Agree on Mabrey. Cunningham Had Extenuating Circumstances

..that led her to leave a pretty successful stint at VCU to return to ND as an assistant coach.

Cunningham left VCU abruptly. Why? A hint came later when she filed a complaint against Norwood Teague when he was the athletic director at VCU. VCU paid Cunningham $125,000 in July 2012 to settle the complaint.

Teague was later hired by Minnesota (how the search firm hired to do this missed that one is beyond me) and he didn't last long. Why? Sexual harrassment charges were filed by internal and external people and he was gone.

She and her husband -- both ND grads -- liked South Bend a lot and were probably taken out of left field a bit when she wasn't offered an assistant slot with Coach Ivey (her call), leading to going to Duke for awhile.
Still, like you, I expected her to find a bit more high-profile position than Missouri State.

She's had two 20-win seasons but lots of transfers out this year. It will be a transfer and coaching challenge this year. If she can pull a W out of the hat, maybe she can nudge up a conference.

I agree...I think Michaela could do a lot worse than Monmouth. School likes hoops, it's in a talent-rich area where she could establish/deepen relationships that will help her there and the next stop and she's close to home. Will keep track of this one.