Looks like BG finally put the nail in Montgomery's coffin.

https://niuhuskies.com/news/2021/1/3/niu...hange.aspx

That'll happen when it's January but your only win is against Chicago State. I thought NIU started turning a corner last season but I guess not.

Mont is a nice guy, not a great coach. We should have done this a few years back.

Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

yeah, NIU won the MAC West but they were the league's what 4th best team with a once in a decade scorer and senior laden roster. i think that was montgomery's ceiling. this year his team is back to losing. and the roster isn't that bad. there's just nothing sticking the team together.

(01-03-2021 10:47 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

Montgomery was in his 10th season. His record during that 10 year span was 124-170 overall and 63-98 in MAC play. Last year was his only season that he finished MAC play with a winning record. It's a bit of a strange time to be firing a coach given the financial struggles schools are facing because of covid, but based off of performance his tenure was pretty poor.

(01-04-2021 10:43 AM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 10:47 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

Montgomery was in his 10th season. His record during that 10 year span was 124-170 overall and 63-98 in MAC play. Last year was his only season that he finished MAC play with a winning record. It's a bit of a strange time to be firing a coach given the financial struggles schools are facing because of covid, but based off of performance his tenure was pretty poor.

I think this can be a recipe for success in the MAC (and thanks for a MAC insider for suggesting it many years ago).

1). Very hard for most teams to have good seasons year in and year out. We don't have schools like Duke who can build a dynasty.

2). Build a young team and let it mature. Maybe get say 12 - 6 conference record with an upper-class laden team.

3). Rebuild and repeat the scenario. Fans will accept say 6 - 12 after a 12 - 6 record.

4). Fans don't like 10 - 8 and then 8 - 10 and then 7 - 11 and 10 - 8... That kind of not great, not terrible is kind of blah. Being consistently average is like kissing your sister...

(01-04-2021 11:03 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 10:43 AM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 10:47 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

Montgomery was in his 10th season. His record during that 10 year span was 124-170 overall and 63-98 in MAC play. Last year was his only season that he finished MAC play with a winning record. It's a bit of a strange time to be firing a coach given the financial struggles schools are facing because of covid, but based off of performance his tenure was pretty poor.

I think this can be a recipe for success in the MAC (and thanks for a MAC insider for suggesting it many years ago).

1). Very hard for most teams to have good seasons year in and year out. We don't have schools like Duke who can build a dynasty.

2). Build a young team and let it mature. Maybe get say 12 - 6 conference record with an upper-class laden team.

3). Rebuild and repeat the scenario. Fans will accept say 6 - 12 after a 12 - 6 record.

4). Fans don't like 10 - 8 and then 8 - 10 and then 7 - 11 and 10 - 8... That kind of not great, not terrible is kind of blah. Being consistently average is like kissing your sister...

Your #4 point is really good. That was the Reggie Witherspoon model at Buffalo. We were never awful, in fact had some very good years, but also never won the league. So a change was made to Bobby Hurley and it started the best six-year stretch in program history and maybe even MAC history.

(01-04-2021 12:03 PM)BullBoy Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 11:03 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 10:43 AM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 10:47 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

Montgomery was in his 10th season. His record during that 10 year span was 124-170 overall and 63-98 in MAC play. Last year was his only season that he finished MAC play with a winning record. It's a bit of a strange time to be firing a coach given the financial struggles schools are facing because of covid, but based off of performance his tenure was pretty poor.

I think this can be a recipe for success in the MAC (and thanks for a MAC insider for suggesting it many years ago).

1). Very hard for most teams to have good seasons year in and year out. We don't have schools like Duke who can build a dynasty.

2). Build a young team and let it mature. Maybe get say 12 - 6 conference record with an upper-class laden team.

3). Rebuild and repeat the scenario. Fans will accept say 6 - 12 after a 12 - 6 record.

4). Fans don't like 10 - 8 and then 8 - 10 and then 7 - 11 and 10 - 8... That kind of not great, not terrible is kind of blah. Being consistently average is like kissing your sister...

Your #4 point is really good. That was the Reggie Witherspoon model at Buffalo. We were never awful, in fact had some very good years, but also never won the league. So a change was made to Bobby Hurley and it started the best six-year stretch in program history and maybe even MAC history.

Yep. The problem with all of these 10 -8 type seasons is that it doesn't get you to the NCAAs or NIT.

In CFB 7 - 5 will get a bowl game, and maybe even a good one. A 6 - 6 record got EMU to the Quick Lane Bowl vs. Pitt in a very, very exciting game.

That wasn't like kissing your sister; it was like ********* (ah, never mind).

(01-04-2021 11:03 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 10:43 AM)kreed5120 Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 10:47 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  Won the MAC West last year and lost the program's leading scorer, the 1-7 record is pretty bad but wouldn't you expect a drop off after losing the program's best player? Not sure I agree a mid-season firing is the best idea.

Montgomery was in his 10th season. His record during that 10 year span was 124-170 overall and 63-98 in MAC play. Last year was his only season that he finished MAC play with a winning record. It's a bit of a strange time to be firing a coach given the financial struggles schools are facing because of covid, but based off of performance his tenure was pretty poor.

I think this can be a recipe for success in the MAC (and thanks for a MAC insider for suggesting it many years ago).

1). Very hard for most teams to have good seasons year in and year out. We don't have schools like Duke who can build a dynasty.

2). Build a young team and let it mature. Maybe get say 12 - 6 conference record with an upper-class laden team.

3). Rebuild and repeat the scenario. Fans will accept say 6 - 12 after a 12 - 6 record.

4). Fans don't like 10 - 8 and then 8 - 10 and then 7 - 11 and 10 - 8... That kind of not great, not terrible is kind of blah. Being consistently average is like kissing your sister...

I feel part of the reason that the MAC is still only a 1 bid league is too many teams are content leaving guys like Montgomery around. If this was football he would have been let go after 4 or 5 seasons. You're right there are no Duke's or North Carolina's in the MAC. It shouldn't take 9 seasons to build a team that finishes with a winning record in conference play.

(01-04-2021 04:43 AM)pono Wrote:  yeah, NIU won the MAC West but they were the league's what 4th best team with a once in a decade scorer and senior laden roster. i think that was montgomery's ceiling. this year his team is back to losing. and the roster isn't that bad. there's just nothing sticking the team together.

Yea we weren't going to be able to replace Eugene German, so I expected a drop but we should have still had somebody on the roster with talent to keep us respectable. German is the only guy we've had in recent years who you could say was really good. And he worked his butt off from day one, by all accounts.