Dan Hurley shuts down UNC rumors but leaves door open on future exit from UConn

Dan Hurley has enough on his plate as he leads the UConn Huskies to the 2026 National Championship Game of the NCAA Men’s Tournament. When asked about the head coach opening at the University of North Carolina‘s college basketball program, Hurley set the record straight.

“I am a UConn coach until the end. Maybe, [I leave for the] NBA some day down the line. But no, I’m a UConn coach, man,” Hurley stated during an interview with Jeff Goodman from Field of 68.

As tempting as coaching the Tar Heels may be for any coach in college basketball, Hurley’s commitment to the Huskies is rock solid. Not many—if any—coaches have it better than him at Storrs. Thus, it makes sense why Hurley isn’t paying any attention to the outside noise. As he made it clear, if he is to leave UConn it’ll be to take the next step and coach in the NBA.

Hurley turned down NBA years ago

Coming off back-to-back college basketball national championships with the Huskies in 2023 and 2024, Hurley was handed a very appealing contract offer by the Los Angeles Lakers. According to reports at the time, the 17-time NBA champions offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million deal. Hurley would’ve become one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, but he felt his time with Connecticut was only getting started.

Dan Hurley at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

Shortly after, he was inked to an extension in the “Basketball Capital of the World.” Per USA Today, Hurley’s contract in Storrs runs through the 2029–30 NCAA season. When the time comes, who knows where Hurley will head?

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National Championship Game

At the moment, though, Hurley only has time to focus on the immediate future. And that deserves his full attention, as the Huskies are set to do battle with the Michigan Wolverines at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6 at 8:50 p.m. ET.

Hurley and UConn have a date with history, as well as a not-so-fun meeting with No. 1 Michigan, which looks downright unstoppable, outscoring opponents by a 107-point margin so far in the NCAA Men’s Tournament. As for UConn, its plus/minus is +41.