Fired Long Beach State Coach Delivers Incredible Press Conference Ahead Of NCAA Tournament

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One of the best stories surrounding the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is that of Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson. 

As OutKick's Glenn Guilbeau reported over the weekend, Long Beach State fired Monson the Monday prior to the Big West conference tournament, but allowed him to continue coaching through the duration of the season. 

The Beach had lost five-straight games entering the tournament to fall to 18-14 on the season and 10-10 in conference play. The school obviously did not expect the squad, which was playing its worst basketball of the season, to make a deep run in the Big West. 

Except, it did. Long Beach State defeated UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC Davis in succession to capture the Big West conference tournament championship and secure an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson addresses the media prior to the team's first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats.

Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson addresses the media prior to the team's first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats.

(Rob Gray/USA TODAY Sports)

Monson, who the school promised to keep as the team's coach through the rest of the season, is now coaching the team in its first round matchup against #2 Arizona. 

Naturally, Monson is enjoying this moment quite a bit. There's really no better feeling than having your boss tell you that you stink, and he wants you gone, only to immediately prove him wrong. 

He opened his press conference with an incredible line: "I don't have to answer anything I don't want to because I'm working for free today." 

Turns out, Monson had a sense of humor about his precarious position right from the jump. After athletics director Bobby Smitherman informed Monson that he would be fired, Monson continued to work. 

In fact, he held a film session with his team after telling them the news. After all, their season wasn't over yet. 

"I said, 'Just look at this first defensive clip, guys. We close out short here. The guy's wide open. We don't get a contest. These are the kind of plays that would get a coach fired.' The whole room just broke up. It started right then. It was like, 'Okay, we're going to be alright here,'" Monson said.

He ended his press conference with another great one-liner, promising to upset Arizona on Thursday. 

"I'll see you guys on Friday, right?" Monson said to laughter from the media. "Tell [Arizona head coach] Tommy [Lloyd] I said that."

Unless you're an Arizona fan, or picked the Wildcats to win the tournament in your NCAA Bracket pool, how can you not root for Long Beach State? 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.