The dominoes are finally falling. Kansas City becomes the first coaching change of 2026 as the Roos plan to part ways with Marvin Menzies at the end of the season.

“Coach Menzies has been a great ambassador of our men’s basketball program. Since arriving in Kansas City, Coach Menzies and his staff have been committed to the holistic development of our student-athletes and the advancement of the UMKC campus community at large,” said athletic director Brandon Martin, who now starts the hunt for Menzies’ replacement. “We wish Coach Menzies all the best in his professional and personal endeavors moving forward.”

Kansas City have never reached the NCAA Tournament since moving to Division I in 1987, and this season has been another struggle. The Roos are 4-14, and the school has decided to part ways with Marvin Menzies after year four. His record sits at 44-71 in three and a half seasons.

There were 56 coaching changes last year, according to CBS Sports, and 2026 already has its first one. Will the market get as volatile as 2025? Still up in the air, but the NCAA community has a lot to say about Kansas City’s move. Here are some of the reactions.

A Coach caught between Vision and Reality

“Wish it would’ve worked out better because Coach Menzies is a great guy. He had a vision for the program when he got here, but tough adjusting to the NIL/Portal era,” one fan wrote, defending Menzies and arguing that the situation was tougher than it looked. Another fan chimed in with a similar take, saying, “Coach Menzies is a great dude and a solid coach. He will find his footing elsewhere. Unfortunate news.”

His appointment was always seen as a bit controversial since he replaced Billy Donlon, who had just led the Roos to a 19-12 record and a third-place finish in the Summit League. Menzies did show progress early, improving the team from Year 1 to Year 2 and finishing tied for second in the conference in 2023-24.

But it fell apart fast. KC went 13-20 overall and 4-12 in league play last season and has struggled again through the first half of this year. The Roos are 1-3 in the Summit League and ranked 337th on KenPom.com. At this rate, it could end up as the worst season in program history. “Unbelievable,” said another fan, reacting to the current state of things at KC.

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More support poured in for Menzies. One fan said, “Made the big dance 5/7 at New Mexico State. Never back after he moved on.” And to be fair, Marvin Menzies arrived with a solid resume. He was an assistant at places like USC and Louisville under Rick Pitino before becoming the head coach at New Mexico State and UNLV.

He helped the Aggies reach five NCAA Tournament appearances in his final seven seasons and developed talents like Pascal Siakam. Menzies left Las Cruces with the third-most wins in program history and the third-best winning percentage in WAC history, and he earned WAC Coach of the Year honors in 2014-15.

But his success at New Mexico State did not carry over to UNLV, where he wasn’t exactly a fan favorite. One fan even went as far as saying, “Worst coach in UNLV history. And we had ‘slow growth’, know nothing nincomp-op crowd begging for him to get more time. Some things are ridiculously obvious. He was an awful coach at UNLV, how some people pleaded for him to remain … blind with everything in life. Idi-ts.”

And you can understand why. Menzies finished 48-48 across three seasons in the desert. UNLV went 11-21 in year one, won 20 games in year two, and then went 17-14 in year three, which sealed his exit. He was never able to build on the hype he brought from New Mexico State, and that ultimately contributed to his downfall.

Something pretty similar has happened with Menzies at Kansas City, too. He never really got to finish what he wanted. And yes, there is a fair point about how far behind KC’s facilities are compared to other Division I programs, but that alone does not explain the poor results. For now, Menzies will just hope to end this chapter on a high note.