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ONLY 9 COACH SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT'S SELF-IMPOSED HIRING DEADLINE!!!
I know there are still 9 days left until the Dec. 15th deadline, but I expect Columbia to name a new football head coach tomorrow or Thursday.
I can report than an offer has been made to at least one candidate, but the deal has not been finalized and I cannot confirm the name of that candidate.
One big reason for the urgency here is that for the second straight weekend, football recruits will be on campus for visits.
I know some recruits were on campus last weekend and I am simply stumped as to how those visits went without anyone knowing who will be on the head coaching staff.
I realize the visits couldn't be canceled or easily rescheduled because of flight schedules and expensive flight-changing fees.
But I really don't think the athletic department will let another weekend go by without a new head coach in place.
That said, I can also report that Norries Wilson's entire coaching staff will not be returning next season. So this program needs to really staff up in a hurry!
Fordham Latest
Greg Toal's interview with Fordham went extremely well yesterday and he has to be considered a frontrunner for the job right now.
Toal has told one of my sources that if he gets the Fordham job he will -- how can I say this nicely -- look forward to playing Columbia every year.
Let's just say Toal used some more colorful language.
Uh oh.
Meanwhile, another candidate for the Fordham position is Joe Moglia.
Apparently, I am acting as an unpaid consultant for the Rams football program because just about every top candidate I write about for Columbia is getting interviewed by the Rams!
Tom Gilmore
Gilmore a Finalist... for an Award
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore has been selected as one of five finalists from the football championship subdivision for the 2011 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.
Can you say: "rising stock price?"
Lion Awardees
Some really deserving players were featured in last night's football dinner and award ceremony.
Guys like senior RB David Chao who won the "special forces award."
Senior FB Nico Papas winning the "Maniatty-Remmer Unsung Hero Award" was also quite fitting.
Senior Nick Mistretta was truly deserving of the Phil Fusco leadership award. Anyone who heard some of Nick's stirring speeches knows that.
Boding well for the future, there were plenty of non-seniors who were recognized.
Sophomore TE Hamilton Garner was the most obvious choice for Most Improved as he came out of virtually nowhere to lead the team in receiving TD's.
Junior QB Sean Brackett deservedly won the Sid Luckman team MVP award.
And it was another senior whose name I was really happy to see getting a top honor. Neil Schuster took home the defensive MVP award even though I feel like he was a bit overlooked his entire career at Columbia. But after leading the team in tackles this season, he could not be denied.
posted by Jake @ 12:16:00 AM
65 comments
65 Comments:
Jake are you guaranteeing us that none of the assistants will be retained? I know sometimes the new guy will keep one or two...please tell me this is a guarantee we need fresh faces ASAP
The whole staff is gone. If the new head coach changes his mind about someone I assume that could change.
Jake, know you can't say much, but in your opinion, was the offer made to someone you are pleased with? Just yes or no will do.
Yes, this would be a great candidate.
Mangurian or Gilmore; either one would be a home run.
I welcome the new coach! Lets get down to work. Go Columbia 10-0 for 2012 season.
Mangurian was a Patriots assistant before he moved on to the Bucs. There's your Bob Kraft connection. He was abruptly fired in the off-season by Mangurian although he was recognized as having done a great job with the TB OL. Great cred; played for LSU; prominent member of the Armenian community; knows the Ivies; has NFL ties.
Correction--Mangurian was fired by Naheem Morris in the off season. His firing was a mistake, as shown by TB's record.
So Toal supposedly is mad at CU for not considering him and really wants to stick it to the Lions every year?
Well, it'll be up to our new coach to answer him with a beating every year. I hope he's up to it. And I hope everyone who derided Toal as just a high-school coach was correct.
Jake, I also know you can't say much, but in your opinion, was the offer made to someone whose name sounds at all like "nestle"? Just yes or no will do.
If we have the right guy I hope we aren't going to blow it by not putting enough in he package, etc.
It doesn't rhyme with "Nestle" even if you pronounce it like the chocolate company.
If the Lions have made an offer this quickly, then I would say that one man stood out over all the rest and that's a good sign.
Any phonemic similarity with the 13th president of the United States?
Of the names mentioned on this blog, I would be very happy with either Pete Mangurian or Tom Gilmore. Either one would be a great hire for Columbia.
Huge boost in stature for the Columbia Football Program if the new coach is named either Mangurian or Gilmore.
