After 16 years with the Minnesota wrestling program, head assistant coach Marty Morgan resigned today to train former Gophers grappler and current Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Brock Lesnar fulltime. âÄúIâÄôm going to step back for a year to help Brock train, and IâÄôll see where IâÄôm at next summer,âÄù Morgan said in a statement. âÄúIâÄôve been working with Brock the past few years on his training and now IâÄôve been offered a unique opportunity to work with him full time.âÄù Lesnar, who claimed his first UFC victory last month in front of a hometown crowd at the Target Center, previously worked with Morgan as a conditioning coach, but that didnâÄôt make the Bloomington nativeâÄôs resignation from Minnesota come any easier. âÄúThis has definitely been a difficult decision, considering that I have been involved with the program for 20 years as an athlete and coach,âÄù Morgan said. âÄúI am happy to have a great relationship with the University of Minnesota administration, [Gophers head coach] J Robinson, the wrestling staff, past and current team members and numerous fans around this great wrestling state.âÄù Morgan helped the Gophers program land some of its biggest recruits in recent years âÄî including Lesnar âÄî and assisted the team to three national championships in 2000-2001, 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. âÄúMarty has been around Minnesota Wrestling for 20 years, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to step away for a year and to see what else is out there,âÄù head coach J Robinson said in the same statement, before hinting that the door may be open for Morgan in the future. âÄúI think itâÄôs important for people to see different opportunities that life has to offer from a different perspective, and a year away from the program can provide that perspective for Marty,âÄù Robinson said in the statement. âÄúHe will be obviously missed this year, with the way we do things, but we look forward to working with him in the future.âÄù As a wrestler, Morgan earned All-American honors in all three of his seasons with Minnesota after transferring from North Dakota State. With the Bison, he captured the Division II national championship and added a Division I championship as a senior with the Gophers in 1991.