UConn's Dan Hurley clarifies decision to reject Lakers' coaching job: 'I already had the leverage'

Dan Hurley joins Colin Cowherd to discuss his decision to return to UConn, saying, ‘I already had the leverage. Back-to-back national championships.’

UConn men's basketball head coach Dan Hurley turned down a lucrative six-year contract offer from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hurley broke his silence Thursday and made it clear he did not reject the Lakers' offer to gain leverage with his current employer. 

The two-time national championship-winning coach said he had already agreed to the terms of a new deal with UConn before he declined the Lakers' offer.

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Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley shouts to his team during the men's NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale April 8, 2024. (Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA Today Network)

"One of the worst takes I've heard is that this is a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn," the Huskies coach said during a recent appearance on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz." 

"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.

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"I've had a contract in place here for a couple of weeks. And the final part, in terms of salary, has been done for a while. There are some other parts, like NIL and staff salary and some different things, that I want adjusted and I'm not comfortable with. But the sense of the idea that this was some conspiracy to get me a sweeter deal at UConn is just, it's lazy."

Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies signals to his players during the national championship game against