Dan Hurley “Seriously” Considered Stepping Down From UConn Last Year

[RuffRuff]

I fkin love it. I appreciate the journey he and his teams have taken us on in the last 6 years

He could probably do a better job with the timing and excessive nature of it while he’s in the coaching seat (save it for your therapist). Seems he’s also branding himself as Americas CBB honesty broker as it’s pretty clear he’s looking for a path to media after his coaching career.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I guess it's similar to what he's said before. That if money is so high on your list of priorities for picking a school then you're probably not a Hurley kind of player.

What money situation? I thought UConn's NIL situation was fine.

I don't think we are landing many NIL first kids. Hurley talks about kids from good families being a priority but while that makes them generally more coachable, it also usually means they are less likely to be chasing a short term payday. We also have loads of international kids who aren't eligible for NIL. I don't think that is a coincidence.

It's working for us so far. But I expect that there will be seasons where it doesn't.

 

[temery]

6 Hall of Fame Players and a Hall of Fame coach.

I know, I went to every home game. Their "star" QB was out for most of the season. And the "no name defense" had one HOF player, Nick Buoniconti. I got to know him a bit when we moved to Springfield. I coached his son, and he was there for every practice and game, even if his son wasn't playing. Really nice guy.

 

[NJHoops]

I guess it's similar to what he's said before. That if money is so high on your list of priorities for picking a school then you're probably not a Hurley kind of player.

What money situation? I thought UConn's NIL situation was fine.

It is fine. They’re not matching the highest spending teams, who have incredible conference financial advantages, though. So yeah, it’s fine, but the writing is on the wall. And, I say this as some who loves the Big East, or at least the idea of it.

 

[jibsey]

You do not understand it, I agree. The reason, in my opinion, is because it’s actually not that negative and not that big of a headline.

The dude goes hard and was burnt out, then he also makes the point he couldn’t even decompress after the season due to the portal.

It’s just not that big of a deal.

I agree. He has a ton of irons in the fire and is one of the most intense coaches in the country. He vents, releases steam and it helps him decompress. He’s not hiding or deceiving anyone either.
Now let’s compare and contrast to Rick Pitino who is a good coach but is devious in his sincerity, in what he asks his players to do or what he tells the media. Never quite sure if what he spills is real whether it’s blasting his own team publicly or putting them up to the no handshake after games, or ripping our team as he did on his way to the NCAA. Psychological warfare. I don’t see that in Dan.

 

[RuffRuff]

It is fine. They’re not matching the highest spending teams, who have incredible conference financial advantages, though. So yeah, it’s fine, but the writing is on the wall. And, I say this as some who loves the Big East, or at least the idea of it.

Hurley has other things to sell that make up for short term payday, and it’s not as though he can’t get close. What motivates a player is an important variable in team sports and if it’s money alone, it rarely works.

BYU will be a good test case for how the one and done bag chaser experiment works this year with AJD. Kansas and DP will be worth watching as well. Flagg was an anomaly as a team first stud, hasn’t worked a ton outside of that Duke team. Tre J, VJ Edgecombe, Rutgers didn’t do squat.

 

[Waquoit]

I’m still trying to figure out what two 5 star guards Hurley inherited when he got here. Maybe some had Adams and Gilbert at some point but most had them as 4 star. Even if Gilbert was 5 at some point I’m pretty sure his shoulder had exploded 3 times by the time Hurley arrived.

You’d probably have to go back to the Perno days to find a team as bad as the 2017 and 2018 teams.

True. Meanwhile ,Calhoun inherited two NBA players one a first round draft pick and the other played over 10 years and was an All-Star..

 

[uconnfan68]

if you read the threads here about Belichick, you'll see there aren't too many people giving him credit for the six Super Bowl wins. They are saying no wins without Brady.

Jimmy G looked pretty good with the Pats. No question they'd still win with him.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Jimmy G looked pretty good with the Pats. No question they'd still win with him.

They won with Drew. They won with Matt Cassel. They won with Jimmy G and Brissett. Bill's downfall was entirely as a GM not as a coach. He wasn't really adapting to changes in college football that impacted evaluations of NFL talent, especially on offense. When almost every team is in shotgun and running a spread, it's harder to project who will work well in a Erhardt-Perkins style offense.

 

[RuffRuff]

Jimmy G looked pretty good with the Pats. No question they'd still win with him.

3 games? League figured out JG pretty quick. Cassel was on a roster that went undefeated the year prior.

I’m firmly in the camp that Beli is an above average coach that landed on a gold mine. Other world genius he is not.

 

[boog204]

True. Meanwhile ,Calhoun inherited two NBA players one a first round draft pick and the other played over 10 years and was an All-Star..

100% forgot Tate played in the NBA, let alone was a first round pick...

 

[temery]

Jimmy G looked pretty good with the Pats. No question they'd still win with him.

Awesome. Who is Jimmy G?

 

[UCfor3]

I know, I went to every home game. Their "star" QB was out for most of the season. And the "no name defense" had one HOF player, Nick Buoniconti. I got to know him a bit when we moved to Springfield. I coached his son, and he was there for every practice and game, even if his son wasn't playing. Really nice guy.

