Apparently, the Athletic Director fired Ivin Jasper as OC after Navy's atrocious offensive performance versus Air Force.

But today, the Navy HC has had Jasper brought back as his QB coach.

Has something like this happened before? I'm sure it has but can't think of the last time.

https://footballscoop.com/news/navy-re-h...vin-jasper

Bear Bryant’s first HC job was the Univ. of Maryland in 1945. I believe he quit after the first season because someone higher-up (the AD?) dismissed two of his assistants without getting Bryant’s permission.

That’s the closest thing I can think of that compares to this. Seems like Navy football is in deep sh¡t, if not an actual crisis.

Navy does appear to be in disarray.

(09-13-2021 03:06 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Apparently, the Athletic Director fired Ivin Jasper as OC after Navy's atrocious offensive performance versus Air Force.

But today, the Navy HC has had Jasper brought back as his QB coach.

Has something like this happened before? I'm sure it has but can't think of the last time.

https://footballscoop.com/news/navy-re-h...vin-jasper

I'll pull this over from the AAC board "Football News Thread"

(09-13-2021 08:49 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 05:01 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  All the questions on the Navy AD-HC-OC situation...30 minutes with Coach Niumat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w2Z2VyDJ_Q

And Chris Vannini in The Athletic (first time I'd seen / heard him in these press availablities)

https://theathletic.com/news/ivin-jasper...zGmkYAGHM#

The Washington Post's article by Kareem Copeland includes quotes from the AD:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/20...einstated/

Situation still unsettled.

Of note, Coach Niumat was calling plays for the last couple seasons. It started with 2019 when Coach Jasper -- who had long been the QB coach in addition to OC --came down from the press box to the sidelines to more immediately coach up Malcolm Perry. That went okay.
Of course that continued in 2020 which went less okay.

(09-13-2021 03:06 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Apparently, the Athletic Director fired Ivin Jasper as OC after Navy's atrocious offensive performance versus Air Force.

But today, the Navy HC has had Jasper brought back as his QB coach.

Has something like this happened before? I'm sure it has but can't think of the last time.

https://footballscoop.com/news/navy-re-h...vin-jasper

Rumor is that Ivin Jasper has nuddy pics of the Athletic Directors wife so he had no choice but to bring him back..........

It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

(09-13-2021 09:39 PM)The WEST is the BEST Wrote:  It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

(09-13-2021 10:31 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 09:39 PM)The WEST is the BEST Wrote:  It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

The football head coach is an employee of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. The AD runs NAAA (I would say "CEO" but not sure that's exactly the title). The NAAA is a 501.c.3 organization, and about 97% of the budget comes from their own funding, rather than government appropriated or non-appropriated funds. Some coaches are also staff/faculty in the PE department or even active duty servicemembers, so those last couple percent when it comes to travel and little things have thus far been inextricable.

The Superintendent's control over the NAAA is via the Athletic Board of Control, but it is pretty direct and unquestioned. There is an operating agreement between the NAAA and USNA for clarity and transparency, since NAAA operates in government facilities and all midshipmen (plus staff and faculty) use the facilities that NAAA funds. And that Board of Control provides governance.
The Superintendent position by statute is terminal -- those Vice Admirals retire after their tour at the Academy so that they don't go back to the Pentagon or the Fleet after being in a position that does fundraising via the NAAA and the Alumni and Foundation Association.

As to your first question - yes, skipping echelon for a firing is "normally not how that happens."

(09-13-2021 10:48 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:31 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 09:39 PM)The WEST is the BEST Wrote:  It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

The football head coach is an employee of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. The AD runs NAAA (I would say "CEO" but not sure that's exactly the title). The NAAA is a 501.c.3 organization, and about 97% of the budget comes from their own funding, rather than government appropriated or non-appropriated funds. Some coaches are also staff/faculty in the PE department or even active duty servicemembers, so those last couple percent when it comes to travel and little things have thus far been inextricable.

The Superintendent's control over the NAAA is via the Athletic Board of Control, but it is pretty direct and unquestioned. There is an operating agreement between the NAAA and USNA for clarity and transparency, since NAAA operates in government facilities and all midshipmen (plus staff and faculty) use the facilities that NAAA funds. And that Board of Control provides governance.
The Superintendent position by statute is terminal -- those Vice Admirals retire after their tour at the Academy so that they don't go back to the Pentagon or the Fleet after being in a position that does fundraising via the NAAA and the Alumni and Foundation Association.

As to your first question - yes, skipping echelon for a firing is "normally not how that happens."

This situation is a mess, and I suspect there are some deeper issues here. Seems like the fired/rehired OC, the HC and the AD have all been involved in Navy athletics for a long time. Apparently, the Navy head coach and OC go back a very long ways, almost 30 or so years. The AD has been in office for 20 years. Things positive and negative can accrete in that kind of situation. It's a clubby thing.

