Dan Hurley after bagging the national championship twice in the past two years is in great demand. He even received a 6-year $70 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. The franchise, that have found no long-term coach since Phil Jackson, were keen to sign Hurley after they fired Dan Harvim. But Hurley who lives with his family in the East rejected the lucrative offer from the West. Now as per reports, his current job – the University of Connecticut Huskies too offered him a contract that brought him closer to the Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self. But reports suggest that Hurley might want more.

Hurley had signed a contract with the Huskies for 6 years after he won his first NCAA title in 2023. The contract was worth $32.1 million and extended till 2029. Hurley therefore was a celebrated coach but not the highest-earning one. As per sports journalist John Fanta, “The University of Connecticut put together a… lucrative contract offer to Hurley that included significant benefits across the board for him and his family. This is been in place long before… long before the Lakers have reached out to talk to Hurley but that contract offer hasn’t been signed.”

Sportrac also came out to share news from their sources on the social media platform X when they stated that, “Bill Self’s recent 5 year, $53M extension ($10.6M AAV) in Kansas appears to be the benchmark for Dan Hurley” and it might “ascend to with UConn in the coming weeks.” Self notably is the highest earning college basketball coach, who has won two NCAA titles- the same number that have been won by Hurley. Therefore, Hurley would stand worthy of the rise.

As per Goodman of the Field of 68, sources say that there is an offer of a 6-year deal worth approximately $50 million. If this is true and Hurley accepts the offer then he will surpass the second-highest-earning college basketball coach John Calipari, inching closer to Self. However, Hurley could demand more than Self for his loyalty to UConn since the latter is the benchmark for him. But Hurley could have made more – 11.6 million per year, than Self if he had accepted the job offer from the Los Angeles Lakers, so what made him reject such a beneficial deal?

Why could have Dan Hurley rejected the Lakers’ offer?

Hurley might have pondered over the fact that the Lakers haven’t had a long-term coach since Phil Jackson. This is one of the main reasons that even his fans never wanted him to take the job since the Lakers are famous for firing even good coaches after a few poor seasons. Plus the Lakers needed more of a personality manager considering big stars such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are in their roster. This might have made Hurley reflect on the path that lay ahead since Hurley is known for his player development skills.

Furthermore, at UConn there lies a possibility that Hurley might be able to able to script history by winning the third title in a row. This has been an ultimate goal for the coach who is said to idolize John Wooden – the last coach to attain the three-peat around 1973. But that reportedly wouldn’t stop Hurley from joining the NBA in the further. 

Adrian Wojnarowski stated, “He thinks he’ll be in the NBA someday but he wasn’t ready to go now.”  Hopefully, Hurley will be able to make the money he deserves after taking the Huskies to two back-to-back titles and also keep an eye on future deals. As for now, UConn basketball fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Hurley declined the deal.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.