 Eligible for call-up into the military by the Selective Service, Paul Brown accepted a commission as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the United States Navy on April 12, 1944, and was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center at Chicago.Brown submitted the name of his assistant coach, Carroll Widdoes, to direct the team in his absence.Widdoes had been an assistant to Brown since 1934 and had turned down the prestigious head coach position at Washington High School to go with Brown to Ohio State.