Reigning back-to-back national champion Dan Hurley will not be leaving college athletics after all.
After ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Hurley was preparing for serious talks with the Los Angeles Lakers for their vacant coaching position over the weekend, he reported Monday afternoon that Hurley had turned the Lakers down.
Multiple outlets reported the Lakers offered Hurley a 6-year, $70 million contract.
Woj reported Hurley "already had a UConn offer to become one of the highest paid NCAA coaches and those talks will continue." One assumes by "NCAA," Woj meant "college basketball" and that Hurley will not surpass Kirby Smart's deal of $13 million a year, making him the actual highest-paid coach in the NCAA.
Either way, Hurley's return is a good thing for college athletics, which means it's a good thing for college football.
In an age where we've lost Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, Coach K and Roy Williams in a short amount of time, the 51-year-old Hurley stands as one of the most influential coaches of his generation. The more he speaks on his process and his philosophy, the better.
And having just turned down the Lakers, the push to turn UConn into a full-blown dynasty is fully underway.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.