1:51, You're so funny. Poor Millard Fillmore never came to mind. But he sure does rhyme with Gilmore, who seems to be the No. 1 choice on this board. I notice Jake hasn't shot down this rhyming question yet, as he did with Tressel, so maybe it is Gilmore, or maybe Jake's just busy at work.
What do you guys care if any of the assistants are retained? First of all that's the prerogative of the new head coach. Not yours. Let the next guy do his job for crying out loud.
any phonetic similarity to the protagonist in Catch 22?
Amazing comeback by dog tired men's BB team, from 20 down to a one point win in final seconds over a decent HC team.
Jake,
While we are waiting for the big announcement, I would be interested in your take on Harvard's Tim Murphy being considered for the Penn State job.
Our Columbia basketball players are the Comeback Kids! Down by twenty with only sixteen minutes to go, the Lions shift gear, and make an enormously exciting stretch run, with Mark Cisco hitting the winning foul shot with 2.4 seconds left. Final score Columbia 46, Holy Cross 45. First time we have won six straight basketball games since 1882-83 season. Go Lions!
Talk about "impact players," Columbia freshman forward, Alex Rosenberg, had 15 rebounds tonight in the exciting comeback victory over the Holy Cross Crusaders.
Columbia basketball wins!!! Columbia Football loses (again), if Gilmore does not get the job!
This HC BB team was pretty good. We were stone cold from downtown and the free throw,line but gutted out the win. Nice coaching job.
Our football team can take heart in the accomplishments of the basketball team since Coach Smith took charge last year. In his first year as head coach and without a single recruit of his own, the team has a winning season. This year, despite losing their top player with an injury, the Lions are 6-4 and improving every time out.
You are heartless when speaking of the entire staff being gone! These men worked hard all season and couldn't play the game fir the players! Do you think they enjoyed this past season? Hopefully, they will all get hired at schools that value football.
To 2:38 Where have you been, and what blog have you been reading? How can you ask if someone is concerned if the new coach has kept any of the assistants?
That's pretty much been one of the biggest problems this year.
Is Mangurian now in play if Austin leaves Cornell for the CFL? If we want him we had better close the deal NOW. I have been torn between him and Gilmore. Is Gilmore out of the running?
Typically when a head coach is let gob at the end of the season all the coaches are let go also. The new person may rehire some as time goes on. Rich Rod when he came to Michigan is a great example of this. He ended up only bring back the RB coach (partially because a major recruit insisted on it) and the team manager. Carr did a took care of his assistants. They were paid for a year after he left.
Karl Groth
Jake, our basketball team is now 6-4 including the exciting comeback win at Levien Gymnasium last night over Holy Cross. Our football team needs to feed on the tremendous energy shown the basketball team in winning six straight games after losing its leading player, Noruwa Agho, with knee injury in the second game of the season. This Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM the Lions take on L.I.U. at Levien in a crucial inter-boro basketball game with a good basketball team from downtown Brooklyn. Great opportunity to make some noise and show key football recruits that our students care about winning. What's at stake for Columbia Basketball is a chance to be rated as the #2 college basketball team in New York City, maybe even #1, if St. John's falters. Our guys need to impress the folks running the new Barclays Center that is opening in Brooklyn next year. We need to show those folks that Columbia Basketball/Athletics deserves top billing at Barclays Center.
Seriously, this administration is a JOKE! After speaking to a senior athletic administrator, in confidence, they told me that there were (are) 4 finalists: Mangurian, Hofher, Price, and a Bob Kraft recommendation with no collegiate experience. Note, Diane claims that she received over 100 applications for the CU job. Bravo to you and the Search Committee"!
Let's peel back the onion now... As previously mentioned, Diane is afraid of Bob Kraft, so we all know why that guy is a finalist. He may be qualified, but that doesn't fit Dian's criteria of her search... head coaching experience and NCAA experience. Okay, I get it, but why waste our (his) time just to satisfy Kraft (really insecure Diane). This is what I do not get... Of the remaining three candidates, Hofher was at Cornell in 1997, Mangurian, 1998; and Ron Price, 1998. Diane was at Cornell from 1995-1998. Wow, what a coincidence! With over 100 applicants, we are going to settle on a recycled ex-Cornell coach? What are the astronomical odds that these guys are finalists? The "Search committee" should be committed! Do you want to know why we will be mired in mediocrity for the next 5-6 years,? Because of the inconceivable stupidity of the administration and this puppet committee. I am sick and tired of this dung from Diane! She should be tossed out as well!
