This episode features a conversation between Rich DeMarco, Associate Athletic Director and radio play-by-play announcer for the Army Black Knights, and Jeff Monken, Head Coach of Army West Point Football.
Jeff Monken has an accomplished background in football, both as a coach and a player. Before joining Army West Point football, he was the head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles football team, and prior to that served under Paul Johnson as a running back’s coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, Navy, and Georgia Tech. To date, Coach Monken has served eight seasons at the helm of Army West Point football, the 37th individual head coach in program history. His career coaching record stands at 85-55 as a head coach, with a 49-39 mark at Army.
In this episode of On Point and the West Point Association for Graduates ‘Character Cut’ series, Coach Monken talks about the interview process to become the Army West Point head coach, growing the football program as a leader, and the improvements to come for Army football in the future. Coach Monken also talks about the highly anticipated Michie Stadium Preservation Project.
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“Don't make it about the wins and losses. It's not, it's about trying to maximize who we are, and maximize the potential of each individual, and maximize the potential of the team, and try to be as good as we can be. And so I think that's a challenge every day and every week. And every new game is an opportunity to improve and to measure ourselves against who we were the previous week or the previous season. And, so I think that's important to have that challenge rather than just having it be about a win or not.” - Coach Jeff Monken
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(02:05) Looking back on football in 2021
(03:38) Jeff’s improvements to come in football 2022
(05:12) Impact of the senior class on current team leaders
(07:08) Jeff’s transition from assistant to head coach
(07:54) Jeff’s perception of the Army job prior to becoming head coach
(08:22) The interview process for Army West Point head coach
(11:31) Jeff’s initial steps as head coach
(13:24) Biggest strides made early on in Jeff’s army football program
(15:49) Growing the army football program as a leader
(17:12) Impact of Senior classes on the program
(19:27) Jeff’s take on the value of feedback
(20:26) Impact of Mike Buddy on guiding the football program
(21:48) Michie Stadium Preservation Project
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West Point Association of Graduates
[00:00:00] Narrator: Hello and welcome to On Point.
This episode features a conversation between Rich Demarco, Associate Athletic Director and radio play-by-play announcer for the Army Black Knights, and Jeff Monken, Head Coach of Army West Point Football.
Jeff Monken has an accomplished background in football, both as a coach and a player. Before joining Army West Point football, he was the head coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles football team, and prior to that served under Paul Johnson as a running back’s coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, Navy, and Georgia Tech. To date, Coach Monken has served eight seasons at the helm of Army West Point football, the 37th individual head coach in program history. His career coaching record stands at 85-55 as a head coach, with a 49-39 mark at Army.
In this episode On Point from the West Point Association of Graduates Broadcast Network, Coach Monken talks about the interview process for the Army West Point head coach position, growing the football program as a leader, and the improvements to come for Army football in the future. Coach Monken also talks about the highly anticipated Michie Stadium Preservation Project.
Now, please enjoy this interview between Rich Demarco and Jeff Monken.
[00:01:25] Rich Demarco: Rich DeMarco here spending a few minutes with the head coach of the army football team. That is Jeff Monken.. Jeff always great to spend some time with the really, always great catching up about army football and where you are at. And we're at with this army football. Always
[00:01:40] Jeff Monken: good to see you rich. And I'm glad we get to see each other pretty much every day up here, but always excited to talk army football and share that with everybody out there.
[00:01:49] Jeff Monken: That's interested.
[00:01:50] Rich Demarco: And we have constituents, as we say, throughout the Hudson valley, across the nation and around the world ever down, we sign on across the army sports network. And Jeff, we're going to [00:02:00] focus on this year, the future. I'm going to talk a little bit about how you got here to west point.
[00:02:05] Rich Demarco: First off this 2021 army football season nine wins. Fifth bowl game in six years, fourth ball game victory, the dramatic win over air force down in Arlington, Texas. And of course the bowl win in the final seconds. Over Missouri. As you look back here, less than two months out, since that dramatic would inform.
[00:02:26] Rich Demarco: How do you evaluate, how do you look at this 20, 21 season? Well, I kind
[00:02:31] Jeff Monken: of look at it and review mirror. I'm not one that stands around and smells the roses very often. I really look forward to the next season and, and it was a great job. Our players finished that bowl game and, and finding a way to win.
