Could Rick Pitino ditch St. John's to coach the New York Knicks? That seems to be a popular question in the Big Apple this week. 

The Knicks shocked their fans on Tuesday when they relieved Tom Thibodeau of his duties. Most people assumed he'd return for the 2025-26 season considering he just led the franchise to its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years. The front office, however, had other ideas. 

"Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans," Knicks president Leon Rose said. "This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction. We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach." 

Roughly 24 hours after this move was announced, Pitino was asked to share his thoughts on Thibodeau's exit.  

"I feel bad for Thibs because he captured all of New York and built something very, very special," Pitino said. "A lot of us don't comprehend what happened, but Thibs is going to be well taken care of and move on to other passages." 

When asked if he'd be willing to take over the Knicks, the legendary basketball coach replied, "Absolutely not." 

Pitino was an assistant coach for the Knicks from 1983-1985 before earning the head coaching job in 1987. He led the franchise to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 1989.

The thought of Pitino returning to the Knicks is fascinating, but a reunion isn't in the cards. 

Pitino believes the next head coach of the Knicks will deal with an immense amount of pressure right out of the gate. After all, it's championship or bust in New York. 

"I think whoever comes in, if he doesn't get to the Finals, it's going to be deemed an unsuccessful season," Pitino added. "So, whoever comes in has got so much pressure on them to take this team to the next level, 'cause that's why they're doing it, obviously, in their minds."

It'll be interesting to see who the Knicks hire as their next head coach.