Sorry about the really bad English in my last post. I was in too much of a hurry and it shows.
The players showed just how much class they have at the team dinner. They truly are a “team” which as the great Bo Schembechler said ”No man is more important than The Team. No coach is more important than The Team. The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team?” is everything. The last game and the never ending effort throughout the season showed they are a “team”. I think the next coach will have a huge advantage in the fact the players remaining are a “team”.
Yah I am and always will be a hardcore Michigan fan. Sorry. We were at the OSU game and Chris was on the field with ~20 thousand others after the game. Another great example of class, unlike in Oklahoma it was a great celebration without the chaos and injuries. A lot like what happened at the Brown game.
Karl Groth
Bo’s complete speech:
http://mgofootball.com/2011/05/08/video-of-bo-schembechler-the-team-speech/
To the Wed Dec 07, 05:59:00 AM PST poster I have said all along that the search committee really doesn't matter. When it comes down to it there really is only one vote, Dianne Murphy. If what you are saying is true it really shouldn't be much of a surprise.
If this is true, I hope Dianne knows that she is digging her own grave.
I would be happier hiring Toal over any of those Cornell retreads and i think Toal would be a mistake!
At least they could argue that they were thinking out of the box if they hired him.
Any one of these Cornell guys will be doomed to fail and Dianne will be the only welcoming and supporting them.
Do what it takes to get Gilmore hired and be done with this fiasco!
He should have been named the new head coach the day after Norries was relieved. But that would have been doing it the right way and we have never done that at CU when it comes to football.
I know I've said this before, but I guess it doesn't hurt to rehash it out... Gilmore has to have INTEREST in coming to Columbia. You can't just hire a guy because you like him. Maybe he wants to stay at Holy Cross. Maybe he thinks Columbia is a coaches grave. Maybe he is waiting for a better position to open up. I'm sure that if he WANTED to be in the running, that Dr. Murphy would have given him due consideration. And hopefully he would be a finalist, if not the hire, because he seems very qualified. But please, do not jump all over Dianne for not hiring Gilmore. Since we don't know what the man himself wants, it's kind of hard to get upset at not getting him. Temper your expectations for the man. He seems like a great coach, but odds are, if we haven't heard his name yet, then he is probably not in the running on his own accord.
Does the admin have a clue how bad this will look if we don't get Gilmore and instead we wind up with one of her Cornell cronies?
I just can't believe Kraft and Billy would allow this!
If true, this is the beginning of the end for Murhpy at CU
Maybe YOU don't know whether Gilmore is interested... but WE do. Confirmed by many sources. Dianne is fumbling. If she didn't work with you at Cornell in 1997, then she's not calling you. This is pathetic. If they hire Mangurian, Hofher or Prince we as fans should reject the hire. Cancel all donations and season ticket orders. Period.
You are wrong, Gilmore was very interested. Several viable sources have confirmed this.
If you are currently in the admin or associated with it and are saying he was not interested you are either lying or covering for whoever it was that turned him off.
Losing Gilmore falls on CU!
And regardless of Gilmore, if the best we can come up with is 3 Cornell associates of Dianne's, each with average at best resumes, then we really have no shot at ever winning anything and we should lose all hope.
23 years ago one of the then Assistant AD's told me that we get to choose from the "Dregs" of the coaching ranks. I wanted to believe that is no longer the case, but if we lose out on Gilmore and settle for one of these guys I would say we still don't care or know how to commit to football.
I will ask to be taken off the mailing list for athletics and football if it plays out this way.
We are the third wealthiest school in the country and we can't afford Gilmore?
Why do we always look like amateurs when it comes to football?
What a joke!
Hi Columbia fans! Please forward this note to Dianne Murphy for me:
"Dear Dianne:
Remember me? I used to be the janitor at Schoelkopf Field in 1996 before I went back to prison for violating my parole. But I'm out now and I heard you're interviewing just about EVERYBODY who worked at Cornell football in the 90's! I could be a great head coach for Columbia! Call me via my parole officer!"
Assume Murhpy heads to Penn State,
Do you guys think any of these Cornell guys would even get a call back for the Harvard job?
Mangurian, Hofher, or Price would be great at the position. Really people, why so much hostility! Threatening to take away your money and support doesn't hurt the AD but hurts the team. This banter and angry talk only discourages any potential candidate from ever wanting to join this team. Oh and think about the recruits.... the parents would think twice about sending their sons to Columbia with people like this always feeding a lot of hating. Stop shooting us in the foot. Support the freakin’ team. Having temper tantrums only gets you noticed but noticed for all the wrong reasons.