[00:02:45] Jeff Monken: It was a really hard fought game. That talented team we play. And obviously for our seniors to finish their season and to finish their careers with a win, like that was really big. And I was particularly proud of them, proud of a guy [00:03:00] like Jabari loss as part of that senior class and, and what a great job he did leading us down the field on that final drive.
[00:03:06] Jeff Monken: And this is a great memory. And for the rest of the guys that are coming back from me and our staff and our players just hopefully a springboard into this next season and some confidence and some excitement about the 2022 season
[00:03:20] Rich Demarco: 2021 finished up year. Number eight for you at Western. As the football coach, when you look ahead to 22, where are the aspects of the program that you feel need to be improved to constantly, you know, moving forward, right?
[00:03:34] Rich Demarco: If you're not, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse that you want to be able to take this program to still a next level.
[00:03:40] Jeff Monken: I don't know if there's probably enough time in this podcast to talk about all the things that I feel like we need to do and improve on and ways we can grow. Certainly.
[00:03:51] Jeff Monken: Yeah, just how we prepare our team. The bottom line is the players have to go play the games and we haven't [00:04:00] won them all yet. We'll continue to try to improve staff and the things that we do from an operational standpoint, day to day. Whether it's in the weight room, the training room, how we outfit our guys, and then the way that we coach them, we prepare them in meetings and coach them out in the practice field and have them ready to go.
[00:04:18] Jeff Monken: The schemes that we present to those guys, just the things that we can do as a staff that we can control that give our players the best chance to succeed. That's our job. And so we're going to continue to look for ways to do that
[00:04:33] Rich Demarco: better. And Jeff, you mentioned 20, 21 and how. You are, you were for this football team, of course, moving forward to 2022.
[00:04:42] Rich Demarco: And you've spoken multiple times on how important your senior class, your captain. I have been to the success of army football over these past eight seasons here in the spring, as you're ramping up for 22 next month, you'll start spring ball naturals coming up probably sooner than later. [00:05:00] What is the impact that senior class they're done with their eligible?
[00:05:04] Rich Demarco: What impact are they going to have here in the spring to still help mold these now, current leaders, not the future leaders, the current leaders of this team in the spring. How does that work with your program and the impact of these grateful.
[00:05:19] Jeff Monken: Well, I just think that the model that they were as leaders is a great example to the guys that are on our team that are returning.
[00:05:26] Jeff Monken: I thought we had really strong senior leadership and that was incredibly positive for our program and for the junior class, that'll be leading this team next year, but a lot of those guys still come around and they'll, they'll have a very vested interest in how we're going through the more early morning workouts and spring ball.
[00:05:45] Jeff Monken: And. Because they played and they feel probably that's still a sense of responsibility and the legacy that they've left and what that'll mean to the next class. I think just having them here on campus and having them around as they do. And [00:06:00] several of those guys who are going to return as AIS or athletic interns, our equivalent of a graduate assistant they'll come back and help us in the fall.
[00:06:08] Jeff Monken: So a lot of those guys are going to be around, uh, all spring, really trying to learn their job and what it means to be a good. Jeff, what a
[00:06:16] Rich Demarco: dial it back with you. So you coming on board at west point here December of 2013. So of course you worked with Paul Johnson for a very long time. Various stops as an assistant coach.
[00:06:29] Rich Demarco: You were highly successful at Georgia Southern, leading that program and their transition from FCS to FBS army parts. Wait. Rich Ellerson in December of 2013, you realize the army job is open. What's your first reaction? How did everything start to come together?
[00:06:49] Jeff Monken: It was a phone call from Paul Johnson. I, I believe that a boot Corrigan and reached out to Paul to talk to him about the open job here and just who they [00:07:00] might be interested in talking to.
[00:07:02] Jeff Monken: Maybe for some recommendations from Paul. And I think they probably were looking for someone that had some academy experience and certainly some experience with the soft fence. And I know that Paul talked to Lou about probably a number of candidates, me being one of them. And then really the next step was I had the opportunity to talk to boot and talk to them about the job and then have a chance to visit with he and general Caslin and several members of general cast and staff.
[00:07:30] Jeff Monken: Face-to-face. That's how it got started and how it went.
[00:07:35] Rich Demarco: How did you view the army job before you were the head coach? You're a Georgia Southern, right? You're your successful FCS? Semi-finals you're defeating Florida in the swamp. How did you view the army job when it came open? Frankly,
[00:07:52] Jeff Monken: probably like everybody else in college football.
