Before Saturday's frustrating, 22-20 loss to Army in Philadelphia, Naval Academy football coach George Chaump was asked by a sportscaster whether he thought it was more important to have a winning record or beat West Point.
"I'd rather have a winning record," said Chaump. "That's the bottom line when it comes to keeping your job."
But Chaump, 59, neither could compile a winning record (14-41) nor beat Army (1-4) in his five seasons at Annapolis, leading to his dismissal yesterday by athletic director Jack Lengyel, who hired him in 1990.
Chaump spent yesterday clearing out his office and could not be reached for comment.
Said Lengyel: "There are times when a program, while still making progress, reaches a point where a change in leadership is necessary, and that is where we find ourselves at this time.
"George Chaump is a fine individual and a very knowledgeable coach. He has gone through some very difficult times at the Naval Academy, and I want to thank him for his contributions to the Navy football program."
Lengyel said he had a short list of candidates to replace Chaump and will begin interviews this week.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of interest in this job," said Lengyel. "But we would like to complete the selection process as soon as possible, because recruiting is critical for us."
The favorite to replace Chaump remains Tom O'Brien, a 1971 Naval Academy graduate who has been an assistant coach at Virginia since 1982.
O'Brien said last night he had not been contacted by any Navy official.
"I don't have any comment at this time," he said.
He has spent the past four years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under George Welsh and was credited with making the Cavaliers one of the most potent offensive teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A starting defensive end for the Midshipmen from 1968 to 1970, O'Brien began his 19-year working relationship with Welsh as a Navy assistant coach in 1975.
He was interviewed for the head coaching job at Navy in 1987 after the departure of Gary Tranquill, but lost out to Elliot Uzelac. O'Brien applied again in 1990, after Uzelac was fired, but Lengyel opted for Chaump, who had a 33-16-1 record in his previous four years at Marshall University.
But Chaump experienced mostly frustration at the academy, where stringent academic standards and a six-year service commitment after graduation proved major obstacles in recruiting gifted athletes.
"At Marshall, I could go after football players, get them in school and keep them there," Chaump said recently.
On Wednesday, in his final news conference before the Army game, Chaump suggested he did not have one player among his 22 starters who received a full scholarship offer from another Division I-A school.
When the Midshipmen finished the 1993 season with five straight losses after a 4-2 start, Chaump was on shaky footing. But Lengyel granted him a year's extension, saying he felt he owed Chaump a chance to coach the seniors from his first recruiting class.
Graduation losses claimed all of Chaump's offensive line and his best defensive linemen this season.
The rebuilding process was evident, as Navy finished 3-8 this season, beginning with five consecutive lopsided losses to San Diego State (56-14), Virginia (47-10), Bowling Green (59-21), Duke (47-14) and Air Force (43-21).
The Midshipmen ended their 10-game losing streak by holding on for a 7-0 victory over Lafayette. Losses to Louisville and Notre Dame followed before Navy seemed to turn the corner when a maturing defense led victories over Tulane and Rice.
But for the third straight year, Navy lost to Army by the difference of a missed or made field goal. This time, a record 52-yarder by senior Kurt Heiss provided the winning margin for the Cadets.
Army's wishbone offense, which gained 373 yards rushing, was able to control the clock for the final 4 minutes, 52 seconds, adding to Navy's frustration.
"There wasn't one major factor that precipitated the change," said Lengyel. "We don't say a coach has to go 8-3 or 7-4 to be successful. That's not our modus operandi. It's just the overall picture of how a team responds to a coach, the success in recruiting and how the athletes achieve in the classroom. For us, football is a mission-oriented program."
Lengyel noted that the schedule has been toned down considerably in recent years in an effort to keep Navy competitive on the football field.
"We've taken on schools in the middle of the NCAA in terms of academic institutions," he said, mentioning the substitution of Rice, Tulane and Duke for former rivals Syracuse, Penn State and Pitt.
The new football coach also will benefit from improved facilities, including an AstroTurf practice field, a weight room and modernized coaches offices and locker rooms.
"Your facilities are a perception of commitment," Lengyel said. "Now, we will be on a par with both the Air Force and Army."
CHAUMP AT NAVY
A breakdown of George Chaump's five-year coaching record at Navy:
Year ... ... W ... ... L ... ... T ... ... Pct.
1990 ... ... 5 ... ... 6 ... ... 0 ... ... .455
1991 ... ... 1 ... ... 10 ... ... 0 ... ... .091
1992 ... ... 1 ... ... 10 ... ... 0 ... ... .091
1993 ... ... 4 ... ... 7 ... ... 0 ... ... .364
1994 ... ... 3 ... ... 8 ... ... 0 ... ... .273
Total ... .. 14 ... .. 41 ... ... 0 ... ... .255