Dan Hurley has turned down an offer to become the Rutgers men’s basketball coach and will remain at Rhode Island. He decided to remove his name on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge told SNY.tv.
If Pat Hobbs had been the athletic director at Rutgers three years ago when the school first approached Hurley, he would have taken the job, the source said. When the two sides couldn’t come to terms in 2013, Rutgers hired Eddie Jordan instead. Jordan was fired last Thursday.
This time around, Rutgers offered Hurley a six-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $2 million annually, sources said. He could be in line for a significant raise at Rhode Island, where he will make a guaranteed $1 million per season by 2017-18. His current contract there runs through the 2021-22 season.
Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs must now turn to other potential candidates, including ESPN analyst Jay Williams, Iona coach Tim Cluess, Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell, George Washington coach Mike Longeran and Montverde (FL) Academy coach Kevin Boyle.
Williams and Lonergan spoke with Rutgers on Monday, although neither was a formal interview, sources told SNY.tv. CSNMidAtlantic.com reported Lonergan interviewed. GW plays Hofstra Wednesday in the first round of the NIT tournament. Hurley and Lonergan share the same agent, Jordan Bazant.
Cluess and Pikiell are busy this week coaching in the NCAA Tournament.
Hobbs told me Saturday night at the Big East championship that he hopes to have this done soon.
“I want to get to the next level this week,” he said. “Want to try to get it done this week.”
Hurley, 43, would have been facing his third major rebuild in seven years at Rutgers following successful turnarounds at Wagner and Rhode Island. Though Hurley was able to turn those programs around in relatively short order — he has a 100-86 career mark in six seasons at Wagner and Rhode Island — he remained conflicted about whether he wants to do it for a third time — even in his own home state.
Hurley remains very close with Rhode Island junior guard E.C. Matthews, who suffered a knee injury on the first night of the season and missed the remainder of the year. Matthews is an NBA Draft prospect who remains the centerpiece of a young and talented Rhode Island team that also includes Hassan Martin, Stan Robinson, Jared Terrell, Kuran Iverson and Jarvis Garrett. The Rams also add several key recruits and should have Top 25 potential next season.
“If everyone’s back and healthy, we have the best roster in the league,” Hurley said Monday on his radio show.
A year from now Hurley could be in position for a much higher-profile job than Rutgers.
“I don’t know why he’d risk taking Rutgers when he can get something much better if he waits,” one source said.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported the news first.
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