[00:07:55] Jeff Monken: That's coaching another team. The focus is completely on the team. That you're [00:08:00] a part of. And not that I didn't pay attention to the academy jobs, I certainly did. Having had experienced coaching in academy, we've had coached at academies and we're coaching and elsewhere had an interest in watching those games.
[00:08:14] Jeff Monken: But I had worked with coach Ellerson when I was a graduate assistant at the university of Hawaii. Several years prior, I had worked with rich and knew him well and had great respect for him as a coach. And. Watched or paid attention because of that. But rich, when we're doing our jobs, it'd be like asking me how much I pay attention to the Georgia Southern job right now, or the Georgia tech job, or are there programs I should say.
[00:08:42] Jeff Monken: Any of the others I've worked for. It's hard to do that. It's hard to really follow what's going on. And I'm interested in this job. The one I've got right now in this program, this is the only program that matters to me. It's the army program. So I kind of felt that way when I was working at Georgia Southern in 2013, while the army season was [00:09:00] going on and I.
[00:09:02] Jeff Monken: When I was approached about the job, I had immediate interest just because of this institution and what it means to our nation and the challenge that it was and what it means to be a leader at an institution like this. What
[00:09:14] Rich Demarco: was the whole interview process like general Bobcat's Caslin I know there were a senior members of the United States army that, that were part of it.
[00:09:22] Rich Demarco: And what was it like for you who had experience coaching at an academy? And I'm sure you are in surprised at how. This job is this position was to all the members through that branch of the service. Well,
[00:09:37] Jeff Monken: I had interviewed for the job, uh, once before. So in, in, after the 2008 season at Georgia tech, I had interviewed for the job.
[00:09:47] Jeff Monken: And so I had at least some idea about the process and what was important to the people here and what they wanted in a football coach. It was really an interesting process, very [00:10:00] personal, which I liked. And that's not always the case with interviews for jobs in general. And coaching jobs, very thorough is a pretty lengthy first meeting with BU and with general Caslin and the staff there.
[00:10:13] Jeff Monken: And then there were follow-up interviews, both in person as well as on the phone. And so it was very thorough. I really appreciate it. It was a great sense of professionalism with everything that was going on and see it as a candidate that gave me confidence that the academy was really serious about this hire and who they wanted to be their next coach.
[00:10:36] Jeff Monken: The
Jeff
[00:10:36] Rich Demarco: come on board late December in 2013, you knew what it was like coaching at an academy as an assistant, of course, under Paul Johnson. And. Yeah, how unique things are in regards to getting things done and doing more sometimes with the less selling the academy and all of its positives. What did you [00:11:00] evaluate needed to be maybe some of the biggest things you had to implement or change to, to get this program going in the direction that eventually ended up.
[00:11:11] Jeff Monken: A lot of the questions that I had were addressed during the interview process. And that's probably what made it so interesting is I didn't accept the job and then have those conversations with BU and general gasoline. I had those conversations before accepting the job and really talked in detail about some of the things that I felt would be important in supporting a winning team here.
[00:11:39] Jeff Monken: I asked for some feedback on just what was being done currently and what a general castle and booth felt could be done to position the program for success. And I think that was important to have those conversations. It gave me both an idea of what, what was [00:12:00] happening and the willingness of being able to do some other things in order to support the program.
[00:12:04] Jeff Monken: But I think it also was valuable. The academy to hear from me and to hear what I felt would be important. And it gave us both things to think about and consider in how we would move forward together and get.
[00:12:20] Rich Demarco: So Jeff first couple seasons, 20 14, 20 15, and building the program, maybe it wasn't showing up on the win-loss ledger, but there were definite progress getting made.
[00:12:30] Rich Demarco: When you think back to those seasons. And as we mentioned, you want to look at them in the annals of army football on wins and losses. They're not among the top years, but that's really the seeds and how you were really building this program. What were the biggest strides you think early on this. The final score struggles that were being made within the army football
[00:12:52] Jeff Monken: the first year was a struggle just because I was new.
[00:12:57] Jeff Monken: And we had a lot of veteran players that, [00:13:00] that certainly, you know, I'd been recruited by another staff and had maybe been accustomed to doing things a certain way. And I was asking them to do it a different way and to believe in my vision. And it was hard because we didn't get. Immediate results. And we didn't have the victories that we'd hope for, but we had some good wins that year and had a battle at the end against our arrival.
