At a coaches meeting in February, University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley sat in front of a laptop, wincing in pain as he watched footage of a recent loss to St. John’s University.
“How does that happen?” he asked himself. “We just don’t deserve to win when you do stuff like this.”
One might think that Hurley, a generationally-accomplished coach going for a third straight national title in this year’s NCAA tournament, would be able to quickly bounce back after a loss.
But that’s far from the case, especially during this topsy-turvy season for the Huskies.
Hurley told correspondent Jon Wertheim that losing sends him into a “hell hole of suffering,” and winning only provides “temporary relief.”
Wertheim asked if there was some way to get more joy from the wins and a little less sting from the losses.
“Maybe [for] a one-off champion,” Hurley said.
“But somebody that is desperate to stay where we are… on top of the mountain, I think you’re wired like this.”
Hurley knows better than to bring the stress of the job home with him.
His wife of 27 years, Andrea Hurley, has little patience for doom and gloom— sending him back to the garage to “reset” before returning to the house if he arrives home from practice in a sour mood.
Dan and Andrea Hurley 60 Minutes
“He’ll get himself so down, and he’ll get in such a funk… [and] if I get in a funk with him, we’re going to be no good,” she told Wertheim in an interview with the couple.
On a high note last year, after UConn won its second straight NCAA tournament, Dan was approached with a career-changing opportunity: to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, with a contract reportedly worth $70 million.
Dan and Andrea flew out to Los Angeles to meet Lakers president Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka. They flew back the next day and took the rest of the weekend to consider the offer.
The Hurleys told 60 Minutes they agonized over the decision.
“There were obviously a lot of positives. And the challenge was exciting… there were definitely times where you thought you were going,” Dan told Wertheim.
“You’re in this crazy mental amazing feeling of just coming off back to back [wins]…. and then to a dream job,” Andrea said.
“I think it messed us both up… the opportunity was a dream.”
They went “back and forth,” at times fully committed to moving their family out to Los Angeles.
But ultimately, they decided to stay at UConn.
Dan and Andrea cite multiple reasons why. Both said “family” was a factor.
“You say to yourself, ‘What is this impact gonna have on my family?'” Dan told 60 Minutes.
“We have everyone that we love close by to us. They’re a part of what we’re doing at UConn.”
Dan told Wertheim that coaching at the college level also gives him a “sense of purpose” that he wouldn’t get coaching the pros.
“The impact you could have on a 17-year-old, a 19-year-old… what you could mean for them in their life is something that you don’t get in pro sports the same way,” he said.
“You’re the last group of people that are gonna really teach these kids a lot of what they need to learn… to prepare them for what life’s going to be like.”
And with UConn performing at such a high level, Dan couldn’t stomach walking away from the program.
“The way that we play, the caliber of our play, the way our players are flourishing in their post-UConn careers… the way we do it is special. Why would you wanna leave it?”
Andrea and Dan cited another factor in the decision: the pain of struggle and potential failure at the NBA level.
“[Dan] prides himself on success… if you lose a game in college, it’s borderline unbearable,” Andrea told Wertheim.
“I can’t imagine going to the next level and having to play all those games—and losing. It wouldn’t be great,” she said.
“Those games that we play… they’re a reflection of us in a lot of ways. So when we struggle or when we fail, we don’t like it,” Dan added.
Wertheim asked the coach if he regretted the decision to turn the offer down given the tumultuous season UConn has had.
“No, not for a second. Not for one second.”
The video above was produced by Will Croxton. It was edited by Sarah Shafer.
Footage of the Maui Invitational courtesy of ESPN Enterprises, Inc.
Will CroxtonWill Croxton is a digital producer at 60 Minutes.
