Scratch Annapolis athletic director Chet Gladchuk from our Christmas card list. It was bad enough that Gladchuck saw fit to hit the eject button on eminently qualified head coach Ken Niumatalolo, whose 15 seasons at the helm of the Navy program included a lot more highs than lows. Niumatolo was also a link back to the decorated era of Paul Johnson, on whose staffs Niumartalolo served back to days at Georgia Southern. None of that mattered to Gladchuk, who scored fewer points by the brusque manner in which he pink-slipped Niumatalolo, effectively in the locker room right after a bitter 20-17 overtime loss in the annual Commander-in-Chief's finale vs. rival Army. 

Gladchuk's rationale was pretty shallow, comparing the Midshipmen to the recent successes of Air Force, and was obviously bothered by a few losses in recent years to West Point. Perhaps Gladchuk needs to be reminded that a vast array of coaches with impressive credentials who have failed to win at Annapolis or even come close to Niumatalolo's accomplishments since Wayne Hardin and the Roger Staubach era. Not every coach can be a Hall-of-Famer like George Welsh, or likely Hall-of-Famer-to-be like Johnson...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Navy's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the AAC season.

AAC preview: Conference winner | Charlotte | East Carolina | Florida Atlantic | Memphis | Navy | North Texas | Rice | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UAB | UTSA

2023 Navy at a glance

• Last Year: 4-8 SU, 7-5 ATS, 7-5 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 7; Defense 9
• Win total: 6.5 (Over +120, Under -130)

What do you need to know about Navy before locking in your AAC futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see AAC futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!