Navy football has a support staff position that is unique to a service academy program.
It is called the Director of Player Development and for as long as the post has existed it has been filled by a uniformed Marine Corps officer.
This individual has a wide-ranging job description that is summarized by being responsible for the overall mentorship, guidance and progression of all members of the Navy football team. They serve as the primary liaison between the Navy football coaching staff, the Brigade of Midshipmen leadership and the Naval Academy administration.
In general terms, Navy’s Director of Player Development is tasked with making sure members of the football team meet their responsibilities as midshipmen. In practical terms, the person in that position must forge a strong relationship with every player to ensure a level of trust and transparency.
“You wear a lot of different hats in this position,” said Captain Brandon Jones, who is navigating his first year as Navy’s Director of Player Development. “You need to be the face of the Navy football team in terms of the military side of the academy. It’s my job to make sure our players are honoring their commitments in Bancroft Hall and upholding the standards of the Naval Academy.”
Navy players can expect to see Captain Jones patrolling every corner of Ricketts Hall — from meeting rooms to the locker room to the lobby — evaluating whether they are clean shaven, have regulation haircuts and are in proper uniform. Those that are not are reprimanded and invite closer scrutiny moving forward.
It’s incumbent upon Jones to be in the business of every Navy football player so he knows which ones are struggling academically or militarily. If a particular player is having problems in Bancroft Hall, Jones needs to address and remediate those issues before things go too far.
“In-house, it’s about staying on top of all the players and knowing what’s going on with their daily lives,” he said. “It’s my job to make sure these guys are set up for success. If guys are lagging behind in the classroom, I make sure they get set up with tutors.”
There are many times when Captain Jones must meet with Naval Academy professors or company officers on behalf of certain players. He sometimes is pleading the cause of a player and providing reasons why infractions may have occurred. However, it’s a two-way street and he often must come down hard on players that are messing up.
“I’m not here to be their friend. I’m here to be their mentor and their advocate, but I also need to be a disciplinarian at times,” he said.
Nobody leans on the Director of Player Development more than the younger guys in the Navy program, the freshmen and sophomores who are still finding their way at the academy. The plebes in particular must learn how to operate within the Brigade of Midshipmen.
“Those younger guys need a lot of guidance. We have to set the standard from day one,” Jones said. “It’s important for the plebes to understand what it means to be part of the Navy football brotherhood and know what is expected of them as midshipmen.”
Carrying the torch
Jones is the latest in a long line of Marine Corps officers to excel in the wide-ranging role of Director of Player Development. Others that set an extremely high standard for performance over the years include Bert Pangrazio, Mike Davis, Andy Thompson and Bryce McDonald — all of whom were former Navy football players.
No one poured themselves into the position with more passion than Robert “RB” Green, who guided the professional development of Navy football players for two years under head coach Ken Niumatalololo.
Green retired from the Marine Corps in June 2019 as a lieutenant colonel after serving 20 years and moved directly into an on-field coaching position on Niumatalolo’s staff. Green initially instructed the linebackers, but is now in his fourth season as cornerbacks coach.
When Brandon Jones was a young linebacker on the Navy football team, he looked up to Green for guidance. The Dallas, Texas native found immediate success on the football field, earning jobs on special teams as a plebe. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound outside linebacker was a four-year letterman and two-year starter.
However, things didn’t always go as smoothly for Jones in terms of the academic and military elements of the Naval Academy. Like many midshipmen, he made mistakes and received demerits from time to time.
“The academy has its ups and downs for everybody. Academics was a real grind for me personally. I had to earn every grade I got,” Jones said. “I also had to learn along the way how to be a good midshipman. Luckily, I had folks like RB Green and upperclassmen teammates I could lean on to help with my development.”
They can joke about it together now, but Green acknowledged that Jones was among his pet projects in terms of professional development.
“Brandon was a guy that came to the academy with some imperfections that had to be refined,” Green said recently before joking that “Brandon was a big reason why I sharpened my leadership skills while I was in that role.”
Jones stayed in close touch with Green while embarking on a Marine Corps career that saw him assigned the occupational specialty of Air Support Control Officer. He served in a variety of roles over the span of five years, working his way up to company commander then captain.
“We are the bridge between the ground combat element and the air combat element,” Jones explained. “It’s a very technical job and I had to do a lot of studying to stay up-to-date with all the different terminology and processes.”
When Green notified Jones about the Director of Player Development position coming open, it did not take long for the latter to submit an application.
Jones reached out to many of his predecessors to pick their brains about what worked and what did not. He naturally spent significant time getting advice from Green about how best to approach the position. He also sat down with head coach Brian Newberry to hear what he wanted from the position.
“I was taught by RB to find your value within the program. Don’t wait for someone to task you with doing something,” Jones said. “As officers, you need to have initiative and be aggressive about getting things done.
Newberry has been quite pleased with the new Director of Player Development for Navy football, describing Captain Jones as “super-detailed” with an innate ability to connect with players. Jones has stayed on top of various issues involving players and addressed them when necessary.
“Brandon is kind of my behind-the-scenes eyes and ears. He deals with everything you can think of that goes on with our players outside of Ricketts Hall,” Newberry said. “It’s a great resource for our players to have someone that played football here, went to school here and knows what life is like at the academy as an athlete. I couldn’t be impressed with the job Brandon has done. Our players have responded really well to him.”
Green grows emotional when considering how far Jones has come from the time he arrived in Annapolis as a plebe in 2014 to a decade later being a decorated Marine Corps captain bringing vital leadership to Navy’s football program.
Green believes former Navy football players that endured hardships during their days at the academy are ideal for the professional development position. He believes Jones has made an immediate impact in just five months on the job.
“I think Brandon has changed the culture in terms of off-the-field issues and that has spilled over onto the field. We’re much more disciplined than in the past and I think his work off the field has contributed largely to that improvement,” Green said. “Brandon has focused all his energy on their development as men as far as how they carry themselves and how they project their character to others on the yard.”
Jones acknowledged there is a significant amount of responsibility that goes along with the post and welcomes it. Top of mind is the fact he’s helping mold these midshipmen to excel as officers, husbands, fathers and community members.
“My success is reflected directly in their success. Seeing these guys grow and develop and being that guy they come to for advice and support is very rewarding,” he said. “I thoroughly love and enjoy being able to pour into younger folks and advocate for them. I am very fortunate to be able to give back to the program that has given so much to me.”
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