Why Dan Hurley Nearly Stepped Down From UConn

The pursuit of three consecutive national championships took a bite out of University of Connecticut men's basketball head coach Dan Hurley.

Hurley revealed in his new book "Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes To Be Great" that he nearly stepped away from Huskies' historic men's basketball program after last year's trying tour, getting to the point where he had tentative discussions with Fox Sports about a television analyst's role.

"I didn’t even know how I was standing," Hurley, describing himself as "burnt," said of the season's aftermath in the book co-penned by Ian O'Connor (h/t Andrew Marchand of The Athletic). "I stared at the office walls, muttering, conducting a brutal review of our season. I didn’t build a strong enough roster. I wasn’t a good leader. I let everyone down in Maui. I lost control, emotionally, at various points. I came in here some days sad and defeated, when I needed to be positive and inspiring."

Following consecutive title runs, UConn endured a disappointing follow-up, one that ended with a second-round loss to eventual champion successor Florida at the NCAA Tournament. The road to the Round of 32 was paved was disappointments such as a winless showing at the Maui Invitational and an overtime loss to Big East cellar-dweller Seton Hall.

Hurley said both instances weighed heavily upon him at season's end but there was hardly any time to reflect, as he immediately had to leap into the transfer portal to secure high-profile talent before it went elsewhere. Hurley would've previously spent time at his "standard hideaway" in San Juan but had to keep working despite the Huskies' elimination.

"I needed to do some healing, not think about basketball for a few days. But that wasn’t possible in this new era. The transfer portal and NIL deals made every college player a free agent, so right after the tournament I needed to be in my office, in Storrs. If I left town right then, I wouldn’t have a team for the 2025-26 season."

Hurley mentioned that he had to "a TV executive" about moving to Fox, inspired by a conversation he had with former conference adversary and fellow two-time national champion Jay Wright. The former Villanova boss stepped down from his perch on The Main Line to take a job at CBS Sports after the 2021-22 season but has since returned to campus in a "special assistant's" role.

Recalling the prior season's flirtation with leaving thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers' interest in having him succeed Darvin Ham in the head coach's role, Hurley eventually opted to stay with the Huskies. His work in the portal appears to have paid off, as he was able to lure Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith from Georgia and Dayton respectively.

Nonetheless, last season reminded Hurley of just how grinding the life of a head coach at a major program can be and served as a reminder of his own mortality.

"I’ve got the very best job in the country with the very best program in college basketball over the last quarter century. All of that is hand-on-the-Bible true," Hurley said. "But what’s also true is the massive toll that coaching takes on you and your family. The whole thing is exhausting. The seasons are excruciating even when they are going great ... I’m not some unbreakable machine programmed to seek and destroy opposing teams and officiating crews — over and over and over again. I’m human.”