Getty Image / David Purdy
There’s no doubt that Bob Huggins is one of the best college basketball coaches of his era. With 935 wins, few have won as consistently as Huggins.
But, Bob Huggins was let go from his alma mater, West Virginia, last summer after he was arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and had previously been caught making alleged insensitive comments on a radio program. Now, the 70-year-old says he wants to coach again.
Huggins had a blood-alcohol level of a .210 when pulled over in Pittsburgh last year. A .210 is nearly three times the Pennsylvania legal limit of 0.08. According to reports, he did not know where he was when arrested in June 2023.
That was enough for West Virginia to essentially force Bob Huggins to retire, considering he had also made controversial statements about those of the Catholic faith and members of the LGBTQ+ community in May 2023.
On Monday, during an interview with Pittsburgh radio station KDKA, Huggins proclaimed that he would be open to returning to coaching, and maybe even at West Virginia if leadership changed.
Huggins on if WVU will give him another chance
"If there's a change in leadership, yeah." https://t.co/u60byXzAMZ
— Ethan Bock (@ethanbock_) March 18, 2024
Here’s the problem for Bob Huggins. At 70-years-old, and a ton of baggage, who is going to hire Bob Huggins. I understand that college athletic departments can and will overlook pretty much anything short of murder. But, given his age and the fact that they won one NCAA Tournament game in his last five seasons (one NCAA appearance cancelled due to COVID) it’s not clear if he’s even an elite coach anymore.
That being said, I do understand Huggins’ desire to have his career end on a better note than it looks like it has. Being forced out from your alma mater due to off-court events is never good.
Who knows, maybe someone will give Bob Huggins a shot. But, I’m pretty sure it won’t be the Mountaineers.