In the uncertain weeks following Dick Tomey's ouster as Arizona's football coach, UA defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson quietly negotiated a contract to become head coach of Division I-AA Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
At his request, one of the qualifiers was that he could opt out, without penalty, if ever offered the head coaching job at Army.
Not USC or another Pac-10 school, or even his alma mater, Hawaii.
Army.
"Going to Cal Poly,'' Ellerson told me in December 2000, "gives me a chance to do something with a sense of balance and a sense of proportion.''
It would not be about money. It would be about lifestyle, family, education and all the other sanities that seem to be missing from big-time college football.
Across the 31 years of his coaching career, Ellerson turned down chances (and more money) to coach at Florida, Texas, UCLA, and in the NFL.
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On Friday, Rich Ellerson, Salpointe Catholic, Class of '72, found another coaching place that honors balance and proportion. Army called. He has neither coached nor played there, but he is going home.
"Rich comes from a family steeped in military tradition,'' Tucsonan Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Truman Spangrud, Ellerson's father-in-law, said Friday. "This is the opportunity he wanted. This is the job that turned his head.''
It seems so unexpected. Nobody really wants to coach at Army?
The Cadets have been so bad for so long (12 consecutive losing seasons, and four failed coaching staffs since 1990) that you have to go back to Jim Young's career to find a man who knew how to properly coach Army football.
Young, a Hall of Fame head coach from Arizona, Purdue and Army (where he went 49-30-1 from 1984-90), says his days at West Point were the joy of his coaching career. He spoke with Ellerson during the interview process. He likes what he sees. A kindred spirit connects them.
"Rich is going for the right reasons,'' Young, who is retired and living in Tucson, said Friday. "He wants to establish a winner for the country, for his family and for the military. This isn't just another coaching job for him. It's Army. He wants to be part of it.''
Ellerson becomes the first man raised in Tucson to become a head coach in Division I football. He turns 55 on New Year's Day and he could've stayed in San Luis Obispo forever. His wife, Dawn, is a pathologist there. Their youngest son, Drew, is a three-sport high school star. He earns about $175,000 at Cal Poly and has made the school a perennial Top 10 power in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Mustangs were 56-34 under Ellerson and ranked as high as No. 3 nationally this year. Now he'll take charge of an Army team that won 19 games during the period when he won 56 at Cal Poly.
"I coached with Rich when I came back to work on Dick Tomey's staff (in 1992-94) and I thought Rich has a great mind, and I still do,'' said Young. "He has a way of bringing people together and getting his point across. He runs a very creative triple-option offense. He knows how to adjust and I think he'll win the way Navy and Air Force do.''
Upon graduation from Salpointe, Ellerson accepted an appointment to the Naval Academy in 1972 and spent one year as a midshipman. He transferred to Hawaii after working in a Navy summer program in Honolulu in 1973, and began his coaching career, at Hawaii, under Tomey in 1977.
But his military connections remained strong.
His father, the late Col. Geoffrey Dixon Ellerson, was a member of the West Point Class of '35. Rich was born when his father was on duty in Japan.
The Ellersons and their seven children ultimately moved to Southern Arizona when Col. Ellerson became deputy commander at Fort Huachuca. Rich's two older brothers, Geoffrey II and John, both received appointments to West Point and served distinguished military careers. His nephew, Lt. Col. Geoffrey Dixon Ellerson III, is the commander of the national police transition team in Iraq.
"This is an ideal situation for Rich,'' said Spangrud. "He's still young and energetic and he feels a connection to the military. He wants to restore winning football at West Point. He's not looking to work this into a better opportunity down the line.''
A month ago, Ellerson took Cal Poly to Wisconsin for what was labeled as a sacrificial, help-the-budget game played before 80,709 Badgers fans. It's the same type of designated-victim role Army often fills.
In a wild game, Cal Poly forced the heavily-favored Badgers into overtime before losing 36-35.
Army noticed. Uncle Sam wanted Rich Ellerson. On Friday, it got him.
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