Former Gopher coach Dan Monson fired by Long Beach State

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dlnavra said:
Hired there in 2007 and now 62 years old. I'd take a long tenure at that place/climate/etc. Will be interesting to see if he even tries to land somewhere else. Not a bad spot to hang it up.
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Based on the post-game interview, ole' Dan is pining for another gig.
 


So interesting to see how a couple of locals are trying to frame Monson and Pitino making the tournament as some black eye against the Minnesota job. Monson went from the Big Ten to coaching in a one bid league for 17 years where he just made his 2nd NCAA tournament tonight. I was rooting for him and think it's a great story. Wouldn't a reasonable person suggest that this was a guy who probably never was a Big Ten quality coach?

It would be nice to just enjoy a coach who got fired having a fun last ride instead of it somehow being turned against Minnesota by a couple of the usual suspects.

As for Pitino, as it turned out he probably need to win the MWC tournament to get in to the dance and he did just that. Credit to him, I certainly will admit that I never expected him to get to this point and he's got a lot of nice talent for that league. In three years in the Mountain West he's went 5-12, 8-10, and 10-8. In contrast two different coaches have come in to Utah State in that same time period and outperformed him. Kevin Kruger, in his first head coaching job ever, at UNLV came in at the same time as Pitino and has gone 10-8, 7-11, 12-6 in the Mountain West. Again I fail to see how this shows anything about Minnesota being so impossible and instead points to hiring guys who didn't have the ability to coach in the big leagues when they were hired.
 

EG#9 said:
So interesting to see how a couple of locals are trying to frame Monson and Pitino making the tournament as some black eye against the Minnesota job. Monson went from the Big Ten to coaching in a one bid league for 17 years where he just made his 2nd NCAA tournament tonight. I was rooting for him and think it's a great story. Wouldn't a reasonable person suggest that this was a guy who probably never was a Big Ten quality coach?

It would be nice to just enjoy a coach who got fired having a fun last ride instead of it somehow being turned against Minnesota by a couple of the usual suspects.

As for Pitino, as it turned out he probably need to win the MWC tournament to get in to the dance and he did just that. Credit to him, I certainly will admit that I never expected him to get to this point and he's got a lot of nice talent for that league. In three years in the Mountain West he's went 5-12, 8-10, and 10-8. In contrast two different coaches have come in to Utah State in that same time period and outperformed him. Kevin Kruger, in his first head coaching job ever, at UNLV came in at the same time as Pitino and has gone 10-8, 7-11, 12-6 in the Mountain West. Again I fail to see how this shows anything about Minnesota being so impossible and instead points to hiring guys who didn't have the ability to coach in the big leagues when they were hired.
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Excellent analysis. For context, though, Monson was hired in a crippling probation situation and was the hottest coach in the country when hired here. He was in over his head as we discovered but not a terrible hire out of the box.

Pitino was not prepared for a getting more competitive semi pro conference and most observers would have easily come to the same conclusion. Misses on more qualified candidates and a wishful approach that his name would help recruiting drove a bad decision.

Any comparison about Minnesota should be in our hiring process not the job itself.
 


Holy Man said:
Excellent analysis. For context, though, Monson was hired in a crippling probation situation and was the hottest coach in the country when hired here. He was in over his head as we discovered but not a terrible hire out of the box.

Pitino was not prepared for a getting more competitive semi pro conference and most observers would have easily come to the same conclusion. Misses on more qualified candidates and a wishful approach that his name would help recruiting drove a bad decision.

Any comparison about Minnesota should be in our hiring process not the job itself.
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The sad thing is monson never would have been the hottest coach in the country had we had our full roster and just eliminated him in round 1. He may have been with Gonzaga for the next dozen years.
 


This is one of the strange and interesting stories I can remember. Guy gets fired before the end of the season but is allowed to keep working, then advances to the Dance. Heck, with that accomplishment, he'd be a candidate for his own job if he hadn't just been fired from it!
 

EG#9 said:
So interesting to see how a couple of locals are trying to frame Monson and Pitino making the tournament as some black eye against the Minnesota job. Monson went from the Big Ten to coaching in a one bid league for 17 years where he just made his 2nd NCAA tournament tonight. I was rooting for him and think it's a great story. Wouldn't a reasonable person suggest that this was a guy who probably never was a Big Ten quality coach?

It would be nice to just enjoy a coach who got fired having a fun last ride instead of it somehow being turned against Minnesota by a couple of the usual suspects.

