Oregon Native Stan Brock to Lead Army Football

Brock, 48, was a four-year letterman at the University of Colorado, serving as team captain during his senior season.

Stan Brock press conference. Photo: Army Athletic Communications

WEST POINT, N.Y. - When Bobby Ross informed officials at the United States Military Academy of his decision to retire from coaching, Academy leadership wasted little time identifying the veteran field boss' successor.

On the same day in which Ross officially announced that he was leaving the coaching sidelines, United States Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck and Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson introduced Stan Brock as the Black Knights' new head football coach.

Brock, who served as an assistant on Ross' staff each of the past three years, was named the 35th head coach in the history of the intercollegiate football program at West Point during a press conference at Randall Hall Auditorium Monday afternoon.

"West Point is fortunate to have a proven leader with coach Brock's record of success," said Hagenbeck. "Stan's name immediately rose to the top when we began discussing the process with coach Ross to identify a future successor. The continuity and stability he provides the program is critical. He's earned the respect of the players, coaches and administration as a tough, principled visionary."

A member of Ross' original staff at the Academy, Brock has guided Army's offensive linemen each of the past three years and carries the experience of 16 years as a standout lineman in the National Football League.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to serve as head coach at Army," Brock said. "I'm honored that the administration at the Academy offered me the position and thinks enough of me to lead this program. When you're at West Point, you're not only the head coach of the team, but you're also a role model for the Corps of Cadets. The Corps has to be able to connect with you and I think it's very important to have a good relationship with them.

"I arrived with very little knowledge of West Point. In three years I've gained a great understanding of the Military Academy," he added. "I've been out to Camp Buckner and I've gone through summer training with our cadets. I've been to a couple of the pre-R-Day training sessions and I've attended graduation ceremonies, so I feel very comfortable with my knowledge of the Academy."

Brock played 13 seasons with the NFL's New Orleans Saints (1980-92) as an offensive tackle after he was selected in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft as the 12th overall selection.

He was an All-Rookie choice in 1980 and went on to play in 186 games for New Orleans (No. 4 all-time in Saints history).

At one point, Brock made 67 consecutive starts and was part of an offensive line that allowed a league-low 15 sacks in 1992.

During his last six years in New Orleans (1987-92), the Saints compiled an overall record of 66-32 (.673).

Brock was inducted into the Saints' Hall of Fame in 1998.

"We are very fortunate that we had an internal candidate the likes of Stan Brock to succeed coach Ross," Anderson said. "Stan commands a great deal of respect from our players. He resonates with them and has proven to be an excellent leader and role model during his time here.

"We believe strongly that coach Ross has laid the foundation for our program's future success and hiring Stan allows us to continue the progress we've made the past three years," he continued. "Continuity in a football program is extremely important and Stan will help us maintain the bedrock values we established under coach Ross. We also feel he will bring some exciting new innovations to our offensive and defensive systems as we set out to achieve our goal of building a consistent, winning program."

After becoming an unrestricted free agent in 1993, Brock closed out his playing career with three seasons as the co-captain of the Chargers (1993-95) under Ross.

The highlight of his 234-game NFL career occurred during the 1994 season, when the Chargers won the AFC championship with a 17-13 upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, lifting San Diego into Super Bowl XXIX versus the San Francisco 49ers.

Brock, 48, was a four-year letterman at the University of Colorado, serving as team captain during his senior season.

Once referred to as the "best pass blocker in college football" by Buffaloes' head coach Chuck Fairbanks, Brock earned first team All-Big Eight Conference honors as a senior and played in the Senior Bowl and Hula Bowl.

He started every game at right tackle during his final two years.

Prior to joining Ross at Army, Brock served as the first head coach of the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (2000-01), adding the title of director of football operations.

Prior to that two-year run, Brock spent three seasons as the head coach of the AFL's Portland Forest Dragons (1997-99).

In 1999, he led the Forest Dragons to a 7-7 finish in only their third year in the AFL.

Portland was ranked second in the league in every defensive statistical category but one.

The Forest Dragons went 6-3 in their last nine games and narrowly missed the AFL playoffs.

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime," Brock stated. "West Point is a special place. There are many coaches out there who would love to have this job.

"I've been around some great coaches in my career and I think I bring a little bit of all of them into this new challenge. I completely support coach Ross' vision for the program and intend to build upon the groundwork that he laid. We understand that we are ‘America's Team' and one of the most widely recognized symbols of our Army," Brock said.

Upon his return to the college game in 2004, Brock played a large role in improving Army's rushing attack by nearly 100 yards per game from the previous year to rank 36th nationally.

The Portland, Ore., native also developed three-year starter Pete Bier into a candidate for the Dave Rimington Award this past season.

Hailing from a football-playing family, Brock's brother, Pete, was a center for the New England Patriots for 12 seasons and another brother, Willie, was a draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brock and his wife, Lori, have four daughters: Sarah, 27; Jessica, 25; Rachel, 22; and Emily, 19. The family resides at West Point.

Brock will begin his new duties at Army immediately, assuming full control of one of the nation's most storied gridiron programs this afternoon.

He expects to finalize his initial Black Knight coaching staff in the days ahead.

Go Uncle Stan!!!

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