Considering that the highest paid NBA coach makes twice what the highest paid NCAA coach makes, it's not that crazy. There has never been an "off-season" in college basketball. You've always got to be scouting and recruiting. Yes, it's even more demanding now, but it has never brought a great work/life balance.Going back to Dan Hurley, I have to think him leaving for the NBA would really sound the alarm bells for at least NABC in terms of college coaches getting fed up with the transfer portal. Hurley should be the kind of guy who would stay 20 years at UConn. He should have the kind of tenure that Bill Self has had at Kansas. If he would leave now, that would be a pretty telltale sign that the idea of constantly recruiting to retain and bring in new talent is too much.
I won't pretend that an NBA job does, but the off-season is the off-season for coaches. Playing in the biggest arenas, flying in brand new chartered jets, and staying in 5-star hotels isn't a bad way of life either...
In hindsight, perhaps Pitino, Calipari, Donovan (though he's still hanging on), Hoiberg, Kruger, etc... should have stayed in NCAA when the NBA came calling, but they went to see if they could make it coaching the best players in the world. It's always going to be a draw, especially for guys who have already climbed to the top of the mountain in college basketball.
I imagine a young Dan Hurley had dreams of playing in the NBA, like his brother. Those never came true, but he could still make the NBA. For some people those dreams don't die easily, no matter how successful you are in a different venue.
A lot of folks thought Brad Stevens was making a mistake taking the Celtics job. Seems to have worked out great for him.
I won't pretend to know what Dan is thinking. I'm sure his current focus is going back to back, but if he does, the siren song of the NBA might be too sweet to ignore. Frankly, it would be hard to blame him regardless of the NCAA rules.