Ross rediscovers love of coaching, finds purpose at Army
Bobby Ross feels an enormous obligation to the troops fighting overseas as he tries to revive Army's once-proud football program.
"There is a tremendous passion for our program. That's why, by golly, we've got to get it done,'' Ross said. "I really feel that responsibility. It's my motivation. If I get a little tired, I get myself a cup of coffee and I start thinking about those people and I go right back and put my nose to the grindstone.''
Army was spinning its worn-out wheels for most of the last decade, falling off the college football radar except for the Army-Navy game.
Last year, Army suffered the ignominy of being the first Division I-A team to finish 0-13 and it hasn't had a winning season since 1996.
Enter Ross, who had comfortably settled into retirement in Virginia after abruptly walking out on the Detroit Lions midway through the 2000 season.
But this was no ordinary coaching job.
Two of Ross' sons graduated from service academies and his father turned down an appointment to West Point to provide for his family during the Depression. The pull to answer the call was too great.
Ross was determined to restore a program that had fallen far from its glorious past. He even changed the team's uniform to look like the ones worn by the national championship teams in the 1940s.
So far, the results haven't shown in the record _ Army is 2-8 entering Saturday's game against Navy (8-2) _ but progress is being made. After being outscored 476-206 last season, the opposition only has a 346-247 edge this season.
Ross, who turns 68 this month, showed he had plenty of fire when he ripped Army after a 40-3 loss to Connecticut, apologizing to fans, troops and people on the post at West Point for his team's effort.
Army responded with wins over Cincinnati (snapping a 19-game losing streak) and South Florida (winning two straight for the first time since 1997) and was competitive in games against TCU, Air Force and Tulane.
"It hasn't been all happiness, I can tell you that,'' Ross said. "I despise losing. I'm not very good at it, to be honest.''
Army even finds consolation from _ gasp! _ Navy, which fought its way back from a winless season in 2001 and is headed to its second straight bowl game.
First, Army wants to beat the Midshipmen. Army leads the series 49-48-7, but has been outscored 92-18 in blowout losses the last two years.
Losing had become habit forming. Ross sensed a feeling among the players that as long as they were competitive, that was the best they could do. Winning wasn't really an option.
"I think that's something we're not totally through yet, to be totally honest,'' he said. "Sometimes we have a lapse or two.''
Ross' dedication to winning and practicing the right way, however, has slowly rubbed off. His tireless work ethic of often arriving at West Point by 5:30 a.m. for 16- or 17-hour days was appreciated by the Black Knights.
"He does work so hard that you don't want to let him down,'' linebacker Greg Washington said.
It's hard to believe Ross thought he was finished coaching after dalliances with civilian schools led nowhere. When he failed to land the vacancy at Duke, Ross figured his time had passed.
"I kind of put it out of sight, out of mind,'' he said. "I wasn't unhappy by any stretch of the imagination, but I had a competitiveness. I had a lot of energy. I loved competing. When I was told no a couple of times, I figured it was over with and I'd move on.''
After Army was turned down by former Nebraska coach Frank Solich, former athletic director Rick Greenspan (now at Indiana) reached out to Ross. Then Alice Ross told her husband it was his "patriotic duty'' to bring respect _ not sympathy _ to the Academy.
Ross has hardly had to rile the troops with stories of national championships, Super Bowls and coaching Hall of Fame players. They find inspiration from friends and former teammates fighting overseas. Bigger battles await the Black Knights than a road game at East Carolina.
For now, beating Navy would be a nice start toward something better.
"We're looking for a win,'' Ross said. "I'm not going to feel sorry for you and I'm not going to pat you on the back. This is a very demanding place.''
And no one is demanding more than Bobby Ross.
The Associated Press
