How hard is Chiefs’ three-peat championship pursuit? UConn coach Dan Hurley weighs in

UConn coach Dan Hurley has great admiration for the Kansas City Chiefs.

After all, the Chiefs are one win away from the exact goal Hurley set for his squad in the preseason: a third consecutive championship.

In other words ... a three-peat.

Like Hurley’s Huskies, the Chiefs are trying to enter rarefied air. If Kansas City can beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 in Super Bowl LIX, KC will accomplish a feat never before reached in the Super Bowl era.

It’s also not exactly common in NCAA men’s basketball. The last (and only) time the league has had a team three-peat was when UCLA won seven straight NCAA titles in the ‘70s.

Like many coaches, Hurley can’t help but gush about the Chiefs.

“They’ve got a culture that screams at you,” Hurley told The Star. “Because of the combination of the head coach, quarterback — it’s never enough for them. Whether they win the Super Bowl or not — the most impressive thing to me is them going 15-2 in the regular season after they won two in a row. Really, in the last game, they made them lose (because the Chiefs benched starters), but I’m sure they all wanted to play.

“That was like us last year. We had everything clinched and we won games at the end of the regular season by significant margins that we didn’t even need to win. Everything becomes automatic. Everything with the Chiefs right now, everything is automatic — the execution, the players understanding their roles, levels of accountability, the culture, the type of player they want and the type of player they bring in.”

While both organizations are chasing the same goal, one is much closer to making it happen.

Like the Chiefs in parts of the regular season, UConn is in the midst of a turbulent period. The Huskies (15-6) are 4-3 in their last seven games, losing conference games to Villanova, Creighton and Xavier. UConn lost two conference games all of last season.

Hurley, the basketball-obsessed and animated coach of the Huskies, is understandably a little stressed.

“It’s been a frustrating season,” he said. “Part of it is we’ve had great health the last two years. This year, we’ve dealt with with way more injuries and injuries to players that we can’t play without. Those teams were incredibly healthy at the right time of year. The players were intrinsically motivated as competitors and those players cared about their legacy of championships.”

According to Hurley, UConn teams in the last two seasons would take losses especially hard.

“I just had a group of guys (where the) best part of the program was after we lose — just how crushed and quiet the busses and planes were the day after the hurt. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why we won it.

“The group just valued winning over statistics or early entry to the NBA or how much is this guy making in NIL compared to me. They fit each other perfectly. It was a great personnel. You’ve got to have the right type of personalities — guys who want the spotlight and can handle pressure.”

Hurley pointed out that the biggest difference between the Chiefs and Huskies is roster continuity. Kansas City brought back many of its main contributors from the previous squads, while UConn did not.

The Huskies lost stars Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), Donovan Clingan (Portland Trailblazers), Tristen Newton ( Minnesota Timberwolves) and Cam Spencer (Memphis Grizzlies) to the NBA. According to KenPom, UConn ranks No. 106 in minutes continuity.

Despite the departures, Hurley believes in his team. After all, he recruited the roster, and did it with a special thought in mind.

Hurley explained what type of player is needed for a three-peat, and why it requires a special mentality.

“You can’t just get talented people — you’ve got to get your type of people,” he said. “When you’re the best team, it’s like you’re the shiny objects. Talented people are going to be drawn to you.”

Ultimately, Hurley understands how rare it is to be in a position to three-peat — perhaps better than just about any active coach in his sport.

After all, winning one championship is hard enough.

“The first time (winning a championship) is definitely tougher because you’ve never done it before,” Hurley said. “It’s hard to speak as a coach or player with confidence that you’re going to win the Super Bowl or you’re going to win the NCAA Championship if you’ve never actually done it.

“I’ve always picked the person that’s done it before because you know they can do it.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM.

Shreyas Laddha

The Kansas City Star

Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.