Coordinated effort to hire coordinators
Amplo credits AD for giving him budget to entice Orsen, Ross
Upon being hired as head coach of Navy men’s lacrosse, Joe Amplo was thrilled to learn there would be no budget constraints limiting his ability to hire quality assistants.
Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk established a salary range that allowed Amplo to attract the best and the brightest.
“Fortunately, Chet provided the opportunity to go out and get the best, so I looked at the top right from the outset,” Amplo said.
Amplo feels he hit a home run in luring John Orsen away from Denver to serve as defensive coordinator and convincing Brad Ross to leave Ohio State to serve as offensive coordinator.
“Both of those guys have been competing at the top of our sport for quite some time and have proven themselves as top-notch assistants,” Amplo said. “If you look at the pool of Division I assistants, those two guys are right at the top. That is evidenced by the fact they’ve been involved in a number of head coaching searches.”
Orsen spent five seasons as defensive coordinator at Denver under legendary head coach Bill Tierney. He helped the Pioneers capture the Division I national championship in 2015 and get back to the Final Four in 2017.
Meanwhile, Ross spent five seasons as offensive coordinator at Ohio State under head coach Nick Myers, playing an instrumental role in helping that program reach new heights. In 2017, the Buckeyes were the national runner-up after falling to Maryland in the championship game.
Which begs the question: Why would Orsen and Ross leave perennial Top 20 programs to join Amplo at Navy, which did not even qualify for the Patriot League Tournament last season?
“Coming to a service academy to work is a destination for most people in our profession. I also think they see the potential for what this place could be for a long time,” Amplo said. “Jon and Brad both have young families and Annapolis is a
great place to live, while the Naval Academy is one of the best places to work.”
Orsen remembers thinking after being hired at Denver that “this is going to be a really hard place to leave professionally.” He was already familiar with the city from having played professional indoor lacrosse for the Colorado Mammoth and loved the lifestyle. Obviously, working alongside a National Hall of Famer in Tierney, a man with a Division I record seven national championships under his belt, was the opportunity of a lifetime.
On the other hand, it was hard to say no to Amplo, who coached Orsen at Hofstra and hired him as an assistant at Marquette. Orsen was working in finance and living in New York City when Amplo called and asked him to help establish the fledgling program at Marquette in 2013.
“For a bunch of reasons, the academies are highly sought after in our profession. They’re just great institutions at which to work,” Orsen said. “I also felt this would be a great opportunity to get back with Coach Amplo. It was a bright new opportunity, and I felt was a step in the right direction.”
Deliberate process
Amplo did not immediately begin the process of hiring coordinators after being named eighth head coach in the 112-year history of Navy men’s lacrosse on June 5, 2019. Ryan Wellner had served as defensive coordinator under previous head coach Rick Sowell and did a superb job of leading the program as interim coach for a month.
Amplo was prepared to keep Wellner on board but left the decision up to him. Ultimately, Wellner elected to accept the defensive coordinator position at Notre Dame under head coach Kevin Corrigan.
“Once Ryan decided to go to Notre Dame, I picked up the phone and called John. There was no interview and John did not come here to visit,” Amplo said. “I coached John at Hofstra and worked with him at Marquette. I coached against Jon as he developed into an outstanding coordinator at Denver. Our relationship has always been very strong.”
Orsen, who was a short stick defensive midfielder for the Chesapeake Bayhawks when they captured the 2012 Major League Lacrosse championship, was very familiar with the Annapolis area and knew it was a great place to live. The Cold Spring Harbor, New York native vividly remembers that initial telephone conversation with Amplo.
“I think trust is a great word to use. I’ve known Joe since 2002 and I have great trust in him as a person and a coach,” Orsen said. “When we spoke about possibility of me coming aboard, he was just so excited about this opportunity and what Navy lacrosse could become. I felt it was a chance to build something again, just like we did at Marquette.”
Sowell served as his own offensive coordinator, so Amplo knew filling that position would require a new hire. He waited two weeks to get acclimated in Annapolis before beginning the search.
“In terms of the offensive guy, I wanted to be very deliberate about who I hired. I asked around and Brad’s name just kept coming up,” Amplo said. “After doing some due diligence then talking to Brad, I realized that was absolutely, 100 percent who I wanted.”
