UConn's Dan Hurley turns down Los Angeles Lakers' head coach offer
UConn men's basketball title-winning head coach Dan Hurley has turned down a $70 million offer to be the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach.
The much-anticipated decision comes after the franchise reportedly made a compelling case to the 51-year-old, featuring a lucrative long-term deal, when the two-time national champion was in Los Angeles on Friday.
The offer came after the Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham in May 2024 after an 11-game losing streak in the playoffs.
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Ham was let go four days after the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets, with a final score of 108-106.
Hurley, a Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard, did not accept the job, but if he did it would've been one of the more rapid promotions in recent coaching history.
He took over the basketball program at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., from 2001 to 2010, after spending a season coaching under his father at St. Anthony High School. Hurley is credited with building the New Jersey school into one of the top high school programs in America.
From 2010 to 2012, Hurley coached at Wagner College and from 2012 to 2018 he coached at The University of Rhode Island before landing his job with the UConn Huskies.
Hurley will return as UConn's head coach in the fall to pursue a third-straight NCAA title.
