 After graduation, Monson was a high school coach in Oregon City, Oregon for a season, then became a collegiate graduate assistant under Gene Bartow at UAB in 1986, where he earned a master's degree in education.Monson began at GU as an assistant coach in 1988 before being elevated to associate head coach under head coach Dan Fitzgerald in 1994; in all, Monson spent eleven years helping build the Gonzaga program.As an assistant, Monson was a key figure in the Bulldogs turnaround during the 1990s.