Dan Hurley will reportedly receive a six-year, $50M UConn deal after declining Lakers head coaching role

Dan Hurley turned down the Los Angeles Lakers and their $70 million offer for the head coaching position on Monday. Since then, rumors have suggested that Hurley could sign a new contract with UConn after deciding to stay. In June 2023, Dan Hurley signed a six-year $32.1 million contract extension.

CT Insider's Mike Anthony confirmed the rumors and wrote:

"Hurley and UConn are finalizing a six-year contract worth an approximate $50 million, according to a UConn source."

On Tuesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont spoke with reporters.

"I think they’re very close to the finish line," Lamont said. "I’m just so pleased that Dan Hurley is calling Connecticut home."

The news of a potential hike in the contract extension led many people to believe that Hurley and his team had used the Lakers' offer as leverage. However, he shut down the rumor mill during an appearance on "Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz."

"To me, that is one of the dumbest takes I've heard," Hurley said. ... "One of the worst takes I’ve heard is that this was a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn. 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 financial part in terms of salary has been done for a while. There are some other parts like NIL and staff salary that I wanted adjusted and wasn't comfortable with. But, the idea that this was some conspiracy to get a sweeter deal at UConn is lazy."

Can Dan Hurley lead the Huskies to a third championship?

One of the biggest reasons for Dan Hurley's return is his shot at a potential third NCAA championship win in a row. This would put UConn in the same league as the UCLA Bruins and their coach, John Wooden, who won the title seven times straight.

For now, the Huskies do not have the best odds of winning the championship. UConn is a No. 3 ranked team in ESPN's way-too-early predictions. Alabama and Kansas, which rank at the top, have a fuller roster stacked with talent.

However, Hurley has led the Huskies to titles in the previous years against much more stacked teams like John Calipari's Kentucky and Duke. He is known for taking a raw talent roster and coaching them to bring out their best. It will be interesting to see if Dan Hurley can do it again.

What are your predictions for UConn? Let us know in the comment section below.