If we hire a coach in the next day or two, please put all of your support into the coach because ultimately this will benefit the team and the school as a whole. Sabotaging this program doesn't show me you are a fan; it shows me you’re a bully.
~A Concerned Parent of A Football Player
the more things change, the more they stay the same
the sad thing is the best qulified Cornell candidate isnt even on the the list and that would be Lazor.
I have figured out the madness, Prince has a losing record as a head coach, Columbia has a losing record..a negative times a negative equals a positive!
and on a related note, Columbia drops to a Division 3 football program where they still cant win because of a singularly impressive ability to never select the right head coach.
Hey Dianne! Why haven't you interviewed Sandusky???
to the concerned parent...i can appreciate your thoughts, but these are temper tantrums, these are rants of decades of frustration. when you have walked 10 miles in my shoes come talk to me.
the three candidates being talked about have shown little in the way of building a successful team. in fact, it would not be too far off base to suggest that Prince may have even destroyed one of the best programs in the country at Kansas State.
so, although i can empathize with you on your concerns i must disagree with your opinion on the quality of the coaches being listed.
Dear concerned Parent.
I respect your position but you must understand that many of us played for the school 10, 20, 30 years ago and more.
We've been living Groundhog Day with this program essentially our entire adult lives. Norries got us re-engaged and excited about the program for the first time in ages. We are so close to turning the corner, this hire is absolutely a crucial one. The right guy can get us over the hump for good. The wrong guy has us right back at the bottom of the pack and the cycle continues.
Check out the resumes/records of the Cornell guys, do any of them really get you excited? Do any of them have career records of distinction?
Look at what Gilmore has done at Holy Cross. he is a guy on the rise.
Gilmore on the rise, Gilmore is in demand. Are the other guys in demand?
I realize the importance of staying positive and I don't think it is necessarily Gilmore or bust, but make the alternative something to be excited about . These three are all Ivy retreads with average credentials.
To 5:59, if a senior CU athletics administrator told you something in confidence, why would you post it in a public forum?
I don't see how you can blame the AD for listening to what Bob Kraft has to say. Historically, outside of a couple of good seasons, the Patriots were one of the worst teams in the NFL before Kraft took over. The Patriots had 5 consecutive losing seasons before Kraft took over and have had only 2 losing seasons in the 15 years that Kraft has owned the team.
Kraft does have a full professional organization to give him some insight into who the top coaches are. Also, his track record of picking coaches is pretty darn impressive. Belichick was a failed head coach at Cleveland. Kraft saw something in him and was so convinced about it that he was willing to give up a first round pick to take him. Belichick may be the best football coach on the planet. Pete Carol was on OK pro coach (27-21 with the Patriots) but did turn out to know his football - he was arguably the best college coach in the last decade. Prior to Carol, Kraft's first coach that he hired was Parcells. Parcells' basically turned around the whole Pats franchise and its losing mentality.
Overall, I hope that the AD takes Kraft's suggestions to heart. He's clearly one of the top football administrators in the country. Not paying any attention to him would be crazy.
Murphy is a joke.
During the basketball search, I emailed her that I was friends with soem of the young assistants on teh staff at UNC and Duke. A couple guys named Jared Hasse and Chris Collins told me they were interested in the job, and I suggested she reach out to them.
Her response was that they were welcoem to apply. No thanks for teh heads up or anything. These are two guys that recruit nationally, played big tiem basketball themselves, and were great students.
Maybe Kyle Smith will work, maybe not, but it was stupid to hire a west coast guy that has never recruited metro NYC. Especially when there were better guys that could have been had if she would have picked up the phone.
I fear the football search has gone the same. You need somebody with an outside the box plan to change the program. None of these retreads have it.
Bill Lazor woudl be a good choice. One problem- With Incentives, he currently makes about $500k as OC at UVA.
When you factor in coat of living for NYC versus Charlottesville he would need way more than CU will pay.
When you are not willing to pay market rate, all you can get are has beens or never will bes.
Murhpy would be making career suicide if she hired one of the Cornell candidates.
Interest and dollars will dry up very quickly if this is true.
Rumor has it that Mangurian will be named! Oh well, we shall see.
Harvard doesn't bring in has been's and never will be's though, do they?
If Mangurian is named, then Price was leaked just to get our emotions back in check.
