Underneath it all, Dan Hurley is a fire-breathing dragon.
What’s the evidence for this, beyond the 50-year-old UConn head coach’s trademark intensity and sideline dramatics?
That would be Hurley’s lucky game-day underwear: red boxers emblazoned with cartoon dragons.
“They’re like underoos for adults,” his wife, Andrea Hurley, told The Post of the shorts from MeUndies brand.
He’s been wearing — and, don’t worry fans, washing — the same pair since the NCAA tournament kicked off earlier this month against Iona.
And he’ll be donning them again on Saturday night in Houston when the Huskies take on Miami in the Final Four.
In fact, he’s not switching up any of the game day togs he’s worn throughout this year’s Big Dance, where his dominant Huskies have been tearing through the competition, advancing to the school’s sixth Final Four appearance — and Hurley’s first.
The Jersey City native will be keeping the style streak going, wearing the same navy suit, navy socks, checkered David Donohue dress shirt from Nordstrom and old Prada shoes he and his assistants Kimani Young and Luke Murray have dubbed “pittsnogles” because they’re beaten up. (It’s unclear if early aughts West Virginia star Kevin Pittsnogle provided any inspiration.)
This sartorial superstition has become a habit for Hurley — and both Young and Murray, who have adopted the same wardrobe routine.
“He always pulls up the game that he had against the opponents to see what he was wearing,” Andrea Hurley said. “If they won that game, he’ll wear the same outfit.”
Last season, Hurley’s undergarments of choice were shark skivvies, but he has since demoted them to the day before tipoff.
As for his “pittsnogles” Hurley wore them for the Big East tournament loss to Marquette — and was ready to toss them.
“He decided they needed a proper burial since he’s had them for years, and they’ve won lots of games for him,” Andrea said. But Hurley had a change of heart and “he ended up going with the pittsnogles for the [Iona] game, and they haven’t left his feet. Every time we are about to win, Kimani turns and yells, ‘It’s the shoes! It’s the shoes!’ ”
Hurley is so specific about his clothing, he travels to tournaments with a portable washing machine — a Christmas gift from their eldest son, Danny.
“My little Danny is so good at presents. He said, ‘Ma, it’s for tournaments,’ ” said Andrea, who will then dry the clothing with a hair dryer.
Andrea herself is not superstitious, but she’s learned to follow orders from her ritualistic father-in-law, Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr.
Before the Gonzaga game that clinched a Final Four berth, he demanded Andrea wear the same satin UConn jacket she wore to the Arkansas game in the Sweet 16.
“After we won [against Gonzaga], my father-in-law said, ‘I don’t care if the jacket walks to Houston, it better be in the building,’ ” said Andrea, adding that she’ll likely make her niece wear it.
She has a different outfit planned.
But all of this talk of clothing brings Andrea back to her husband’s early coaching days at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark.
“I thought we were so fancy,” she said. “I bought him two pairs of Tommy Bahama pants, and they were expensive.”
One day, the couple decided to rehab the team’s locker room, which was kitted out with wooden lockers.
Andrea scrubbed the lockers with Murphy Oil Soap while her husband, then also a history teacher, led practice in his pricey khakis.
Afterward, he joined her and painted the floor marooon, staining his trousers.
“I was so pissed that he got maroon paint on the bottom of his fancy pants,” she said with a laugh.
“I keep thinking of moments like that. And how far we have come. We’re going to the Final Four. This is crazy.”