[00:13:25] Jeff Monken: And at least felt like we had made some progress throughout the year to get ourselves positioned, to be competitive. And then the second year we didn't win as many games. We won half as many games we won the first year. We were so much better as a football team. We were much younger. We, we played consistently 20 plus freshmen in every game and we lost 10 games, but seven of them by a touchdown or less.
[00:13:56] Jeff Monken: So we could see that we [00:14:00] were there. We were competitive and had chances to win. And I think that gave our team some confidence that the next year we'd find a way to turn those. Close losses into victories. And that's kinda what happened the next year. We, we came out and really had great success to start off with, start out three and oh, and then we're up and down a little bit.
[00:14:20] Jeff Monken: We were at 1.5 and five, but had a great finish and finished with eight wins and a bowl win and breaking the streak. And that really got the program going. And I think was the big spark of confidence. We need to position ourselves for future success.
[00:14:36] Rich Demarco: And you mentioned Jeff that 2016 breakthrough eight wins first bowl game in six years, breaking the streak.
[00:14:43] Rich Demarco: As you mentioned over Navy that 2117 victory down in Baltimore. At that point, where do you, and just talking holistically as a program after you break through and you do what folks are like up that's what has to get done, right? [00:15:00] Beating Navy, winning that game. Of course, next year, we're going to win the commander in chief's trophy.
[00:15:04] Rich Demarco: How do you with your leaders, I guess, is what I'm trying to get to raise the bar and realize, Hey, that's not an end point, right? Beating Navy. Isn't the end point beating air force. Isn't the end point we got to keep growing this program. How do you go about doing that as. Don't
[00:15:18] Jeff Monken: make it about the wins and losses.
[00:15:20] Jeff Monken: It's not, it's about trying to maximize who we are and maximize the potential of each individual and maximize the potential of the team and try to be as good as we can be. And so I think that's a challenge every day and every week, every new game is an opportunity to, to improve and to measure ourselves against who we were.
[00:15:43] Jeff Monken: The previous week or the previous season. And so I think that's important to have that challenge rather than just having it be about, oh, uh, when, or, or not.
[00:15:55] Rich Demarco: You're so focused on senior classes, right? Whenever we're having [00:16:00] conversations and it's, Hey, this many wins for senior class, of course, last year's senior class at the academy record with 35 victories.
[00:16:08] Rich Demarco: As a senior class, what have each of these groups? I'm sure it's like probably kids. You can't choose one over the other, but what have they meant to you over the years, whether they were senior classes that, that you came in and they were recruited by someone else or ones that have been with you since there were sophomores in high school, and maybe you visited them for the first time, what kind of impact did the senior class groups have on you?
[00:16:30] Jeff Monken: I think each of those senior classes impacts the program. And I think that probably every senior class impacts this Institute. In their own unique way and done. So that it's a challenge each year for those guys to set a standard carrier standard. I guess there are expectations in the program. They've got to be the standard bearers and it's difficult to, to lead peers, but that's what they're tasked with doing each year.
[00:16:59] Jeff Monken: And so I [00:17:00] think just measuring probably their senior year and their senior seasons. Were we able to maximize who we were as a team. And I think that's the challenge each year. Doesn't mean we've got to win every game to, to feel like they've led successfully, but they've done a good job with maximizing who we are as a program, who we are as a team, but I lean on those guys.
[00:17:26] Jeff Monken: I think they're absolutely critical to the success of the team and without. Strong positive senior leadership. I think it's difficult to have a, a very successful season. You can win some games, but to, to say it's a success, meaning you maximized who we are. Um, and that that's the challenge for each new group that comes
[00:17:51] Rich Demarco: in.
[00:17:52] Rich Demarco: You talked about senior classes and what strikes me as almost bookended is Jabari laws. Celebrated at the end [00:18:00] of the Georgia state game for coming in and making this miraculous comeback for multiple knee injuries. And then the book end of the end of the game, a minute 11 down the field and the Cole tally field goal.
[00:18:10] Rich Demarco: So it's, again, a story within a story of a senior class makes them all the more special it really does. We know we have a lot of west point graduates listening to this podcast, Jeff, the feedback, I'm sure you, you receive encouragement. I'm sure you received. Feedback, maybe you would say from west point graduates and fans who care so much about this program, what does that mean to you?
[00:18:34] Rich Demarco: I guess it might not be surprising, right. To open your inbox and maybe you see some folks that have some words to.
