Dan Hurley has always stated he would never coach another college basketball team after UConn, but he has kept the door open for the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers now target Hurley as their next head coach and reportedly prepare a massive, long-term contract to lure him away from the Huskies, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Preliminary Talks and Potential Contract
The Lakers have had preliminary contact with Hurley and plan to advance discussions in the coming days. After leading UConn to a national championship in 2023, Hurley signed a new six-year, $32.1 million contract last June, which would keep him as UConn’s coach through the 2028-29 season. UConn’s athletic director David Benedict and Hurley were expected to discuss a contract extension after Hurley guided the Huskies to a second straight national title this past April. Hurley expressed disappointment with the slow pace of negotiations at a recent UConn Coaches Road Show in Stamford.
“It’s probably taken more time than any of us would have liked, but it’s not something that’s ever been a rush for me,” Hurley said. “When you’ve won back-to-back championships, you’re not calling your agent worried about the status of your contract. You’re more worried about recruiting and scheduling.”
The Pressure and Sacrifices of Coaching
“It’s complicated. There’s a business side of it, which you allow your agent to advise you on. I’m not a businessman. I’m not good at that. I’m a one-trick pony,” Hurley added. He noted the high-pressure nature of the job and its total commitment, which affects family life and social activities. “You also have a market as a coach when you’ve accomplished a lot of things. Trying to find that sweet spot is something.”
His current UConn contract includes a $1.85 million buyout if he leaves for the NBA. A source reported that Hurley met with his players on Thursday morning to inform them of the situation. Hurley, 51, reiterated his desire to end his coaching career “right around (age) 60” and expressed interest in returning to high school coaching, where he began his head coaching career at Saint Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.
“I loved high school,” he said. “I love teaching. I learned more about history as a teacher in high school than in college.”
Coaching Career and NBA Aspirations
Dan has coached at every level: high school assistant, high school head coach, college assistant at Rutgers, low-major college head coach at Wagner, mid-major college head coach at Rhode Island, and now UConn, where he led the Huskies to back-to-back national championships. Despite other college programs courting him, such as Kentucky during the Final Four, Hurley quashed those rumors due in part to his wife, Andrea, not wanting to move there. However, the allure of Los Angeles might be different.
Since UConn hired him in 2018, Hurley has maintained a desire to possibly coach in the NBA someday. The Lakers, despite recent struggles, are a premier NBA franchise with LeBron James (presumably) leading the team. The NBA presents a different challenge than the NCAA, as evidenced by premier college head coaches, like Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, turning down lucrative NBA offers.
J.J. Redick, the former Duke and NBA guard, was rumored to be the main candidate to replace Darvin Ham, who was fired earlier this offseason, until the Hurley report emerged. The Lakers, owners of 18 NBA championship trophies, have had seven head coaches over the past 12 years since Phil Jackson left.
Upcoming Decisions
Recently, UConn rising junior Alex Karaban faced a similar dilemma of whether to stay in the NBA draft or return to UConn for a chance at a third straight title. Karaban chose to return to UConn, partly due to advice from Hurley, who told him, “If it’s a hard decision, you’re torn on something, you stay put.”
Dan Hurley now faces some hard decisions in the coming days.