As for Pitino, as it turned out he probably need to win the MWC tournament to get in to the dance and he did just that. Credit to him, I certainly will admit that I never expected him to get to this point and he's got a lot of nice talent for that league. In three years in the Mountain West he's went 5-12, 8-10, and 10-8. In contrast two different coaches have come in to Utah State in that same time period and outperformed him. Kevin Kruger, in his first head coaching job ever, at UNLV came in at the same time as Pitino and has gone 10-8, 7-11, 12-6 in the Mountain West. Again I fail to see how this shows anything about Minnesota being so impossible and instead points to hiring guys who didn't have the ability to coach in the big leagues when they were hired.
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Thank you.

I know you're talking about Justin Gaard and his ridiculous tweet, but who else has trotted that trope out today?
 
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Bad Gopher said:
This is one of the strange and interesting stories I can remember. Guy gets fired before the end of the season but is allowed to keep working, then advances to the Dance. Heck, with that accomplishment, he'd be a candidate for his own job if he hadn't just been fired from it!
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I realize that to some/most it's only a minor issue of semantics, but his tenure is ending because his contract runs out on April 30. To me that's enough nuance that he wasn't "fired".

Could have just been they couldn't agree on salary, though I doubt that's it. Just didn't win enough.

But it is odd/unique for a few reasons:

- How did both sides ever get to this point to begin with? It's really rare a HC gets to the very final year of a contract, even if it's with some really phony low ball buyout if the AD has little to no faith it's going to work out. That must have made recruiting even more challenging for Monson, yet he over came that.

Gene Keady/Purdue is the only other circumstance that comes to mind whose contract played out to the end.

- Why was it announced on Monday of Championship week? Nothing to lose so just get it out of the way and/or use as motivation? Well played?!?

Maybe the AD just wanted a head start on the search. I suppose with the Transfer portal, time is of the essence.

- I wonder, has there ever been a team in any Conference to lose their last 5 regular season games, then win it's Conference Tournament? Put aside the Services No Longer Required aspect, that's just a crazy feat.
 

Keeping the job for 17 years is quite an accomplishment and rare feat as well.

I’ve followed The Beach casually from afar since he went there. He’s been close to dismissal at least once and there was some understanding that something had to happen to keep the job and he met the expectations. Also a rare feat.

People forget they were in the final four once and have a history of dominance in the conference. Monson kept them consistently in the upper division but not necessarily on top and had at least a few heartbreaks as the top seed in the tournament. LBSU has higher expectations than that and I think sees itself as a Dayton or VCU type program in the west. That wasn’t happening.

While strange from a distance, the way this unfolded is not completely surprising. Contract expiring. A long and okay tenure. The word gets out publicly allowing him to save face and he gets a chance to lobby for a new job on the championship podium. Not a bad deal, but I really did think he was hanging it up.

If he wants to work again, more power to him. I’m not sure I would in the same circumstances, But maybe he takes a WCC job or a Big Sky or something. There would be worse places to transition into retirement.

Good luck to him☘️
 

Holy Man said:
People forget they were in the final four once and have a history of dominance in the conference. Monson kept them consistently in the upper division but not necessarily on top and had at least a few heartbreaks as the top seed in the tournament. LBSU has higher expectations than that and I think sees itself as a Dayton or VCU type program in the west. That wasn’t happening.
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LBSU has never made it to the Final Four. They had a nice little run in the early '70s with Jerry Tarkanian and Lute Olson as head coaches but otherwise they've been mostly a non-existent program.

Since 1978, LBSU has won 6 conference regular season titles, Dan Monson has accounted for 4 of them.

Are you thinking about baseball?
 

NateDawgUM said:
LBSU has never made it to the Final Four. They had a nice little run in the early '70s with Jerry Tarkanian and Lute Olson as head coaches but otherwise they've been mostly a non-existent program.

Since 1978, LBSU has won 6 conference regular season titles, Dan Monson has accounted for 4 of them.

Are you thinking about baseball?
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I thought Tark made one.
 






Ope3 said:
Souhan column on Monson & Pitino.

www.startribune.com

Richard Pitino and Dan Monson. Ex-Gophers coaches who struggled leading teams into NCAA tournament

Richard Pitino and Dan Monson, who struggled before leaving Minnesota for schools in lesser conferences, have teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. How should Gophers fans feel about that?
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
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I get asking how MN fans feel about Pitino making the tournament. But Monson? He hasn't coached here in 18 years.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I get asking how MN fans feel about Pitino making the tournament. But Monson? He hasn't coached here in 18 years.
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Just personally, I was happy for Monson, especially given his current situation.

