UCONN Men’s college coach Dan Hurley had the opportunity of a lifetime this summer when the Lakers came to him with a lucrative offer to serve as their next head coach. Hurley famously turned down the opportunity and now he says he doesn’t know if he’ll ever try and make the leap again.
“I don’t know,” Hurley said in an appearance on ‘In Depth’ with Graham Bensinger. “I don’t know about that, you know? If you’re not gonna take the Lakers job, then what job are you gonna take?”
With 17 NBA championships and a rich history of superstar representation, the Lakers are the most prestigious organization in the NBA and their head coaching position might be the most lucrative in the sport aside from a spot on Team USA.
From legends like Phil Jackson and Pat Riley to Paul Westhead and Bill Sharman, the Lakers have employed various figures in their coaching ranks and they’ve each had varying degrees of success. Their latest batch of coaches hasn’t been particularly memorable and this summer’s hiring process was humbling after being denied by a college coach with no NBA experience.
Hurley, 51, rose to prominence after coaching the UCONN Huskies to back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. After his second and most recent title run, Hurley drew the attention of the Lakers, who were embroiled in a grueling coaching search.
After parting ways with Darvin Ham weeks earlier, the Lakers settled on Hurley as their top candidate and reportedly made an offer worth $100 million. Hurley cited his ties to UCONN as the main reason for declining the offer but he did reveal that there was a number the Lakers could have reached in order to get his commitment.
In the end, the Lakers had to look elsewhere for their head coach and they learned that working for them may not be as desirable as they first thought. Along with the glitz and glamour comes the pressure and not everyone can or wants to deal with that.
For Hurley, it just wasn’t worth leaving a place where he was happy and comfortable to join a Lakers team where his job security would be almost non-existent. Unless the team starts winning right away, Hurley would have been criticized and scrutinized by Lakers Nation until either he was pushed out by the front office or pushed out by his own players.
Hurley turned down a huge paycheck to stay where he was and avoid that kind of scenario, but the same cannot be said for JJ Redick. He landed the job after weeks of speculation and it seems he’s been given the full trust of both Rob Pelinka and team owner/governor Jeanie Buss.
Already, the pressure is being felt for him to turn things around and only time will tell how he responds. But after turning down one of the most prestigious coaching jobs in the sport, Dan Hurley is unlikely to get another opportunity like that anytime soon and that’s probably just fine with him. The pressure is all on JJ now to prove he was the right choice and that he’s the best person to maximize this Lakers roster.
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