Payne on Mar. 13, one day removed from their season-ending loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament. Payne's tenure at Louisville was nothing short of an abject disaster, going 12-52 record in his two years at his alma mater. This includes 5-35 in regular season ACC games, 1-28 in road/neutral site games and 0-19 in Quad 1 NET games. 

(Photo of Bob Huggins: Vasha Hunt - USA TODAY Sports)

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