IMO when you have people who are longtime personal friends on the staff like that, you create a kind of nepotistic environment where these relations can cloud judgments. Conversely, longtime relations can breed contempt or dislike as well, which can do the same. There can be a lack of professional distance. And this kind of clubbiness is likely to be exacerbated at a military academy, which by its nature is more insulated, kind of its own little world.

I also saw reports that several former Navy players tweeted their support for the OC. IMO, that is also indicative that things have gotten too personal in the Navy clubhouse. Whether a coach or assistant coach or AD is a "great guy we love" or not has nothing to do with their job performance. Right now, the Navy offense is awful. The USC coach was just fired for job performance that doesn't appear to be any worse than that of the Navy OC, but he's not being rehired (he just gets a huge buyout, LOL).

The Navy HC said in his comments that the OC was rehired as QB coach because "cooler heads have prevailed" or something like that. IMO, that's a shot at the judgment of his boss, the AD. It might be true, it might not be true, but it's a public shot nonetheless.

IMO, these three have been working together for too long. Something needs to be shaken up.

(09-14-2021 09:10 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:48 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:31 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 09:39 PM)The WEST is the BEST Wrote:  It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

The football head coach is an employee of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. The AD runs NAAA (I would say "CEO" but not sure that's exactly the title). The NAAA is a 501.c.3 organization, and about 97% of the budget comes from their own funding, rather than government appropriated or non-appropriated funds. Some coaches are also staff/faculty in the PE department or even active duty servicemembers, so those last couple percent when it comes to travel and little things have thus far been inextricable.

The Superintendent's control over the NAAA is via the Athletic Board of Control, but it is pretty direct and unquestioned. There is an operating agreement between the NAAA and USNA for clarity and transparency, since NAAA operates in government facilities and all midshipmen (plus staff and faculty) use the facilities that NAAA funds. And that Board of Control provides governance.
The Superintendent position by statute is terminal -- those Vice Admirals retire after their tour at the Academy so that they don't go back to the Pentagon or the Fleet after being in a position that does fundraising via the NAAA and the Alumni and Foundation Association.

As to your first question - yes, skipping echelon for a firing is "normally not how that happens."

This situation is a mess, and I suspect there are some deeper issues here. Seems like the fired/rehired OC, the HC and the AD have all been involved in Navy athletics for a long time. Apparently, the Navy head coach and OC go back a very long ways, almost 30 or so years. The AD has been in office for 20 years. Things positive and negative can accrete in that kind of situation. It's a clubby thing.

IMO when you have people who are longtime personal friends on the staff like that, you create a kind of nepotistic environment where these relations can cloud judgments. Conversely, longtime relations can breed contempt or dislike as well, which can do the same. There can be a lack of professional distance. And this kind of clubbiness is likely to be exacerbated at a military academy, which by its nature is more insulated, kind of its own little world.

I also saw reports that several former Navy players tweeted their support for the OC. IMO, that is also indicative that things have gotten too personal in the Navy clubhouse. Whether a coach or assistant coach or AD is a "great guy we love" or not has nothing to do with their job performance. Right now, the Navy offense is awful. The USC coach was just fired for job performance that doesn't appear to be any worse than that of the Navy OC, but he's not being rehired (he just gets a huge buyout, LOL).

The Navy HC said in his comments that the OC was rehired as QB coach because "cooler heads have prevailed" or something like that. IMO, that's a shot at the judgment of his boss, the AD. It might be true, it might not be true, but it's a public shot nonetheless.

IMO, these three have been working together for too long. Something needs to be shaken up.

Thank you for your continued interest in Naval Academy Athletics.

I will put Chet's quote from the Post article alongside Niumat's "cooler heads have prevailed":
"Typical of two professionals that understand the big picture, to be able to meet today in a very constructive manner and to talk it through and to come to an understanding that is in the best interest of the program is all that’s important."

I'm a season ticket holder and a donor, and I can't influence what is going to happen, because the checks I'm donating (to get my reserved parking spot) don't come pre-printed with TWO commas. I like to talk about the Johnson-Niumatalolo Era but it could just as easily be called the Gladchuk Era -- he hired Paul Johnson, and he's taken that football success/money and done a lot of good things for all 33 varsity sports.

If you fire someone, you'd better be able to answer the question "Then What?" That's true if you are planning to fire the HC after the season, and it's even moreso if you are removing key pieces of the machinery in mid-September.

(09-14-2021 10:42 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 09:10 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:48 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:31 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 09:39 PM)The WEST is the BEST Wrote:  It's clear that Navy will be conducting an HC search at the end of the season.

Losing seasons and essentially reversing an AD decision.

Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

The football head coach is an employee of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. The AD runs NAAA (I would say "CEO" but not sure that's exactly the title). The NAAA is a 501.c.3 organization, and about 97% of the budget comes from their own funding, rather than government appropriated or non-appropriated funds. Some coaches are also staff/faculty in the PE department or even active duty servicemembers, so those last couple percent when it comes to travel and little things have thus far been inextricable.

The Superintendent's control over the NAAA is via the Athletic Board of Control, but it is pretty direct and unquestioned. There is an operating agreement between the NAAA and USNA for clarity and transparency, since NAAA operates in government facilities and all midshipmen (plus staff and faculty) use the facilities that NAAA funds. And that Board of Control provides governance.
The Superintendent position by statute is terminal -- those Vice Admirals retire after their tour at the Academy so that they don't go back to the Pentagon or the Fleet after being in a position that does fundraising via the NAAA and the Alumni and Foundation Association.

As to your first question - yes, skipping echelon for a firing is "normally not how that happens."

This situation is a mess, and I suspect there are some deeper issues here. Seems like the fired/rehired OC, the HC and the AD have all been involved in Navy athletics for a long time. Apparently, the Navy head coach and OC go back a very long ways, almost 30 or so years. The AD has been in office for 20 years. Things positive and negative can accrete in that kind of situation. It's a clubby thing.

IMO when you have people who are longtime personal friends on the staff like that, you create a kind of nepotistic environment where these relations can cloud judgments. Conversely, longtime relations can breed contempt or dislike as well, which can do the same. There can be a lack of professional distance. And this kind of clubbiness is likely to be exacerbated at a military academy, which by its nature is more insulated, kind of its own little world.

I also saw reports that several former Navy players tweeted their support for the OC. IMO, that is also indicative that things have gotten too personal in the Navy clubhouse. Whether a coach or assistant coach or AD is a "great guy we love" or not has nothing to do with their job performance. Right now, the Navy offense is awful. The USC coach was just fired for job performance that doesn't appear to be any worse than that of the Navy OC, but he's not being rehired (he just gets a huge buyout, LOL).

The Navy HC said in his comments that the OC was rehired as QB coach because "cooler heads have prevailed" or something like that. IMO, that's a shot at the judgment of his boss, the AD. It might be true, it might not be true, but it's a public shot nonetheless.

IMO, these three have been working together for too long. Something needs to be shaken up.

Thank you for your continued interest in Naval Academy Athletics.

I will put Chet's quote from the Post article alongside Niumat's "cooler heads have prevailed":
"Typical of two professionals that understand the big picture, to be able to meet today in a very constructive manner and to talk it through and to come to an understanding that is in the best interest of the program is all that’s important."

I'm a season ticket holder and a donor, and I can't influence what is going to happen, because the checks I'm donating (to get my reserved parking spot) don't come pre-printed with TWO commas. I like to talk about the Johnson-Niumatalolo Era but it could just as easily be called the Gladchuk Era -- he hired Paul Johnson, and he's taken that football success/money and done a lot of good things for all 33 varsity sports.

If you fire someone, you'd better be able to answer the question "Then What?" That's true if you are planning to fire the HC after the season, and it's even moreso if you are removing key pieces of the machinery in mid-September.

To me, the "then what" question when firing an OC during the season is that either (a) the HC takes on those playcalling duties or (b) you elevate one of the other offensive coaches - the line coach, the receivers coach, whoever - to the interim OC position and you move on, until you find a permanent replacement. That doesn't seem like a very difficult thing to do.

As for Gladchuk's quote, that seems quite diplomatic. OTOH, the quote from the HC about "cooler heads" seems inescapably to me to be a shot, as it implies that the original decision was a "hot headed" one, which is generally not perceived to be a good thing.

As for an interest in Navy athletics, well yes, I do have an interest. I grew up within miles of the Naval Academy and as a US citizen I think we all have some interest in what happens at Navy, including athletically.

I hope the Naval Academy can sort this mess out, as I do think it is a mess, and reflective of deeper underlying relationship issues there.

(09-14-2021 10:52 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 10:42 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 09:10 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:48 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(09-13-2021 10:31 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  Why is the AD firing any assistants? BTW, does the football coach report to the AD or to the USNA superintendent?

The football head coach is an employee of the Naval Academy Athletic Association. The AD runs NAAA (I would say "CEO" but not sure that's exactly the title). The NAAA is a 501.c.3 organization, and about 97% of the budget comes from their own funding, rather than government appropriated or non-appropriated funds. Some coaches are also staff/faculty in the PE department or even active duty servicemembers, so those last couple percent when it comes to travel and little things have thus far been inextricable.

