Mike Montgomery retiring? Cal basketball coach to meet Sandy Barbour

We always knew we were closer to the end than the beginning with Mike Montgomery at Cal.

We just didn’t realize how close that end might be.

Andy Katz of ESPN reports that Montgomery will be meeting with Sandy Barbour tomorrow to discuss his future with the Golden Bears. It has not yet been determined what Montgomery has decided on, but recent reports apparently indicate that retirement is a very viable option for the Cal basketball head coach.

ESPN has also stated that Cal has reached out to a search firm to look for a new successor, particularly for this weekend’s Final Four where coaches tend to congregate. Remember, Cal used a search firm for football to hire Sonny Dykes.

Montgomery is coming off a pretty successful run with Cal, getting his team to four NCAA tournaments in five years before a disappointing finish this season left them just off the bubble. But he is the most successful Cal basketball coach in five decades and was always going to be able to decide his destiny with the Bears.

Montgomery did recently sign an extension that allowed him two more years on his contract through 2015-16, and it seemed like he would have the option to at least finish it out before he decided to walk into retirement. But at 67 years old he might already be thinking of the next step.

UPDATE: Sandy has made it clear her stance on the issue.

Cal AD Sandy Barbour says she doesn't know if Mike Montgomery intends to retire, but that she would "absolutely" try to talk him out of it.

— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) March 31, 2014

We’ll know by tomorrow.