When Army hired Jeff Monken to resuscitate its barely breathing football program in 2014, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk faced an unsettling question.

Had, Gladchuk asked himself, Army’s Black Knights found their Paul Johnson?

A little background: In 2002, Navy hired Johnson after losing 31 of 34 games. The Midshipmen had taken up what appeared to be permanent residence in college football’s dungeon.

Johnson changed all that, and quickly. He insisted the Midshipmen play with a precise yet vicious attitude. Navy, snarling all the way, won the next seven Commander-in-Chief’s titles.

As we head into the final weeks of the 2018 season, the answer to Gladchuk’s question is blazingly evident.

Yes, Army has found its Paul Johnson.

And that’s bad news for Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, who must find a way Saturday to topple the reigning king of service-academy football.

And toppling the king won’t be easy. The momentum is all with Army.

This season, under Monken’s stern and imaginative direction, the 2018 Black Knights have galloped to more wins (six) than Air Force and Navy combined, and collected those wins against a more rugged schedule. Army placed a severe scare in the hearts of Oklahoma fans before falling in overtime, 28-21.

From 2000 to 2015, the Black Knights lost 144 of 189 games. They’ve won 19 of their last 24. From 1997 to 2015, the Black Knights lost 34 of 38 against Air Force and Navy. They’ve won their last three service-academy games.

Air Force dominated the Commander-in-Chief’s rivalry from 1982 to 2002, beating Army and Navy 36 of 42 games while winning or retaining 17 of 21 titles. Navy followed with its string of dominance. Since 2010, Air Force has regained its feet, winning four of eight titles.

But Army’s rise leads to a depressing question, if you’re an Air Force supporter. Are the Black Knights are on the verge of dominating service academy football?

With that question hanging over them, the Falcons travel to West Point as a struggling team. After finishing 10-3 in 2016, the Falcons have lost 12 of 20, including eight of their last 11 Football Bowl Subdivision Games.

The most painful and educational of those defeats came at Falcon Stadium a year ago.

On Nov. 4, 2017, Monken and the Black Knights throttled the Falcons, 21-0. It was Air Force’s first shutout in 306 games.

It was a strange and frightening game for Air Force and its supporters. Army never passed, relying fully on a primal, powerful running game. The Falcons, looking into the option-attack mirror, lost to a more talented, more disciplined, more intense version of themselves.

It was a stinging dose of reality, and that sting should motivate the Falcons on Saturday.

If Air Force beats Army, the Falcons will reign as service-academy champs, return the hulking Commander-in-Chief’s trophy to the edge of Colorado Springs and erase much of the pain of the last two seasons. It’s a huge opportunity for a hurting team.

Gladchuk knew much about Monken when Army hired him. Monken had worked as Navy assistant under Johnson from 2002-2007. Monken had previously studied the triple-option alongside Johnson at Hawaii and Georgia Southern.

“Jeff is an intense guy,” Gladchuk said.

“Very, very intense and very focused. He’s an old-fashioned tough guy who really understands the triple option.”

Monken also understands how to underplay a victory. A year ago, while standing in a Falcon Stadium tunnel just outside his locker room — and just outside Air Force’s locker room — he declined to rejoice. It was not time to celebrate, he said. The Black Knights still had to beat Navy. (They did beat Navy.)

He has not changed his underplaying approach.

“We tried to prepare the best we could and just play the best we could,” he said recently of the dominating 2017 win over Air Force.

“Things went our way. Our guys made some good plays, and we got some breaks. We were fortunate to win the game.”

They were not fortunate to win the game, but it’s nice of Monken to say they were.