Dan Hurley’s name has been coming up in rumors to join the North Carolina Tar Heels, who fired Hubert Davis on March 24. This happened soon after the Tar Heels lost 82-78 to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
However, Hurley cleared things up on Sunday while talking to reporter Jeff Goodman. When asked about the Carolina job, he said he still sees himself as the UConn coach. He also said he is not trying to get a longer contract right now.
“I don’t think I would ever want a contract longer than five years. I don’t know how many years I am at now, but I am a UConn coach, you know, to the end,” Hurley said.
Nonetheless, Hurley did leave a little possibility for the future, saying he might consider moving to the NBA later on.
The links between Hurley and North Carolina have intensified over the last 48 hours because on Saturday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on College GameDay that North Carolina has an aspirational list of candidates to replace Hubert Davis.
Following the rejection of the job by Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd (who signed a five-year extension through 2031), Hurley became the primary focus. UConn coach’s statement came as his team is chasing its third title in four years on Monday against No. 1 Michigan.
Hurley signed a six-year, $50 million contract with UConn on July 8, 2024. This came after he won back-to-back national titles and turned down a reported $70 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. He first joined UConn as head coach on March 22, 2018, coming from Rhode Island to rebuild the struggling program.
Dan Hurley Picks Sides In Geno Auriemma vs. Dawn Staley Fight During the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four
Following the UConn men’s victory over Illinois on Saturday, Dan Hurley defended his colleague, Geno Auriemma, regarding the Final Four incident with Dawn Staley.
When asked about the heated exchange between the two legendary coaches, Hurley said Auriemma should be given grace.
“If anyone should get the benefit of the doubt in a world of sports, it’s Geno Auriemma,” he said. “‘Cause he’s one of the most authentic, genuine, great people you’ll ever meet in your life.”
Auriemma was frustrated because he thought there was a breach of “championship protocol.”
During his post-game press conference on Friday, he explained that, according to NCAA tournament operations, both head coaches need to meet at midcourt for a handshake after the starting lineups are announced.
Auriemma was indeed filmed waiting at midcourt while looking at his scouting card. ESPN footage showed that Staley had already visited the UConn bench earlier in the warm-up period to shake hands with Auriemma and his entire coaching staff.
Seemingly, there was a miscommunication. Because Auriemma felt snubbed at the beginning of the game, he approached Staley at the scorer’s table in the closing seconds. Instead of a handshake, he began yelling at her. Staley also backfired, which led to assistants from both teams trying to separate them.
Also Read:
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