Dan Monson might just be an employee of the year — and he's not even an employee at Long Beach State anymore.
As his No. 15 seed Beach get set to take on the No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats, Long Beach State will be doing so with Monson at the helm even after he was fired by the team. Unlike most employees who receive the dreaded pink slip, the coach is sticking around to finish the job before collecting his belongings and leaving the building.
An improbable run to a spot in the big dance has created a fascinating dynamic heading into the opening round, especially if the Beach manage to pull off a big upset.
The Sporting News examines the situation surrounding Monson, including his firing and whether he could do enough to earn the job back.
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Dan Monson coaching record
Monson, 62, is 275-272 (.503) during his 17-year tenure with Long Beach State and 445-395 for his head-coaching career, which started in 1997 at Gonzaga. The Beach last made March Madness in 2012 before their unlikely run to the 2024 tournament.
Why did Long Beach State fire coach Dan Monson?
Before its unlikely run to the NCAA Tournament, Long Beach State wasn't without its reasons for firing Monson. Despite being the all-time winningest coach in school history, his team was limping to the finish this season. The Beach lost five in a row to end the regular season with a 10-10 conference record.
And it's not like Long Beach State has a storied history of being an NCAA Tournament regular, meaning the decision wasn't really controversial at the time. He coached his team to only one NCAA Tournament appearance, which came back in 2012.
After 17 years at the helm, the case could be made that it was time for some new blood.
"A change in leadership creates an opportunity to re-envision the future of our storied men's basketball program," athletic director Bobby Smitheran said in a press release. "We are committed to finding the right person for the job — one that can harness the incredible energy of this community, build meaningful connections, and elevate this program to the next level. We expect to have a strong pool of candidates."
The coach and school parted ways but agreed that Monson would stay with the team through the end of the postseason. And Monson seems to be handling the situation with good humor.
"I don't have to answer anything I don't want to because I'm working for free today," he said at his press conference Wednesday in Salt Lake City. He also compared his situation to an episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld."
He used his own situation to rally the team for the Big West Tournament — and it worked, as the team clinched the title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"I said to them, 'Look, we still have this week. We have to respect their decision, but they also could have not given us this week. I have a gratitude toward having this week because a lot of coaches, when they're done, they're done, so let's take advantage of this week,'" Monson said.
Despite the reason laid out at the previous press conference, Smitheran tried to take credit for the team's run on Thursday, the first day of the tournament. The Long Beach State AD said that the timing of the firing was done with the hope that it spark the run needed to make the NCAA Tournament, essentially taking credit for the success of the basketball team.
"My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that's what they did," Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press on Thursday. "I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked."
Long Beach State seems set on parting ways with Monson once the season is over, no matter how far the program goes in the NCAA Tournament. However, Smitheran double downed on the fact that his decision may have somehow been the exact trigger needed to go on the run.
"My job is to position our coaches and student athletes to be successful," Smitheran said. "This was maybe an atypical way to do so. But I believed in the roster we had, I believed in our coaching staff and our ability to do something special. Maybe this was the catalyst they needed to be inspired to play for one another."
Smitheran also said that the entire ordeal with Monson has been blown out of proportion.
"I don't buy into that narrative," Smitheran said. "I think this is really getting lost on people, that we agreed that a change in leadership was necessary. This was something Coach Monson brought to me."
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, whose team sits on the opposite side of the bracket but is playing at the same site in the first round, applauded Monson and slammed Long Beach State at his own press conference Wednesday.
"He's handled it in a real, real classy way," Few said. "I can't say the same for Long Beach State."
Mark Few not holding back on Long Beach State after Dan Monson's firing:
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) March 20, 2024
"He's handled it in a real, real classy way. I can't say the same for LBSU. It's ridiculous that his health insurance and things like that, everybody out there in the real world usually gets an extended… pic.twitter.com/YA9y98UQmM
STREAM: Watch Long Beach St. vs. Arizona live with Sling
Will Long Beach State bring back Dan Monson?
What if the postseason just keeps on going? Could Long Beach State change its mind?
Even a Cinderella story won't give Monson a fairytale ending, according to Sportico.
When asked if Monson could come back after the successful postseason run, a Long Beach State spokesman told the site: "No." The "decision was made with a possible postseason run in mind," the spokesman added.
Despite that door being seemingly shut, Monson has said that he wants to continue coaching.
“I don’t think this is my last,” Monson told ESPN after winning the Big West Tournament. “I love coaching, I love teams. I need a new challenge. It’s life, on to the next chapter.”
On Monday Dan Monson was fired after 17 years at LBSU. Now he's dancing.
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) March 17, 2024
"When Jim Harbaugh says who's got it better than him, someone's got to tell him Dan Monson... I have the 1999 run at Gonzaga, but as Mark Few said over text, why don't we have a run in the first year and a… pic.twitter.com/Cb5MCctlS8
Considering how everything's unfolded, it seems there is a lot more to tell in Monson's coaching story.
