That’s it? This is technically the third day of the watch for what the top target in the coaching search does. Seems like it’s been much longer.

Dan Hurley (hopefully) is expected to decide today between Pitt, UConn or staying at URI.

I don’t know what he will do. People in the know suggest leanings, but they clearly aren’t sure.

The money Pitt offered is big.

Various reports have contradicted Hurley’s timeline on choosing one school or another, but this one seems to be inching toward the finish line. According to USA Today’s annual database of college basketball coaching salaries, Hurley making more than $3 million a season at Pitt would slot him in among the top 15 coaches in the country, and perhaps even in the top 10. He would be in the upper tier of earners in the ACC, along with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski — the highest-paid coach in the sport at nearly $9 million a year — and Virginia’s Tony Bennett ($3 million).

It’s unclear what Kevin Stallings’ salary was in his two years here, but Pitt may have to pay him more than $9 million for firing him. Jamie Dixon earned $2.48 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, his last as Pitt’s coach, according to tax documents released last May.

I want to remind people that salary is different from total compensation. Pitt’s offer to Hurley is simply the salary portion. Bonuses, outside compensation (shoe contract), perks, and various other items that go into total compensation are different.

I liked this column from long-time Providence Journal and Big East beat writer and columnist, Kevin McNamara on Hurley’s choices.

You also know the limitations at URI, many of which clearly drive you crazy and aren’t going away soon. In many ways you have elevated the program, pushed Rhody to its financial limits and maybe maxed out what can be achieved in Kingston. Outside of athletic director Thorr Bjorn throwing in a free summer rental in Matunuck, there’s not a whole lot more the Rams can do for you.

Neither of your options is a home run. Pittsburgh is reportedly offering $3 million a year. That’s what football money can do but this isn’t Jamie Dixon’s Pitt. Now in the loaded ACC, you’ll be fighting to land a spot in the NCAAs. Who knows what happens when old lions Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim dribble off to retirement, but it’s clear nothing will come easily for the next Panthers hoop boss.

Now a $20 million pay package at Pitt (over seven years) will be at least $8 million more than what URI could ever offer. That’s a small fortune to leave on the table but if you decide to bolt it’s understandable why it seems you and your family would be a better fit in Connecticut where your parents can still drive from New Jersey and watch you work.

The UConn program has fallen into disrepair. Kevin Ollie has recruited poorly and the Huskies have suffered a significant drop-off in fan appeal since switching to the American Athletic Conference. That can quickly change, however, with someone like you calling the shots. If you text the top hotshots in New York and New Jersey now, most are never getting back to you. At UConn, your cell will be on fire.

Ollie was ushered out of his alma mater — a school he led to the 2014 national title — by athletic director David Benedict “with cause.” That’s legalese for “we think you’ve cheated, plus we don’t want to pay you your $10 million.” This would concern me, especially if Ollie’s brushes with NCAA rules are minor and his boss simply wants to weasel out of a bad contract.

You have one other scenario to ponder. Your teams will keep winning at Rhode Island. You could have offers as soon as next week (Louisville perhaps?) and surely by next year that are much more attractive than UConn or Pittsburgh. But if UConn can pay $2.5 million over seven years, that’s about $7 million more than you could earn at URI. That’s another not-so-small fortune.

That last bit is the thing that could keep Hurley at Rhode Island. Going the Archie Miller route of staying at the mid-major program that is humming and waiting for an even better job to open in the next year or two. Miller, the younger, flat out rejected Alabama, GT and others after the 2015-16 season. Stayed another year. Kept winning, and then the Indiana job was right there for him — which he happily took over his alma mater of NC State.

That’s part of why I don’t think this decision for Hurley is simply a binary, Pitt or UConn. Dan Hurley doesn’t do nomadic.

He stayed nine years in Jersey coaching high school basketball. While his stint at Wagner was only two years, he’s been at URI for six years. He is unlikely to bolt from a program after only a couple years (which is also something that makes him attractive to both Pitt and UConn, I’d imagine).

UConn could still come out on top. It is not a rebuilding job, so much as a retooling job. Recruiting New York and New Jersey — and the rest of the New England states — would be much easier for Hurley given the location and his history. The competition isn’t as steep in the AAC. And the Big East has shown that you can still win big in hoops without football money.

I was rather clear, I hope, yesterday that Pitt going hard for Hurley is a good thing. And while, from a negotiating standpoint, I’m sure Pitt isn’t wild about the salary they offered Hurley being leaked; I think it does more good then harm.

Does it commit Pitt to offering that much money to someone else if Hurley says no? No, but it might drive up the price artificially for a guy like Buffalo’s Nate Oats, should he or anyone else become Pitt’s next target.

Still, that’s a small price to pay to prove to observers, as well as prospective coaches, that you’re serious about rebuilding a basketball program that has completely cratered over the last two seasons. If coaching candidates see what Pitt offered Hurley, it’s likely they’ll take the program more seriously than they would if Pitt was only making overtures to more obscure names, and for less money.

Pitt’s home run offer may not land them Dan Hurley. The Panthers might find themselves staring at the drawing board in the very near future. But at least they’ve given a clear signal that they’re taking this coaching search seriously. At least they made a real offer, one that will be tough for UConn to match.

After the events of the last few weeks, the Panthers at least trying to play ball like one of the big boys counts as a victory, even if it’s only in principle.

Of course, if you are a glass half-empty person. Well, then you are Ron Cook. And you have to live with siding with him.