Turning Down a Blue Blood

It’s the bluest of blue bloods — a school with 17 Final Fours, eight National Championships, and a fanbase as rabid as any.

But last week, the University of Kentucky was reportedly rejected twice — first by Baylor’s Scott Drew, then by UConn’s Dan Hurley — for its head coaching job after Hall-of-Fame Coach John Calipari left for Arkansas.

The school ultimately hired Mark Pope, the captain of its 1996 national title team and the coach at Brigham Young University.

But it’s Drew’s and Hurley’s decisions to remain at their respective schools that may have the most relevant leadership lessons for us:

1. Money and tradition aren’t everything

In his 3-2-1 newsletter last week, author James Clear wrote, "If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade.”

In essence, comfort and familiarity can be worth far more than some extra dollars or a chance to become more famous. If we’re in an already-stable financial positional, there can be immense value to sticking with the familiar — and an immense cost to give it up.

The lucrative offer isn’t actually that lucrative if it costs us our peace of mind.  

2. Don’t give up an already great thing

Reaching the pinnacle at a premier program or succeeding at a top-flight company can increase our net worth, our notoriety or our social media follows.

But it also means additional scrutiny, new people we must impress, skeptics we have to win over, and acclimating ourselves to an unfamiliar environment.

In essence, there are major life tradeoffs that must be made when we leave something already great.

If we’re already in a place where we’re celebrated, have the necessary resources, and can still fulfill our ambitions, we might think to think twice about giving that up.

NIL and the transfer portal have changed college sports forever. And right now, they are here to stay - whether we like it or not.

How can you keep up? The most recent offer? The latest deal? The rule changes? Millions of dollars are changing hands and it’s almost impossible to follow it all.

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