Jeff Monken
Monken in 2014
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamArmy
ConferenceAAC
Record70–55
Biographical details
Born (1967-04-15) April 15, 1967 (age 56)
Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Playing career
1985–1988Millikin
Position(s)Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989–1990Hawaii (GA)
1991Arizona State (GA)
1992–1994Buffalo (WR/TE/RC)
1995Morton HS (IL)
1996Concordia (IL) (OL)
1997–2001Georgia Southern (RB)
2002–2005Navy (RB)
2006–2007Navy (ST/RB)
2008–2009Georgia Tech (ST/RB)
2010–2013 Georgia Southern
2014–presentArmy
Head coaching record
Overall105–71 (college)
Bowls4–1
Tournaments7–3 (NCAA D-I FCS playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 SoCon (2011–2012)
2 Lambert Trophy (2018, 2020)
Awards
George Munger Award (2018)
Touchdown Club of Columbus President's Award (2018)
Vince Lombardi College Football Coach of the Year (2018)
ECAC Division I FBS Football Coach of the Year (2021)

Jeffrey Michael Monken (born April 15, 1967) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the United States Military Academy, a position he has held since 2014. Monken previously served as the head football coach of Georgia Southern University from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, he worked under Paul Johnson as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, the United States Naval Academy, and Georgia Tech.

Coaching career

Assistant coaching career

After graduating from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois in 1989, Monken took his first coaching position as a graduate assistant at Hawaii.[1] It was during his tenure at Hawaii he first worked under Paul Johnson, who was the Rainbows' offensive coordinator at the time.[2] From Hawaii, Monken coached for one season at Arizona State and three seasons at Buffalo.

He was hired as a head coach for the first time at J. Sterling Morton High School for the 1995 season.[3] From Morton, Monken spent one season at Concordia before being hired by Johnson as a running backs coach at Georgia Southern in 1997.[2]

He continued to coach under Johnson at Georgia Southern (1997–2001), at Navy (2002–2007), and at Georgia Tech (2008–2009) before taking the head coaching position at Georgia Southern.[3]

Head coaching career

In November 2009, Monken was hired to succeed Chris Hatcher as the head coach at Georgia Southern.[4] In his first season with the Georgia Southern, Monken led the Eagles to an overall record of 10–5 and to the 2010 FCS Playoffs Semifinals, defeating top-ranked and previously undefeated Appalachian State to begin a streak of six consecutive wins.[5]

In 2011, Monken led the Eagles to an overall record of 11–3, the Southern Conference championship and a second-straight trip to the 2011 FCS Playoffs Semifinals.[5] He was named both the AFCA 2011 FCS Region 2 Coach of the Year and the Southern Conference Coach of the Year.[6]

In 2012, Monken again led the Eagles to a Southern Conference Championship with a 10–4 overall record, a third consecutive FCS Semifinal Game appearance and final No. 3 national ranking. Georgia Southern accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference in March 2013 and subsequently made the move to FBS. In its first transition year in 2013, the Eagles were not eligible for the NCAA playoffs and ended their FCS history with a 26–20 victory over Florida in the season finale.[7]

Army

On December 30, 2013, Monken was introduced as the 37th head coach of the Army Black Knights football program.[8] Monken's Army tenure started slow, with a 4–8 2014 season and 2–10 2015 season, including a loss to Joe Moorhead's FCS Fordham Rams. In 2018, he became the first head coach to lead Army to three consecutive bowl appearances, consecutive 10-win seasons, and its first ever 11-win season. These resulted in a final AP Poll ranking of No. 19[9] and final Coaches Poll ranking of No. 20[10] for Monken's 2018 Black Knights, the highest the Black Knights had finished in the final polls since legendary Army coach Earl 'Red' Blaik's 1958 squad. It also resulted in the Cadets winning their eighth Lambert Trophy (signifying the Black Knights as the best team in the East in Division I FBS), but their first since that 1958 team.[11] Following his team's 2018 accomplishments, Coach Monken was awarded the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award by the Maxwell Football Club,[12] the Vince Lombardi College Football Coach of the Year Award by the Lombardi Foundation,[13] and the President's Award by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.[14] In 2021, Monken was awarded the ECAC Division I FBS Football Coach of the Year Award.[15]

Personal life

Monken graduated from Joliet Central High School in Joliet, Illinois in 1985.[16] He is a cousin of Todd Monken, the current offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. A dozen of Monken's family members, including his father, Mike, and brother, Tom, have coached football at the high school, college, or professional level.[17] Monken was inducted into the Millikin Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2013.

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs TSN / AP# Coaches°
Georgia Southern Eagles (Southern Conference) (2010–2013)
2010 Georgia Southern 10–5 5–3 T–2nd L NCAA Division I Semifinal 5 6
2011 Georgia Southern 11–3 7–1 1st L NCAA Division I Semifinal 3 2
2012 Georgia Southern 10–4 6–2 T–1st L NCAA Division I Semifinal 6 7
2013 Georgia Southern 7–4 4–4 T–4th
Georgia Southern: 38–16 22–8
Army Black Knights (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2014–2023)
2014 Army 4–8
2015 Army 2–10
2016 Army 8–5 W Heart of Dallas
2017 Army 10–3 W Armed Forces
2018 Army 11–2 W Armed Forces 19 20
2019 Army 5–8
2020 Army 9–3 L Liberty
2021 Army 9–4 W Armed Forces
2022 Army 6–6
2023 Army 6–6
Army Black Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2024–present)
2024 Army
Army: 70–55
Total: 106–71
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

  1. ^ "He finds a job, and paradise". The Chicago Tribune. August 24, 1990. p. C11.
  2. ^ a b Waldrop, Melinda (December 1, 2010). "Monken brings option, wins back to Georgia Southern". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern Head Football Coach". GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Roberson, Doug (November 29, 2009). "Monken hired to be Georgia Southern's coach". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  5. ^ a b DeLassus, David. "Jeff Monken Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  6. ^ Asberry, Derrek (December 7, 2011). "Monken wins second coach of the year for 2011". The George-Anne. Retrieved January 15, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Florida suffers first loss to FCS team in school history". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 23, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  8. ^ "Army introduces coach Jeff Monken". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 30, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "2018 AP Top 25 Poll Week 16 (Final)". collegefootball.ap.org. January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  10. ^ "2018 Amway Coaches' Top 25 Poll Week 16 (Final)". USAToday.com. January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  11. ^ "ECAC Announces 2018 Football Teams of the Year and Lambert Awards". ECACsports.com. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  12. ^ "Maxwell Football Club Announces Army West Point's Jeff Monken as George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year" (Press release). Maxwell Football Club. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "Monken Recognized as the Lombardi Coach of Year". USMA Athletic Department. January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  14. ^ "Army Head Coach Jeff Monken Wins 2018 President's Award". Touchdown Club of Columbus. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "ECAC Announces 2021 Division I FBS Football All-ECAC and Major Awards". ECACsports.com. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  16. ^ Likas, Colin (December 18, 2020). "Jeff Monken coaching Illinois football? His family's on board". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Gould, Herb (December 6, 2011). "Illini focus turns to Kevin Sumlin amid denials by Todd Monken". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 19, 2013.

External links

Head football coaches of NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
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