Dan Hurley says his decision to turn down a six-year, $70 million offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers was not a “leverage move” because he had already agreed to the terms of a new contract with UConn.
On The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Thursday, Hurley called the choice between coaching the Lakers for an eight-figure sum or returning to chase a third straight national title at UConn a tough decision. But the leverage was unnecessary, he said, because he and UConn had already negotiated a new contract in recent weeks.
“One of the worst opinions I've ever heard is that this is a move on my part to improve my situation at UConn,” Hurley said on the show. “I don't need leverage here. We've won back-to-back national championships at this place. This was never a leverage situation for me.
“I've had a contract in place here for a couple of weeks. And the final part, in terms of salary, has been done for a while. There are some other parts, like NIL and staff salary and a few different things, that I want an adjustment and I'm not comfortable with that, but the idea that this was a conspiracy to get me a better deal at UConn is just vague.”
Hurley admitted that the Lakers probably could have made him an offer he couldn't have turned down. But his deal at UConn, which the school has not announced, will make him the highest-paid college coach in the United States, he said. He currently has a six-year, $32.1 million contract with UConn. Kansas coach Bill Self is currently the highest-paid coach at $9.6 million a year.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that the Lakers had decided to focus their search on Hurley over their other candidates. Hurley flew to Los Angeles over the weekend to meet with general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss. However, he said Thursday that he did not speak directly with the team's biggest star, LeBron James, before making the decision for him.
“I did not [speak to James]”Hurley said. “We had some communication. … It would have been exciting to coach him.”
Hurley said he had an agonizing weekend as he struggled with his options.
“It was a heartbreaking decision for me,” he said. “Sunday night, going into Monday, when I had a deadline in mind, I was torn and didn't really know what I was going to do until I went to bed.”
The Lakers, Hurley said, would have had to offer him a significant sum to leave UConn's program behind.
“To leave, there is probably [a number]”Leaving a place at any point in your life, saying no is a motivating factor… the finances of leaving a place are definitely a thing.” Staying in one place, I don't think that will ever exist. Staying at a place like UConn would never have been a financial issue.
“This wasn't a pressure tactic to become the highest-paid college coach. That was already done. But leaving a place where you feel the same way we do and the family connection with my wife, my kids, my mom… my father-in-law, my father… I know how much it means to my father to go to the Big East tournament and attend 10 UConn games a year at home, sitting courtside, when I coach against Rick Pitino. All that behind it, “There's probably a number.”
Hurley will return to a UConn team that has a chance to win its third straight national title, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since John Wooden led UCLA to seven straight championships in the 1960s and '70s. But, Hurley said, The Lakers' offer was tempting because of the history and prestige that came with the job.
“It's something I wanted to explore,” Hurley said. “The opportunity to potentially coach the Lakers and coach one of the greatest players of all time and coach one of the greatest players in the NBA in [Anthony Davis] and lead such a historic franchise and walk on the sidelines where some of the greatest to ever do it, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, [coached]. “It was something in my mind that I had to explore and consider and see what it looked like.”
