Army Black Knights Football Stars Duel for Title on Super Bowl Sunday

Both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs have a former Army Black Knights football star on their roster for Sunday.

Jul 22, 2024; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Cole Christiansen (48) catches a pass during training camp at Missouri Western State University. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LIV will pit the Philadelphia Eagles against the Kansas City Chiefs and plenty will be on the line.

The Chiefs are looking to become the first franchise to win three Super Bowls in a row. The Eagles are seeking to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history.

But, within that game will be another game — a pair of former Army West Point Black Knights football stars vying for a title.

For the Eagles, it’s offensive lineman Brett Toth, who is seeking his first Super Bowl ring. For the Chiefs, it’s linebacker Cole Christiansen, who is hoping to make history with the Chiefs.

It’s more than enough to give their former college coach, Jeff Monken, a tremendous sense of pride.

"I am just incredibly proud of both of those guys. It’s hard to play in that league — those are the best players on the face of the planet — and they’re able to compete with those guys, play with those guys,” Monken said to USA Today Sports. “I’m just really proud of them and just the development that they’ve made.”

Both took advantage of the deferment policy now offered to service academy players when it comes to pro sports.

Toth was already serving when he signed a three-year contract with the Eagles in 2019. He later went on to join Arizona later that year and for part of 2020.

He went back to the Eagles in 2020 and remained with the franchise through the 2023 season. He spent much of that time on the practice squad. He spent time on the Carolina practice squad in 2023 and returned to the Eagles again.

Christiansen went undrafted in 2020. He joined the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 and spent two seasons there before he joined the Chiefs in 2022. He spent most of 2023 on the practice squad, but he was promoted to the active roster in September of this year and has been a special teams contributor.

The military academies have produced Super Bowl champions, two of which have played for the Dallas Cowboys.

Navy legend Roger Staubach, who turned 83 years old this week, won two rings in the 1970s, both of which came in games played in New Orleans. He is a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame.

Chad Hennings, who played for Air Force and, like Staubach, served in the military before playing football, joined the Cowboys in 1992 and played on all three of their Super Bowl champions that decade.

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