Avery Johnson is out in Tuscaloosa meaning the speculation on his replacement at Alabama is currently running rampant at the moment and there is no better example of that than speculation that Rick Pitino may be in consideration to land the job.

While Paul Finebaum loves a good SEC coaching rumor, he’s not at all ready to buy into that one.

During his weekly Monday morning appearance on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM radio show “The Roundtable,” Finebaum was asked to discuss the potential candidates to replace Johnson in Tuscaloosa. It didn’t take long for the SEC Network host to get to the disgraced former Louisville coach.

“Yeah, I mean I’ve heard the same names you’ve heard but one thing I’ve also heard is that Greg Johnson is not just going to hire a name to win a press conference because he won, well, he didn’t win it but Bill Battle won it last time with Avery Johnson. Remember that one? It was virtuoso,” Finebaum said on the show. “Another thing, and I’m just grasping straws here from a couple hundred miles away on what people are saying on a constant basis but when someone mentioned Rick Pitino the other day, I said to a friend of mine that there isn’t a chance in the world that he would get hired because Greg Byrne is someone that is very cognizant of reputation and I know that he is concerned about all these other issues that are going on — in the SEC and around college basketball.

“For that reason, I don’t think there’s any chance he would look at a coach who has been in the crosshairs of the NCAA. So you can take out anyone you want based on that premise. He hasn’t said it but I feel pretty comfortable offering that.”

That’s a point that can’t be overlooked in college basketball right now as the FBI’s investigation into the corruption in college basketball is far from over and coaches continue to have their names attached to the saga. Pitino’s Louisville program was the first to get hit and it wouldn’t make much sense if the coach leading that program quickly landed on his feet while others like Will Wade are forced to sit out.

Pitino may be the big name that fans want Alabama to hire but it’s not even clear at this point if the NCAA or the SEC would even allow him back into the league at this point. When you take that into consideration, it’s hard to imagine Pitino would get a job at an SEC school.