Army filled its football coaching vacancy by heeding a core West Point value: History matters.

Rich Ellerson grew up around Black Knights football and is leaving his coaching job at Cal Poly to come to a place he knows well. His father and two brothers graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, where brother John led the 1962 team to a 6-4 record. And he's worked before with former Army coaches known for running successful schemes on both sides of the ball.

Ellerson replaces Stan Brock , who was fired Dec. 12 after a pair of 3-9 seasons. This season ended with a 34-0 loss to Navy. Brock, a former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman, was Army's offensive line coach for three years before replacing Bobby Ross in early 2007.

Academy officials who announced the selection Friday said Ellerson expressed interest in the position when it was open in the past. They were impressed by his familiarity with the program.

Waiting in the wings

Jimbo Fisher has been waiting for more than a year now, learning and preparing all the while, to one day become the head coach at Florida State.

If things go according to the plan of FSU President T.K. Wetherell , Fisher, the Seminoles' offensive coordinator, will succeed head coach Bobby Bowden by no later than the end of the 2010 season.

Florida State's game Saturday against Wisconsin will represent the conclusion of Fisher's first season as coach-in-waiting and it has been a season, Fisher said, in which he has learned much but changed little.

"It's not time to put [my] stamp on things," he said this week. "I mean, you can't. Because Coach Bowden's still the head coach and the way our infrastructure's set up, that he still runs it the way he wants it done, which I have the utmost respect for.

"I'm not trying to [change things]. And when my time comes to be the head coach, I'll be the head coach."