[00:18:41] Jeff Monken: I value all of it because it's people that care, whether they're encouraging are criticized and it's people that care, they care about the program. And it's good to know that we've got a lot of people that do care about us and about our players.
[00:18:54] Jeff Monken: And they want to see us be the best we can be and represent this academy and the army in a positive [00:19:00] way. And I can assure you that that's our goal every day for me, for our players, our staff is we want to be a great representation of our institution and our men and women who see.
[00:19:11] Rich Demarco: And Jeff, we spoke with Mike buddy on this podcast a few months ago, and you have been very clear about his leadership and how much you enjoy.
[00:19:20] Rich Demarco: With Mike buddy, could you just share what kind of impact he's had in really helping you in guiding this football program as he has gotten in the athletic department? Mike's
[00:19:30] Jeff Monken: outstanding. He, uh, has been a great support to me personally, to our football, our football program. He finds a way to get to a yes, if we need something and it's not easy when we need things.
[00:19:43] Jeff Monken: Facilities, we need personnel ways to support our team, to help us win or to enhance the experience for our players. He wants to find a way to get to yes, and he's always positive and always supportive and just I've really appreciated his [00:20:00] leadership and really enjoying working with.
[00:20:03] Rich Demarco: Jeff. We want to spend a couple of minutes here as we're wrapping up about something, which has so many army fans excited, uh, graduates, people associated with army athletics.
[00:20:14] Rich Demarco: And of course the army football team, that's the Mikey stadium preservation project that I know it's something that's going to revitalize. The east stands really provide just a tremendous. For folks and fans coming out to games. And just with you, the impact and impact has been talked about for fans, for club seat holders.
[00:20:33] Rich Demarco: But what about for a team and players from your perspective, what will the Mikey stadium preservation project. For army football for your coaches, for your players and their experience. I think it's
[00:20:48] Jeff Monken: just going to make the experience better for everybody, for those fans that come out, the people that are going to have the opportunity to view the games from a whole different perspective on east stands [00:21:00] and the boxes and the things that be there for to have the Corps of cadets, be able to sit from one end zone to the other, the whole length of the field, which I think is going to be fantastic.
[00:21:09] Jeff Monken: And I think the field of the state. It is going to feel a lot more intimate and closed in and modernized. And I think our guys will be really excited about it. It's a stadium with tremendous history, a national historic land, but it's going to have a 21st century feel to it with this new facility. And it's going to enhance everything for our players, the areas that they currently use and just to be in this stadium with a brand new look will be exciting for everybody.
[00:21:39] Rich Demarco: Yeah, that'll be very special. Mikey stadium.com, the website where you can get involved for our listeners in the Mikey stadium preservation project, Jeff wrapping up here. It's always great to spend time with you. And I'll tell you it's both balls at 12 months sport, right? We're going to be, what's going to matter.
[00:21:58] Rich Demarco: It's going to be spring ball here in a couple of [00:22:00] weeks. You're just in the midst of recruiting. It's constantly stuff going.
[00:22:05] Jeff Monken: It never lets up. I always chuckle when people ask me what I do in the off season and there really isn't an off season. We just keep pressing the gas pedal. So we went from this recruiting cycle and jump right into the class of 20, 23, getting prepared for spring practice.
[00:22:21] Jeff Monken: We'll start our pre-dawn workouts, uh, in late February. Take those into March and then we'll have spring practice and back out on the road, spring recruiting. Summer gets us into camps and visits by prospects to campus. And before too long, we'll be back in pre-season camp with the arrival of our freshmen and the workouts all summer with our current team.
[00:22:43] Jeff Monken: So it never lets up. And the clock just seems to, to run fast all the time, but we're enjoying it. And we're excited about this coming season. We're excited about the recruiting class that we've got coming in. That's going to join us and really looking forward to 2020.
[00:22:59] Rich Demarco: Jeff [00:23:00] as am I thank you so much for your time.
[00:23:03] Rich Demarco: And we'll talk to you down the road. You got a rich be Navy. Sounds good to me. He's already head coach at Jeff Monken. I'm rich DeMarco. Thank you to each. And every one of you listening on today's podcast
[00:23:16] Narrator: point and character cut is a production of the WPA O G broadcast network. Please take a moment to rate and review the show and join us each week for a new episode.
[00:23:25] Narrator: Thank you for calling.