Cal coach Mike Montgomery retires

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

After five stops spanning four decades in coaching, California Bears head coach Mike Montgomery has decided to call it quits following his sixth successful season in Berkeley.

Montgomery, 67, will have some big shoes to fill after leading the Bears to four NCAA Tournament appearances along with two trips to the NIT, including a trip to the quarterfinals this year. His overall record at Cal was 130-73.

He experienced his best success at his previous collegiate stop, Stanford, where over 18 seasons he compiled 393 wins to go along with an Elite Eight appearance in 2001, a Final Four berth in 1998, and an NIT championship in 1991.

Following his tenure in Palo Alto, he muddled through two seasons as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors before ultimately being fired.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, he gave a ringing endorsement to his second-year associate head coach, Travis DeCuire, saying, “We’ve got the guy in this room that should have this job. I’m really hoping Sandy [Barbour] comes to that conclusion, ultimately. We’re positioned very, very well.”

Montgomery began his coaching career in 1974 as an assistant at Boise State, where he remained until he was hired to take the helm at Montana in 1978, where he won 154 games in eight seasons.

He was a four-time Pac-12 Coach of the  Year (all with Stanford), won five Pac-12 regular season championships (4 at Stanford, one at Cal), a Pac-12 tournament title (2004), and the Naismith College Coach of the Year in 2000, when he led the Cardinal to a 27-4 record and one-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

His overall career head coaching record stands at 677-317. His next stop is likely Kansas City for an induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Happy trails, coach.