Report: Howland 'intrigued' with Rutgers job
Ben Howland might not be out of work for very long.
Howland, the recently fired UCLA men's basketball coach is "intrigued" by the opening at Rutgers, CBSSports.com reported on Saturday. And only days after Rutgers fired Mike Rice, third-party conversations to gauge possible interest on both sides have taken place.
But before Rice's replacement is hired, the school will hire a new athletic director, Rutgers president Robert Barchi said. Tim Pernetti resigned on Friday, a casualty of the Rice video scandal.
Howland already might have strong support among Rutgers boosters because of his ties to the Northeast based on the time he spent coaching Pittsburgh from 1999-2003.
UCLA fired Howland on March 25 after 10 seasons. He had eight winning season and took the Bruins to three straight Final Four appearances.
Rice was fired two days after a video of him using gay slurs and pushing, grabbing and kicking players was made public. Pernetti, who saw the video in November but, at the time, chose only to suspend Rice for three games, resigned Friday.
