"It messed me up for a while": Dan Hurley's wife Andrea opens up on rejecting $70,000,000 Lakers coaching offer

Dan Hurley's wife Andrea opened up on the time when her husband was offered a $70 million contract to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024. For the UConn Huskies coach, it was a dream job. Not only was the pay a huge upside, he had an opportunity to coach LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two of the biggest superstars in the NBA.

However, the coach and his wife made a mutual decision to reject shifting to Los Angeles. In the Mar. 10 interview with 60 Minutes, Andrea opened up about how making the decision weighed heavily on her.

"I mean it did, of course, it did, it messed me up for a while," she said ( at 3:28). "Coz you're coming from this, which is a dream, and then to a dream job. It was tough, the opportunity was a dream."

Money was not a deciding factor for Dan Hurley. One of the biggest reasons behind his reservations against the Lakers' job was the inability to create an impact on a player's growth and overall development.

In college, a coach has the option to recruit players, develop them according to their style and shape the program's culture. NBA coaching roles do not offer the same control over any of those aspects. Instead, the front office or general managers have the say on big decisions like drafts, trades and free agency.

---

Dan Hurley and Andrea made their decision over a text

Dan Hurley and Andrea decided to continue leading the UConn Huskies through a brief game on their group chat. In the October 2024 interview with WTNH News8, she shared that after the two discussed different facets of the Lakers' role, they decided to play a brief game.

The two had to text each other either "stay" or "leave" at the same time which would decide the next chapter of their lives.

"All day long we kept going back and forth. So that night, many tears later, we said, 'Okay, count of three, let's do stay or leave (on the group chat)'. And we one, two, three, text, and thank goodness we both sent stay." (at 1:28).

Shortly after rejecting the Lakers' offer, Dan Hurley signed a $50 million six-year extension, keeping him with the program till the 2029-30 season.