Still, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the team’s poor offensive showings. After three losing seasons, Ross retired due to exhaustion in January 2007 with a record of only 9-25.
It was the timing of Ross’ departure that perhaps most influenced the hiring of Army’s next head coach. In the midst of recruiting season, Athletic Director Kevin Anderson quickly appointed Ross’ offensive line coach, Stan Brock, to lead the team.
Brock never stood a chance.
When Brock was selected as the head coach at Army, he had a grand total of three years of collegiate coaching experience, having served all of it under his mentor Bobby Ross.
Like the three Heisman Trophies that are displayed in Army’s stellar athletic center, his prolific 15-year NFL playing career was perhaps more symbolic than relevant in guiding the undersized squad of overachievers to success on the football field.
Sure. His experience with Ross’ system and the few years at the Academy were valuable. And he was no doubt a very effective and likeable offensive line coach.
But for anyone to coach at Army (one of the most difficult coaching jobs in all of college football), it requires an extraordinary blend of experience and creativity.
Unfortunately for Brock, he lacked the former and couldn’t develop the latter.
His teams fell victim to the ultra-conservative mindset that was born in the Todd Berry years and institutionalized under Bobby Ross. It was as if each coach resolved themselves to what their players couldn’t do on the football field.
They tried, each in their own way, to avoid anything unique or risky for fear of the daunting athleticism of their opponents.
They played it safe, relying on what they called “fundamentals” to disguise their lack of faith in their own teams’ ability to compete.
And in doing so, they were defeated before their teams stepped foot on the field.
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