Csonka and Mercury both ran for 1,000 yards and they played 14 games then. The 3 headed backfield along with Jim Kick was kind of a big deal. I remember them on the cover of SI. Warfield was a star but didn't have a banner year with Morrall. Teams threw the ball so much less then anyway. Langer and Little were all-timers. I mean it depends on your definition of what a star is. Yeah, they had no Brady or Manning or Mahomes, but they had great all-star level players. They just weren't glamorous or household names outside of football. Csonka was kind of well known I guess.

 

[RuffRuff]

Awesome. Who is Jimmy G?

This handsome devil

 

[temery]

3 games? League figured out JG pretty quick. Cassel was on a roster that went undefeated the year prior.

I’m firmly in the camp that Beli is an above average coach that landed on a gold mine. Other world genius he is not.

Brady had a chance to show his skills in Michigan and he did anything but. It's Brady who struck gold by being drafted by BB and the Patriots.

 

[Lafayette]

Locked on is pushing this at about the believability to wider audiences as they post who is signing whom. FWIW I liked Zanetto better than this current dude.

It's kind of odd to see this pushed in the same week I see the Hurleys enjoying some away time relaxing either on a cruise or an island/beach on IG.

True or not, it's just one of any number of Hurley remarks or outcries and does little to help our '26 recruiting but might make for an interesting book - that is already ordered.

 

[aceboon]

Brady had a chance to show his skills in Michigan and he did anything but. It's Brady who struck gold by being drafted by BB and the Patriots.

Belichick was 5-13 as the Patriots head coach before Brady took over as starter after Bledsoe's injury

 

[RuffRuff]

Brady had a chance to show his skills in Michigan and he did anything but. It's Brady who struck gold by being drafted by BB and the Patriots.

Hmm. Tom went 20-5 and won two bowl games at Michigan. He went for 370 yards and 4 TDs against Bama in the Orange bowl win his senior year.

A bit of chicken or egg on this one I suppose, but over the test of time, it's pretty darned clear who the jewel of these two is. When one left, one went pumpkin at midnight for 5 years while the other won a SB in year 1, went to the playoffs all 3 years. This one really isn't even hard to unpack. They both benefitted from each other, but over the haul, pretty easy to see BB did a lot more of the benefitting.

Bill went 29-38 in the 4 years after TB, made the playoffs once and lost that game 47-17 in a laughing stock of a performance.

 

[Mr. French]

They won with Drew. They won with Matt Cassel. They won with Jimmy G and Brissett. Bill's downfall was entirely as a GM not as a coach. He wasn't really adapting to changes in college football that impacted evaluations of NFL talent, especially on offense. When almost every team is in shotgun and running a spread, it's harder to project who will work well in a Erhardt-Perkins style offense.

Belichick won with those guys? I must have missed the last 30 years.

Oh, you’re comparing winning some games vs winning 6 super bowls.

Bill didn’t win anything important without Tom Brady.

 

[Mr. French]

Brady had a chance to show his skills in Michigan and he did anything but. It's Brady who struck gold by being drafted by BB and the Patriots.

I can’t believe how many awful takes you’ve had in 1 single thread!

 

[temery]

Belichick was 5-13 as the Patriots head coach before Brady took over as starter after Bledsoe's injury

And Brady was the 199th draft pick.

Brady = peanut butter. Belichick = chocolate. Neither was anything until they bumped into the other.

 

[temery]

I can’t believe how many awful takes you’ve had in 1 single thread!

Keep reading - I'm not even close to done.

 

[temery]

This handsome devil
View attachment 111423

I thought Jimmy G took the bullet for Big P?

 

[temery]

Hmm. Tom went 20-5 and won two bowl games at Michigan. He went for 370 yards and 4 TDs against Bama in the Orange bowl win his senior year.

A bit of chicken or egg on this one I suppose, but over the test of time, it's pretty darned clear who the jewel of these two is. When one left, one went pumpkin at midnight for 5 years while the other won a SB in year 1, went to the playoffs all 3 years. This one really isn't even hard to unpack. They both benefitted from each other, but over the haul, pretty easy to see BB did a lot more of the benefitting.

Bill went 29-38 in the 4 years after TB, made the playoffs once and lost that game 47-17 in a laughing stock of a performance.

UConn has won four bowl games since the 'yard has been around. Can you name any NFL stars from these teams?

Brady wasn't drafted until the last round for a reason.

 

[RuffRuff]

UConn has won four bowl games since the 'yard has been around. Can you name any NFL stars from these teams?

Brady wasn't drafted until the last round for a reason.

Because back then the NFL over indexed on how QB's looked in their underwear. They didn't do a great job of indexing on brain, desire, leadership which he is 100/100 on. And ahem, he's also 6'4" with a great arm. He also got a fairly raw deal at UM stuck behind a homestate hero, who went on to do nothing professionally. This stuff has all been well documented.

Tom was the pizza, Bill was the parmesan cheese (optional). End of day, Bill is a great DC who lucked into the undisputed GOAT. I mean look at every single coach coming out of the Beli tree - they all suck. Our guy Charlie Weis, who turned ND into Helen Keller U, was even made to look good by Tom. The more you unpack, the more obvious it becomes.