Editor's Note: ESPN.com's Peter May has something to say to Rick Pitino, so he has penned this letter to the Celtics coach. This column was written on Friday, Jan. 5.

	Rick Pitino's numerous personnel moves have made no difference to the team.

Dear Rick:

It's time to go. You always have said that you will do what's best for the Boston Celtics. What's best for the Boston Celtics right now -- not to mention your own well-being -- is for you to resign.

We've all known for some time that you set up a potentially dangerous situation this season when you said you'd leave if things didn't turn around. (That was after saying the year before that you'd leave if the team didn't make the playoffs, but that's another story.) Things haven't turned around. They've bottomed out.

Rick, you've been hoisted by your own petard. There are a lot of things you've said over the last four years which, well, stretched the imagination, not to mention your credibility. But your promise to leave if things didn't improve seems to have a little more staying power than your evaluation of Bruce Bowen ("John Havlicek without a jump shot") or Travis Knight ("he's going to be a great, great player in this league") or guaranteeing a playoff team last season ("if we don't make the playoffs, I'll jump off the BU bridge.") The whole situation is untenable. The only serious public discourse these days about the Boston Celtics concerns your status.

In short, it's not going away. Your promise, that is. We know you've talked about a meeting with owner Paul Gaston this month, but what's to talk about? Settle on a date. Settle on a buyout figure if you've decided you don't want to leave $22 million on the table. Turn the team over to someone else. And then wait for the deep pockets guys at UCLA or some other college to come calling.

Let's face it, you're a dead coach walking. Your players aren't listening anymore because they see what we all see: a deteriorating situation that will get worse before it gets any better. They know what's going on. You may tell us they're working hard, but that's because you want to make it appear as if they haven't cashed it in. Well, they aren't playing hard, especially on defense. They lose focus, go through the motions, and allow teams like Chicago, Atlanta and New Jersey to shoot 50 percent or better from the field. That's effort?

	Knight

	Bowen

You have, right now, the worst defensive team in the NBA. That is despite your earnest and persistent efforts to teach the lads the fundamentals of the game, which they seem loath to learn. Three months ago, you opened training camp by saying you would devote almost all of your time and energy to defense. Six weeks ago, you told the team that if it didn't play better defense, then you would let someone else coach it. Well, since then, your team is 8-15 and, in the last two-plus weeks, six teams have shot 50 percent or better from the field. The Knicks did it the other night for only the third time this season.

It's no longer a question of "if" you're going to leave. It's "when." And judging by what we're now seeing, the sooner you leave, the better it will be for everyone. For the franchise. For the players. For the fans. For you. For your family. Your own son, Richard, was asked recently what he'd do if he coached the Celtics. "I'd leave," he said. Out of the mouths of babes.

	“	In short, it's not going away. Your promise, that is. We know you've talked about a meeting with owner Paul Gaston this month, but what's to talk about? Settle on a date. Settle on a buyout figure if you've decided you don't want to leave $22 million on the table. Turn the team over to someone else. And then wait for the deep pockets guys at UCLA or some other college to come calling. ”
		— May

You've even put your own, recently purchased townhouse on the market, although you said it is unrelated to your coaching status. Yes, Richard is going to go off to college next year, but, then again, you knew two years ago that that might happen. You soon will have four in the house now instead of five. All of a sudden, it's too big?

Now, you have said repeatedly that the outstanding money on the table -- around $22 million -- is "irrelevant." If that's the case, hand over the keys to the kingdom and walk away. What else could be motivating you to endure the unendurable?

Yes, there are talks under way to sell the team and, yes, you are eligible to get a $22 million buyout if the team is sold. But any sale is unlikely to be finalized until the spring at the earliest. You've already made $28 million here in four years and a case can be made that the franchise is worse off now than it was when you got here. Attendance is at a historic low. The team's payroll is well over the salary cap with only a couple players of any value. You do have two draft picks other than your own, but one is protected and the other is likely to belong to either Utah or Phoenix. When you arrived, you had the 3rd and 6th picks in the draft. Besides, you had the 11th pick last June and you took a guy who can't get off the bench when he's not on the injured list.

We know you're not enjoying any of this. All the years you've spent coaching have, for the most part, been in college. There, the kids listen to you. There, you didn't have to deal with agents or agendas or hand-held computers and cellphones in the locker room. There, you had a constant replenishment of talent every year. There, you were the king because you were very good.

Since you came here in May 1997, you have always had a larger public profile than the team you coached. Back then, that profile was one of hope and optimism. We wanted to believe you would get it done just as you got it done at Kentucky and Boston University (he also coached at Providence).

Now, your profile still dominates the most storied franchise in the history of the sport. But the profile no longer represents hope. It represents futility and hopelessness, two words that have never before been associated with your professional performance. You said this week that you wanted to keep everything positive and upbeat and leave the Celtics as healthy as possible. You have said that you will do what's best for the Celtics.

You can take the first step yourself. It's time you did.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.