Ed DeChellis enjoying the challenge of rebuilding Navy program

(Credit: Navy Athletics) When Ed DeChellis became head coach at his alma mater, Penn State, in 2003 one would have surmised that he had landed his dream job. And while DeChellis did have success with the Nittany Lions — a NIT postseason tournament title in 2009 and the program’s first NCAA berth in ten years in 2011, the 1982 Penn State grad left to take over a struggling program at the U.S. Naval Academy. The move surprised some, but those folks did not know about the affinity for the service academies that DeChellis had developed during frequent talks with good friend, the late Skip Prosser – a 1972 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate. “I believe in the mission,” DeChellis said, explaining the privilege of coaching at Navy. “You get great kids here and it is a wonderful place to build a program.” After a first season that would better be described as nightmare than dream job, DeChellis is starting to see signs of a turnaround. A pair of two-point November road losses in Texas we...