By ADAM ZAGORIA & MATT SUGAM
ATLANTA — Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley may not turn out to be Rutgers’ next men’s basketball coach after all.
Hurley and Rhode Island are close to an agreement on a contract extension through the 2019-20 season, although it has not yet been finalized, sources confirmed to SNY.tv.
The news was first reported by SI.com.
Theoretically, if Rutgers were to make a hard pitch in the next few days, Hurley might still be an option.
As of now, however, the school has no athletic director to make such a hire after Tim Pernetti resigned Friday in the wake of the Mike Rice abuse scandal.
Hurley spent nine seasons molding St. Benedict’s Prep into a national power before he moved on to Wagner, which he led to a 25-6 record in his second season there. He then took the Rhode Island job.
In his first season, the Rams struggled to an 8-21 campaign, but they should be much stronger in the revamped Atlantic 10 Conference next season with the addition of transfers Jarelle Reischel (Rice), DeShon “Biggie” Minnis (Texas Tech) and Gilvydas Biruta (Rutgers).
They also add four-star Michigan guard E.C. Mathews and three-star New York forward Hassan Martin.
Earlier Saturday, it was reported by CBSSports.com that former UCLA head coach Ben Howland is “intrigued” by the Rutgers opening.
Other candidates for the job are Temple head coach Fran Dunphy, La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini, Detroit Pistons coach Lawrence Frank and Lakers assistant and former Rutgers star Eddie Jordan.
First Rutgers needs to higher a new Athletic Director, which Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi will do before the university hires a new basketball coach to replace Rice, who was fired Wednesday in the wake of the video scandal.
