Jeff Monken and Air Force

[USMA76]

I sometimes go to the Air Force boards and I gotta ask, what has Jeff Monken done to elicit such universal hatred from that fan base? They talk about him like he's an epic phony, unethical, and an incredible jerk--the antichrist, if you will. I'm guessing they can't deal with the fact that he's taken a moribund Army football program and made it consistently competitive e.g. Army's no longer an automatic win for them. What else is there?

[wpgrad]

AF has beaten Army like a drum for decades. From 1990-2010 we were 2-18 versus them i think?

When the bullies start losing to the bullied, they gotta blame someone

I think its that simple

[WrekDivr]

I think a lot of it has to do with a comment he made while Army was visiting the White House after a CIC win. Trump made a comment about Air Force being tough and JM said “not so tough.” Other than that I am not sure.

One note: I think JM had a point. We hit AF hard this year and they essentially folded and haven’t won a game since. On the other hand, Navy fought every minute and every inch.

[USMA76]

I think a lot of it has to do with a comment he made while Army was visiting the White House after a CIC win. Trump made a comment about Air Force being tough and JM said “not so tough.” Other than that I am not sure.

One note: I think JM had a point. We hit AF hard this year and they essentially folded and haven’t won a game since. On the other hand, Navy fought every minute and every inch.

You're exactly right; I'd forgotten that so thanks. That comment moved Monken into "rent free status" as far as the AF fan base is concerned and he's lived there ever since.

[Oliphant]

They hate Monken like we hate Calhoun.

[GO 150s 87]

I personally think this season has placed Calhoun in the hot seat with the AF faithful. If JMU smokes AF in the bowl game it will be 5 straight losses after starting 8-0. The CIC, and possibly the MW championship, was theirs to take and AF was healthy when Army rolled into town and beat them down. Monken has played a big roll in upsetting the AF apple cart.

[Horsetooth]

It has a lot to do with recruiting. They're recruiting the same guys.AF consistently bad mouths the US Army in general and ARMY West Point in particular.

[Jimusma]

Oliphant-
I have a slightly different take on TC than do you. I don’t really hate that guy at all. In fact, he is probably the perfect coach for AFA.

Let me explain.

Looking at TC’s body of coaching work, I’d likely give him a grade of “B”. That’s a good solid grade, and puts him well above the average. He’s had just enough coaching success that it makes it really difficult for the AFA establishment to let him go, with expectations of finding a coach who will do better.

But a “B” coach is not going to be able to lead that AFA team to the pinnacle of success, however AFA wants to define that. While the AFA team will have flashes of brilliance as well as sustained high performance, TC is not the guy who will consistently be at the very top of the metrics.

So that’s why I actually like TC as head coach of AFA. Outcoaching a “B” coach is a big ask, but it is not a huge ask. As long as TC is HC at AFA, they are susceptible to being out coached.