Drew Cronic has made a huge impact on the Navy football program during his first season as offensive coordinator. Cronic’s “millennial” version of the Wing-T offense is a big reason why the Cadets are confident of a winning record and a bowl berth.

Cronic’s contributions to Navy football were recognized this week when he was named a nominee for the prestigious Broyles Award, which annually honors the nation’s top assistant coach.

The award was established in 1996 and named in honor of Frank Broyles, the legendary former football coach and athletic director at Arkansas. Cronic was among 65 nominees for the award.

Last season, Navy ranked at the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in nearly every offensive category. The Midshipmen finished 122nd in scoring offense (17.7 points) and 123rd in total offense (300 yards).

Head coach Brian Newberry fired Grant Chesnut after one year. He then hit a home run by hiring Cronic from Mercer, where he had been head coach for four years.

Cronic directed an immediate turnaround for Navy’s offense, which is averaging 44.8 points and 435.8 total yards through six games. The Midshipmen have calmed down a bit in the second half of the season, but still rank 38th nationally in scoring offense at 32.1 points per game.

Cronic has consistently developed his version of the Wing-T offense over the years and has incorporated more elements of the triple option since arriving at the Navy. He has teamed up with quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper, a disciple of triple-option guru Paul Johnson, to do it.

“I can’t say enough about our offensive staff as far as the collaboration that goes on with game planning and how we’re able to put it all together. “We have really good coaches on our offensive staff and everyone brings something,” Cronic said. “We were able to make this a hybrid type attack that does a lot of things and gives the opponent a lot of different looks.”

Earlier this season, Cronic talked about using multiple formations and multiple moves to confuse opposing defenses. The plan forces human rights defenders to carry out their duties well and maintain eye discipline.

“We want to have a lot of smoke and mirrors. “We want to run the same scheme from different formations, different looks and using different movements,” he said. “You want to make things as simple as possible for our players, while still providing features that make it look complicated for the defense.”

No Navy assistant has ever been selected as a Broyles Award winner. Newberry was a semifinalist in 2019 in his first season as Navy’s defensive coordinator.

Newberry is being fired

Newberry comes to Navy from Kennesaw State, where he spent six seasons as defensive coordinator under head coach Brian Bohannon.

Bohannon, who built Kennesaw State’s program from the ground up, was shockingly fired earlier this month. In a strange turn of events, the school located in suburban Atlanta initially announced that Bohannon had resigned.

However, Bohannon posted a statement to social media explaining that he had been fired by athletic director Milton Overton.

“This morning I was notified directly from AD Overton that he is making a leadership change,” Bohannon posted to X. “Contrary to what has been reported, I want to make it clear that I am not stepping down from my position.”

Bohannon compiled a 72-38 record in 10 seasons at Kennesaw State, which began football play in 2015 in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Owls went 6-5 in their inaugural season, won eight games in their second season and went 34-7 from 2017 to 2019.

Bohannon led Kennesaw State to two Big South Conference championships and four berths in the FCS playoffs. He then oversaw the program’s transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of Conference USA.

Kennesaw State had a 1-8 record at the time Bohannon was fired. Newberry expressed his support for Bohannon and his disappointment in his treatment by the Kennesaw State government.

“Brian is a phenomenal football coach and I learned a lot from him. A great leader and a man of integrity,” Newberry said. “It’s really disappointing to hear how this happened, the way it was handled. From the outside looking in, he really doesn’t have the support you need when moving up to the FBS level. I don’t know if they’ll find anyone better than Brian Bohannon.”

Bohannon was a Navy assistant for six years under head coach Paul Johnson and followed his mentor at Georgia Tech. He was hand-picked by Kennesaw State to build its football program from the ground up.

Johnson also weighed in on firing Bohannon when contacted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the situation.

“They put him in a no-win situation. They go up [to FBS] no budget, no plan, no facilities, and then you expect to win?” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, six American Athletic Conference head coaches have been fired. Navy played at Rice after Mike Bloomgren’s firing and beat Charlotte before Biff Poggi’s firing. The Midshipmen will play at East Carolina, which recently removed the interim tag from Blake Harrell and officially named him as Mike Houston’s replacement — the first FBS coach fired this season.

Florida Atlantic’s Tom Herman and Tulsa’s Kevin Wilson are the other AAC coaches who have been fired. Newberry noted that Poggi and Wilson are only in their second season on the sidelines at the school.

“This is a tough business. Some of them are surprising like the guy in his second year. “It’s hard to make it all happen in two years,” Newberry said. “I don’t know the details of the situation so I can’t comment on it. You hate to see it because I know a lot of them are very good coaches and good human beings. It’s been a crazy year in our conference.”

impressive plebeian

Newberry and defensive coordinator P.J. Volker talked about improving Navy’s depth on that side of the ball after many of the starters were on the field for nearly 100 snaps against Memphis on Sept. 21.

Each week, more and more players are getting meaningful playthroughs. Many of those players are sophomores and freshmen.

One young player in particular who stands out for Volker is freshman midfielder MarcAnthony Parker, who is now the backup behind Colin Ramos in Will’s position.

Parker recorded a career-best three tackles against Charlotte and recorded his first tackle for loss against South Florida. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, made two tackles in the loss to Tulane.

“MarcAnthony Parker has been really strong over the last month. You’d have to be blind in practice to not see him develop and get better. Very impressed with the growth and development,” said Volker.

Volker praised Parker for mastering Navy’s defensive system so quickly and noted that he earned playing time by consistently performing well in practice.

“[Parker] plays fast, plays hard and knows exactly what he has to do. “His football IQ is beyond the reach of a freshman,” Volker said. “I was blown away by his ability to take and execute what we did. He retains information and is able to diagnose plays as well as anyone I’ve ever coached here.”

Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.