Pitino too, for that matter.

Regardless of whether or not it was time to go, they handled their tenures with class through the very end. No ill will.
 

Ope3 said:
Just personally, I was happy for Monson, especially given his current situation.

Pitino too, for that matter.

Regardless of whether or not it was time to go, they handled their tenures with class through the very end. No ill will.
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Spot on. Both of them it was time to go. Both of them it doesn’t mean anything bad about them personally and doesn’t necessarily even mean they’re bad coaches, time for a change though
 

been at Long Beach State for 17 years following his short Gopher career. Got fired the other day just before making the NCAAs. Guess he had found a place. Sort of forgot about him.
 


Good stuff on Monson. He compares himself to George in the Seinfeld episode in which he was trying to get fired.

deadspin.com

Deadspin | Fired to on fire: LBSU's Dan Monson living 'Seinfeld' episode

Deadspin | Fired to on fire: LBSU's Dan Monson living 'Seinfeld' episode
deadspin.com deadspin.com

Best part was the team getting together to break down film after the axe had fallen:

"The first thing I said is, 'Just bonding together is not going to be enough. Our defense has got to get better. We have to be a better basketball team this week. Just look at this first defensive clip, guys. We close out short here. The guy is wide open, we don't get a contest. These are the kind of plays that get a coach fired,'" Monson recalled of the reunion with players.

"The whole room broke up. It started right then. It was like, 'OK, we're going to be all right here.'"
 
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FinnGopher said:
Based on the post-game interview, ole' Dan is pining for another gig.
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I'd take him on the MN staff, but I don't see Ben making any changes and he'd probably most if the the Thoreson role.
 

Ope3 said:
Good stuff on Monson. He compares himself to George in the Seinfeld episode in which he was trying to get fired.

deadspin.com

Deadspin | Fired to on fire: LBSU's Dan Monson living 'Seinfeld' episode

Deadspin | Fired to on fire: LBSU's Dan Monson living 'Seinfeld' episode
deadspin.com deadspin.com

Best part was the team getting together to break down film after the axe had fallen:

"The first thing I said is, 'Just bonding together is not going to be enough. Our defense has got to get better. We have to be a better basketball team this week. Just look at this first defensive clip, guys. We close out short here. The guy is wide open, we don't get a contest. These are the kind of plays that get a coach fired,'" Monson recalled of the reunion with players.

"The whole room broke up. It started right then. It was like, 'OK, we're going to be all right here.'"
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Somebody said previously that Monson wasn't fired but he and the school mutually agreed to part ways. Semantics maybe, but he was fired. He already said in a courtside interview after they won the conference tournament that he wasn't done coaching and would look for a new gig. In the interview above, he was hilarious....said he had a car and house payment coming up and didn't know how he was going to do it. :D:D
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
Somebody said previously that Monson wasn't fired but he and the school mutually agreed to part ways. Semantics maybe, but he was fired. He already said in a courtside interview after they won the conference tournament that he wasn't done coaching and would look for a new gig. In the interview above, he was hilarious....said he had a car and house payment coming up and didn't know how he was going to do it. :D:D
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His contract runs out April 30, so yeah technically not "fired", but it's essentially the same.
 


cheeseheadgophfan said:
Somebody said previously that Monson wasn't fired but he and the school mutually agreed to part ways. Semantics maybe, but he was fired. He already said in a courtside interview after they won the conference tournament that he wasn't done coaching and would look for a new gig. In the interview above, he was hilarious....said he had a car and house payment coming up and didn't know how he was going to do it. :D:D
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Most likely joking, but if not then he sucks at personal finance. 17 years at a job. Has to make at least half of what Ben makes and he has a house payment? Go take an intro finance class at LB before you leave campus.
 

Big Dawg said:
Most likely joking, but if not then he sucks at personal finance. 17 years at a job. Has to make at least half of what Ben makes and he has a house payment? Go take an intro finance class at LB before you leave campus.
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While not blessed with a lot of charisma, I remember him as a bit of a quipster. If he is able to say things like that publicly, it is self-deprecation not an announcement of facts.
 

Big Dawg said:
Most likely joking, but if not then he sucks at personal finance. 17 years at a job. Has to make at least half of what Ben makes and he has a house payment? Go take an intro finance class at LB before you leave campus.
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Plus the Gopher salary/buyout.

Still I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't own his house outright, in that real estate market.
 


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