Amplo, Orsen and Ross were all quite familiar with each other because Marquette, Denver and Ohio State played each other on a regular basis. Marquette and Denver are both members of the Big East Conference and routinely met twice per year – once during the regular season and again in the postseason tournament. Ohio State and Denver have developed a traditional non-conference series.
“We’ve been very much competitors against each other for the past five years,” Ross said. “John and I went against each other as opposing coordinators every season. We both played against Joe and Marquette as well.”
Ross, who grew up in Montgomery County and attended Bullis Prep, cites the opportunity to return to Maryland and coach at a service academy he has long admired were two of the big reasons he left Ohio State for Navy.
“First, living in this area was is incredibly attractive to me and my wife. Second, I know this institution is a special place. Getting the opportunity to work with these types of kids is very rewarding,” Ross said. “Obviously, the third factor was Joe. I always thought Joe was someone who was incredibly inspirational and motivational as a head coach and was someone I wanted to be associated with.”
Amplo and Ross have many mutual friends, most notably Duke head coach John Danowski, that spoke highly of the other. Amplo played for Danowski and was his longtime assistant at Hofstra. Ross also played for Danowski while at Duke.
“While I did not know Brad very well personally, I know his coaching tree and background,” Amplo said. “I coached against Brad a bunch and always had fits with his offense.”
Ross employed an offensive style preferred by Myers while at Ohio State, but is being given plenty of latitude at Navy.
“I trust Brad implicitly to run the offense the way he wants. I think having more freedom will benefit Brad down the road,” Amplo said.
While Navy does not have the talent to play at a fast pace this season, Amplo’s goal is to get to the point of doing so.
“Ohio State was extremely scripted and deliberate. We’re trying to become less scripted and deliberate. I think from a coaching standpoint Brad is excited about having more freedom to do more creative things offensively,” Amplo added.
Amplo comes from a defensive background, having played and coached on that side of the field while at Hofstra. However, he has no plans to meddle in that department now, handing the reins over to Orsen.
“What I was really impressed with John during his time at Denver was how creative he was with game-planning. John has the ability to think outside the box and there were a lot of things he did that gave offenses fits,” Amplo said. “I always thought his kids always played fundamentally sound while being multiple with defensive schemes. Fundamentals are at the core of who Jon and I are as coaches.”
Dream team in action
It’s one thing to assemble a “dream team,” yet quite another to make it work on a daily basis. Amplo readily admits he, Orsen and Ross have “very different” personalities.
“Whereas John and I tend to be more emotional, Brad is extremely analytical. I find the differences in the entire staff are fascinating,” Amplo said. “We call Brad the beautiful mind because he’s always coming up with unique ideas. John, on the other hand, can be extremely intense at times. I think John’s emotion and energy captivates our players, while Brad’s ability to teach in an analytical way also captures their attention.”
Amplo noted Ross and Orsen are constantly in each other’s offices discussing strategies or drawing plays on the grease board.
“John has made Brad a better offensive coach, and Brad has certainly made John a better defensive coach,” Amplo said. “When you have two high level guys in the office together who are always bouncing ideas off each other, that’s when you get good stuff.”
Rob Camposa had been one of the two full-time assistants under Sowell. Amplo’s decision to hire Ross and Orsen as coordinators meant Camposa had to return to his role as volunteer assistant. He was a standout goalkeeper at Stony Brook and has directly tutored that position all four seasons at Navy.
“As soon as I was hired, Rob said ‘Coach, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.’ You want to be around people with that type of all-in attitude,” Amplo said. “Rob does great job with everything I ask, whether it’s working with the goalies or running the scout offense or defense. I’ve given Rob a lot of responsibility and I hope this is helping him develop into that next level coach.”
Roughly eight months into his tenure at Navy, Ross has no doubt he made the right decision by accepting the position offered by Amplo.
“It’s been an unbelievable experience. My wife and I talk every day about how lucky we are to be here,” he said. “These guys are so amazing.
“As a staff, we talk about it all the time. These midshipmen are so hard to get mad at. They give you everything they have. All they want you to do is point them in the right direction.”