On this day in Boston Celtics history, former head coach and team president Rick Pitino was hired as head coach and general manager of the team in 1997. He had previously coached at the NBA level as a moderately successful head coach of the New York Knicks between 1987 and 1989, and most recently at Kentucky in the NCAA ranks.
His tenure with the Celtics went considerably worse, with the pressure to return to greatness after the longest losing streak in team history undoubtedly a factor in the several questionable ‘win-now’ decisions made by Pitino. The New Yorker would throw in the towel after four seasons with the franchise, amassing a 102-146 record in the regular season, good for a .411 winning percentage.
He never made the postseason in his role as team president and head coach.