Head coach Dan Monson of the Long Beach State 49ers speaks during a press conference ahead of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Delta Center on March 20, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Long Beach State men's basketball coach Dan Monson was fired on March 11. And yet, he just keeps showing up for work.
He'll be on the sideline coaching the team Thursday when they play Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
What in the name of March Madness is going on here?!
"I don't have to answer anything I don't want to because I'm working for free today," Monson joked with reporters during the start of his news conference Wednesday. "Did you guys see the 'Seinfeld' when George Costanza was trying to get fired and couldn't lose his job, still going to work every day? That's me. I'm a 'Seinfeld' episode going on right now in real life."
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Monson, of course, was referring to the episode "The Millennium" where Costanza attempts to get fired by New York Yankees after receiving a job offer from the New York Mets. Costanza attempts to go out with "one final blaze of incompetence" by intentionally spilling strawberries on Babe Ruth's uniform, dragging the World Series trophy from his car and streaking across the field in a body suit.
Unlike Costanza, Monson was not intentionally trying to lose his job.
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Here's how he ended up being the only unemployed head coach at the NCAA Tournament.
His team lost their final five games of the regular season in the Big West Conference to finish 18-14. The Monday after their final regular season game, with the conference tournament three days away, Monson was fired after 17 years on the job.
Monson, 62, informed his players and told them he was permitted to finish the season and coach the team in the Big West 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.
So, Monson kept doing his job...and his team kept winning.
The fourth-seeded 49ers won three straight games, including upsets over top-ranked UC Irvine in the semifinals and No. 2 UC Davis in the championship game, to win the conference and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.
Long Beach State drew the No. 15 seed, setting the stage for a matchup against No. 2 Arizona at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.
It will either be Monson's final game as coach of the team or the continuation of a bizarre Cinderella story.
"I think life is life," Monson said. "Some of it's good and some of it's bad. How you pivot through it defines who you are. I'm hoping that people look at me and say, 'Hey, he had a great job. What are we feeling sorry for him for? He had 17 years driving that car. It was a great ride.'"
And the ride is not over just yet.
"I knew the car was leased. I mean, they wanted the keys back," Monson said. "It's not insured this week but I still get to drive it. I'm going to try to keep it on the road, the road to the Final Four."
Cue the "Seinfeld" theme music.
