Jay Larranaga Turned Down His Dad To Stay With The Erie BayHawks

The Erie BayHawks announced over the weekend that they have reached an agreement with head coach Jay Larranaga on adding an additional guaranteed year on the original two-year agreement he signed when joining the team last September, effectively locking him up through the 2012-2013 season.

The reason the team had to extend his contract -- almost certainly at least tying him for best job security in the NBA Development League -- is that Larranaga turned down a job offer to join his father, Miami Hurricanes new head coach Jim Larranaga, as an assistant coach in the rather prestigious ACC.

"Having the opportunity to coach at the highest level of college basketball and alongside my father would have been a special opportunity, and this was a very difficult decision," Larranaga said in a press release. "But after careful consideration with my family I decided that Erie provides me a great opportunity to continue to develop and grow with this franchise, and I'm very excited about what the future holds. We're coming off a great season, both on and off the court, and I appreciate the trust that ownership has shown in me to continue to lead this team."

That trust is certainly well-placed as the 36-year-old led the BayHawks to a 32-18 record in his first year as a full-time head coach following a rather successful playing 12-year playing career in Europe. He'll also continue to be evaluated as a future NBA coach, one would assume, as the Cleveland Cavaliers were instrumental in hiring him for his current position.

As noted here last week, Larranaga deserved consideration for Coach of the Year honors in the D-League and maybe even general manager of the year mentions after putting together a team that could compete in the ever-evolving Development League despite a myriad of player movement.