The Superintendent's control over the NAAA is via the Athletic Board of Control, but it is pretty direct and unquestioned. There is an operating agreement between the NAAA and USNA for clarity and transparency, since NAAA operates in government facilities and all midshipmen (plus staff and faculty) use the facilities that NAAA funds. And that Board of Control provides governance.
The Superintendent position by statute is terminal -- those Vice Admirals retire after their tour at the Academy so that they don't go back to the Pentagon or the Fleet after being in a position that does fundraising via the NAAA and the Alumni and Foundation Association.

As to your first question - yes, skipping echelon for a firing is "normally not how that happens."

This situation is a mess, and I suspect there are some deeper issues here. Seems like the fired/rehired OC, the HC and the AD have all been involved in Navy athletics for a long time. Apparently, the Navy head coach and OC go back a very long ways, almost 30 or so years. The AD has been in office for 20 years. Things positive and negative can accrete in that kind of situation. It's a clubby thing.

IMO when you have people who are longtime personal friends on the staff like that, you create a kind of nepotistic environment where these relations can cloud judgments. Conversely, longtime relations can breed contempt or dislike as well, which can do the same. There can be a lack of professional distance. And this kind of clubbiness is likely to be exacerbated at a military academy, which by its nature is more insulated, kind of its own little world.

I also saw reports that several former Navy players tweeted their support for the OC. IMO, that is also indicative that things have gotten too personal in the Navy clubhouse. Whether a coach or assistant coach or AD is a "great guy we love" or not has nothing to do with their job performance. Right now, the Navy offense is awful. The USC coach was just fired for job performance that doesn't appear to be any worse than that of the Navy OC, but he's not being rehired (he just gets a huge buyout, LOL).

The Navy HC said in his comments that the OC was rehired as QB coach because "cooler heads have prevailed" or something like that. IMO, that's a shot at the judgment of his boss, the AD. It might be true, it might not be true, but it's a public shot nonetheless.

IMO, these three have been working together for too long. Something needs to be shaken up.

Thank you for your continued interest in Naval Academy Athletics.

I will put Chet's quote from the Post article alongside Niumat's "cooler heads have prevailed":
"Typical of two professionals that understand the big picture, to be able to meet today in a very constructive manner and to talk it through and to come to an understanding that is in the best interest of the program is all that’s important."

I'm a season ticket holder and a donor, and I can't influence what is going to happen, because the checks I'm donating (to get my reserved parking spot) don't come pre-printed with TWO commas. I like to talk about the Johnson-Niumatalolo Era but it could just as easily be called the Gladchuk Era -- he hired Paul Johnson, and he's taken that football success/money and done a lot of good things for all 33 varsity sports.

If you fire someone, you'd better be able to answer the question "Then What?" That's true if you are planning to fire the HC after the season, and it's even moreso if you are removing key pieces of the machinery in mid-September.

To me, the "then what" question when firing an OC during the season is that either (a) the HC takes on those playcalling duties or (b) you elevate one of the other offensive coaches - the line coach, the receivers coach, whoever - to the interim OC position and you move on, until you find a permanent replacement. That doesn't seem like a very difficult thing to do.

As for Gladchuk's quote, that seems quite diplomatic. OTOH, the quote from the HC about "cooler heads" seems inescapably to me to be a shot, as it implies that the original decision was a "hot headed" one, which is generally not perceived to be a good thing.

As for an interest in Navy athletics, well yes, I do have an interest. I grew up within miles of the Naval Academy and as a US citizen I think we all have some interest in what happens at Navy, including athletically.

I hope the Naval Academy can sort this mess out, as I do think it is a mess, and reflective of deeper underlying relationship issues there.

It is undeniably a mess.

U.S. citizens' interest in Navy athletics is highly justified given the contribution of the athletic programs supported by NAAA to USNA's mission "To develop midshipmen morally, mentally, and physically..." (Football is the most visible, but it's only about 10-15% of the ONE QUARTER of the Brigade participating in intercollegiate athletics, but that's a sidebar.) Everyone should be asking if USNA athletics, or any particular aspect of it contribute to the institution building better leaders or not. And that should always come ahead of Ws/Ls or bottom line $ (he said as an idealist).

When a firing is a public chewing in the locker room in front of "the troops" (the team), and you bust the chain of command (doing so down is as bad as doing so up), you're giving 100 or so Midshipmen a close-up look at some behaviors in the "Don't Do This" section of the Leadership classes they take every year. (and there's more that I won't go into) That will be in VADM Buck's mind - by no means decisive, but there - when any discussions about the way forward take place after the season.

It's a mess.
A surface understanding of the mess is not a full understanding of the mess. Relationships at the top all the way down to Xs and Os and everything in between. But this brought to head a specific mess that could fully derail the rest of this season, maybe one or two more, and even end a twenty year era of success.

I hope Navy can work it out. They’re a valuable team in the league.