Army to Hire Georgia Southern’s Monken as Head Coach

Multiple reports have surfaced today that Army will hire Georgia Southern’s Jeff Monken as their next head football coach. Assuming these reports are true and there is nothing that stands in the way of the finalization of this deal; this is a tremendous hire for Army. I wrote a week prior that Army should look to Navy to hire their next football coach. In essence they did, although one level removed. From the beginning, although biased, I though Jeff Monken would be a tremendous option for Army to replace departing coach Rich Ellerson. It was my faulty assumption that with Georgia Southern’s move to FBS competition along with some structural issues at Army that fans and foes alike agree need to be addressed before Army can succeed; that Monken would not have been the coach to emerge in this process.

Coach Monken has spent the majority of his career coaching the Flexbone Triple Option. Monken’s first position was as a graduate assistant at Hawaii in 1989 when Paul Johnson was the offensive coordinator. After spending the next several years at a variety of coaching stops, Monken next worked with Paul Johnson in 1997 coaching A-Backs. He spent four seasons with Johnson at Georgia Southern, then six at Navy, followed by two years at Georgia Tech. For the past four years Monken has been the head coach at Georgia Southern, leading a resurgence of the Eagle program, with a 38-15 record, marked by three consecutive trips to the FCS national semi-finals. The Eagles last game of this season was a 26-20 triumph over Florida in the swamp.

This hire signals significant change for Army fans, or for Navy fans for that matter. First, to hire a coach of Monken’s caliber it indicates that Army is willing to move forward and address some of the issues that have plagued the Army football program in the recent past. By digging into the Paul Johnson coaching tree, it shows that they are at the very least willing to take similar paths to Navy, which based on recent play on the field, should be very exciting for Army fans the world over. It likely does not meet the approval of some in the Army camp, but in this case, following the Navy model, can be nothing but a benefit for the entire Army Football community. 

The next question that will surely be addressed very quickly, is what will Monken do to fill out his staff, and conversely what path does Georgia Southern take? Will a Navy assistant or two, especially on the offensive side follow Monken to Army? Will Georgia Southern keep their job in the Paul Johnson coaching tree with possibly Ivin Jasper or Ashley Ingram, a south Georgia native? Does Brent Davis emerge as a candidate at Georgia Southern, or will he too make the trek to West Point? These behind the scenes decisions can at times be the ones with the most significance. If you are an Army fan, you should rejoice in this hire. If you are a Navy fan, you can expect some very interesting Army-Navy games in the coming years. 

Photo: Southern Conference