Steve Kerr will be sticking around as head coach of the Golden State Warriors for at least two more seasons, but he would have had lucrative opportunities elsewhere had he and the organization decided to part ways.
ESPN aggressively pursued Kerr for a potential analyst role before he decided to remain with the Warriors, according to Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard. The network offered Kerr up to $7 million a year to join the network, as well as a willingness to meet virtually any condition, including not appearing on any of ESPN’s panel debate shows.
Kerr had previously said he would not coach in the NBA next season unless it was with the Warriors, suggesting a media role was his likely alternative.
Ultimately, Kerr chose to remain with Golden State as the NBA’s highest-paid coach. The money likely wasn’t the deciding factor, as Kerr has made no secret of the fact that he loves coaching and the competition.
Kerr was a TV analyst before taking the Golden State coaching job in 2014. ESPN knows he is good at it, and Kerr himself seemed to believe he would be spending at least a year in a media role if he and the Warriors parted ways. Now he knows he will have lucrative opportunities in media if he ever wants them, but those opportunities will have to wait a while.
