No one wanted Army to beat Navy more than Rich Ellerson did. Coaching at Army was his dream job. His father was a West Point graduate and a career military officer, as were two of his brothers. One of them, John, was a captain of the 1962 team. Ellerson’s son Andrew is a cadet and the Black Knights’ long snapper.

Ellerson had grown up on bases around the world and had listened to Army-Navy games on shortwave radios. He understood what a victory would mean to generations of Army men and women, especially after 11 consecutive losses to their rival. Ellerson also knew that if he lost to the Midshipmen for the fifth time in his tenure, he was going to lose his job.

On Saturday, Army fell, 34-7. On Sunday night, Ellerson was fired, having compiled a 20-41 record at West Point. In 2010, he went 7-6 in a season that culminated with a victory over Southern Methodist in the Armed Forces Bowl, the Black Knights’ first postseason victory since 1985. But Ellerson’s winless record against Navy and his 1-4 record against Air Force were his undoing.