NEW ORLEANS – Sometimes, the best stories walk right up and shake your hand. Literally.
For instance, did you know there’s no guarantee that traditional college football powers such as Ohio State or USC or LSU or Tennessee or Nebraska or Miami will see a Super Bowl champion crowned from their ranks this Sunday?
But one noted juggernaut (from the 1940s, anyway), the United States Military Academy – West Point – will.
Let me rewind to the opening paragraph.
When covering a Super Bowl, it’s easy – and also incumbent, to some degree – to get bogged down with narratives surrounding quarterbacks, coaches, other superstars, dynasties, the controversy du jour, etc. I’m writing about luminaries like Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce this week, among other topics, and will surely devote further thought to what could be a historic Super Bowl three-peat by K.C.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Yet focusing on the people and subplots that take up so much oxygen can make it easy to lose sight of a given game’s more unique nuggets.
So it was a pleasant surprise Wednesday morning when Eagles offensive lineman Brett Toth (USMA class of 2018), strolled up, shook my hand and started asking me questions in a rare Super Bowl role reversal. Toth spied my West Point cap (my father is a graduate) and didn’t seem the least bit disappointed to learn I’d taken the ROTC route into the Army when I served. We talked for a few minutes, swapped stories about our military experiences, and then he was off to team meetings ahead of Super Bowl 59.
While slightly annoyed with myself for not having Toth on my list of assignments, the encounter with him also got my wheels spinning. Former United States Naval Academy star and 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach is a two-time Super Bowl champion (in addition to being a Hall of Famer and Dallas Cowboys legend). Air Force Academy grad Chad Hennings won three rings with the Cowboys’ dynasty in the 1990s.
So, I thought, how cool that Toth might finally affiliate West Point with a Lombardi Trophy.
Just one problem: It’s already happened.
Linebacker Cole Christiansen (USMA class of 2020) has been a member of the Chiefs since 2022. He made his Super Bowl debut a year ago, playing 23 snaps on special teams in Kansas City’s overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58.
So, naturally, I tracked Christiansen down Thursday morning to playfully let him know how I was going to profile Toth’s chance to be the first Black Knight with a Super Bowl ring.
Christiansen, a former team captain for Army who bears a striking resemblance to actor Channing Tatum, gave me a wry smile to inform me of what I already knew.
“Might’ve beaten him to the punch there,” chuckled Christiansen, a teammate of Toth’s at West Point.
“It’s been incredible, and I’ve been very, very fortunate,” continued Christiansen, who broke into the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 after the Department of Defense allowed him to defer his service until his NFL career concludes. The DoD’s policy for allowing service academy players to join the NFL has been fluid in recent years, but he believes he’ll eventually serve for five years, probably as a field artilleryman.
“We’ve all been in this a little longer than anyone expected us to be, which I’m very grateful for,” said Christiansen, who played in nine games this season but won’t suit up Sunday unless he’s promoted from the practice squad.
Toth didn’t play at all during the 2024 regular season, which isn’t hugely surprising given the talent and depth of Philadelphia’s forbidding offensive line. However he has appeared in all three of the Eagles’ playoff wins, primarily on special teams, but did take some offensive snaps in the team’s dominant NFC championship game defeat of the Washington Commanders.
But don’t make the assumption his role is minor.
“Brett’s probably one of my favorite people on this team. If you want to talk about people who are underrated on this team, he’s one of them,” said Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata.
“He’s so smart. I mean, the guy can talk about football all day. I keep telling him that he should be a coach. I said, ‘Man, screw playing – when you’re done, you’re gonna be a great coach.’ When it comes to reading defenses, knowing the scheme, knowing the tendencies of that defense? He’s a true asset to this team.”
Mailata said Toth “debugs” issues in the game plan, and Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson credits him as an invaluable source of feedback for players and coaches.
“Brett’s a tremendous teammate, extremely high football IQ – really understands the game,” said Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson. “He’s a guy that’s always looking to do what he can to help others.”
Naturally a center, Toth can play all five O-line spots and will be on the end Sunday for field-goal and extra-point attempts – potentially a key spot given the Chiefs’ propensity for blocking kicks.
But he’s thrilled for whatever role comes his way having already fulfilled his military obligation – Toth was an engineer, loosely equivalent to an offensive lineman from an Army perspective given both occupations can call for blowing holes into enemy lines – while overcoming his share of obstacles.
“Unique. Unorthodox,” he said of his journey, which has included three stints with the Eagles plus time spent with the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.
Toth has done his own time on the practice squad and also had to overcome a torn ACL. All of that after serving as a lieutenant and trying to balance his football ambitions with the Army’s requirements, which had him down to 265 pounds when Philadelphia first signed him in 2019. Toth, who stands 6-6, is currently listed at 304 pounds.
“Didn’t know if I was ever gonna get the chance to play football again,” he said of his journey, which he’s nonetheless very appreciative of. He met his wife, who also served as an engineer officer, when both were stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Toth brings big-game experience into Super Bowl 59 – after all, he was 2-0 against Navy when he was a starter for the Cadets. (Christiansen was 3-1.) Toth said he’ll speak to his former teammate after the game, but his focus is currently on the Chiefs.
“I’m grateful for the journey,” he said. “Lots of adversity, and it hasn’t been the smoothest ride, but I still made it.”
Christiansen wishes he was playing Sunday but maintains a healthy perspective regarding his situation.
“I probably shouldn’t even be in the NFL based on my circumstances – I never thought I would be. Truthfully, it wasn’t even a goal of mine. My only goal coming out of high school was to get free college. And then, obviously, when I got to West Point – my only goal was to be a soldier, and I was totally hellbent on that,” he said.
“This wasn’t even in my sights. And then when it happened, I was like, ‘Well I gotta try and see how much I can make of this, because this is a pretty rare opportunity.’ And I have so much gratitude, I’m just very lucky to even have the chance to do it – and have the possibility of getting three in a row.
‘It’s awesome.’
Time to get Super Bowl ready: Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter for NFL news.