We lose Gilmore and they know we will be unhappy. So they float Price's name first to reset our expectations and hope we are happy when they announce Mangurian.
nothing against Campbell, but he will make up any shortfall in dollars since this has become a labor of love. problem with love is.....love is blind, but the neighbors aint.
they all suck, all 3 candidates that we know of. reset emotions, be happy...i will be happy when the powers that be dip into the clue bag and pick a worthy candidate.
we cant get out of our own way.
Serendipity! I filled out my contribution form last night, was going to mail it now. but I just read this stuff about ex-Cornell coaches only need apply. Now I'm waiting to see. That rumor may just be a crock, but a crock is usually what we get with Columbia sports.
Go right ahead, get all huffy and give me all your insults about one thing has nothing to do with the other. Well, I've never actually held back a donation, but this pivotal point in CU football history is really the last straw.
The fact is, I met and talked to Lou Little. Yes, I've lived and died--mostly died--with Lion football that long. I always joke I can't die until CU goes undefeated so I'm immortal. My point is I and all of you have been through this--I more than anyone--till we're sick of it.
I'm sick of these nationwide searches that stop in Riverdale.
So let's see. MAYBE we'll be pleasantly surprised. It's already suspicious that some act like Gilmore is too far above us. Why, because he's in Worcester? Hell, he's a Penn grad, already coached at Columbia and other Ivies. He wouldn't be coming to a strange planet. He's not Knute Rockne so why couldn't we afford him? Or someone just as good or better?
i dont understand how we cant afford somebody? we have a big endowment, we own a ton of very nice real estate (how about a nice 3 bedroom apartment in the city), i am sure alumnae would donate towards the "coaches salary" if need be, we have excellent medical facilities for any/all of your kids/spouse, etc., you get free tuition and we will throw in your pre-schooler is automatically accepted to the university, you can pick any brand of athletic shoe you want.
seriously, how hard is this.
Gillmore wont approach the school because his job would be at risk, so we would have to approach him. i am not saying he is the end all because i still dont think the administration or kids could handle his regime, albeit i think it is the best thing for the university.
come on people, we are making this harder than it needs to be.
Mangurian would be a very good hire. He is not a Cornell retread. He had a winning record and one championship at Cornell before he left voluntarily for the NFL. He was a terrific assistant who was fired by Naheem Morris this apst winter, and Morris has fallen on his face this season. I don't much care for dianne either, but unless we know the back story on Gilmore we can't blame her for not hiring him.
A lot of people that I believe know what they are saying have been telling me that Dianne doesn't want anyone she can't push around. I sure hope this is not the deciding factor in who we hire.
And it is a joke if we say we can't pony up the money to hire a Gilmore or Gilmore caliber candidate. Harvard can, why can't we?
To 7:48 the parent of a player. I also am a parent of a player,I understand this ranting from these fans because they have probably been around longer than you and I, are as passionate as you and I, and have experienced loosing football at Columbia for way too long.I ask them for their support as you do, but I also ask them to vent their frustrations directly to D Murphy. She is not going to know how adament you are unless you direct your complaints and wishes to her.Let her know why you want Gilmore(or whomever)and why you feel that you should have some say in the decision making. I guarantee that if she hears from enough of you(and her decision has not been made). She will listen.
I'll tell you why we will not go out and pay market rate to hire a top coach- it is becuase the PC police and academic booger eaters woudl shart themselves. Even if teh coach was paid directly through donations solely for the purpose of paying him, there woudl be an "Occupy Baker Field" protest going on in about 5 minutes.
Bollinger does not have the spine to stand up to the whiners on his faculty.
8:04, you're right, but only part way. The hostile ranting on this board is not only borne of many years of losing, it is itself part of the "culture of losing". Winners keep their cool and work their way out of bad situations -- see the tape of CU's 20-point second half comeback last night. Losers crack under pressure -- see the tape of the last two minutes of the Penn game. Look at the ranting on this board, the increasing panic over this season, the quickness to accuse, the assumption that no one knows as well as the posters what to do, the grasping at straws (Gilmore) and inflexibility concerning solutions (Gilmore again), and more. That's how losers behave. The football team finally learned how to win at the end of the Brown game, and they're better for it. Jake and the alumni here haven't learned that lesson yet. At their ages, maybe they never will. They can't grasp that today's Columbia isn't their Columbia, that Wilson wasn't Naso or McElreavy, and that Bollinger is not Sovern. They're stuck reliving the past, like soldiers with PTSD or an abused kid who can't shake his neuroses in adulthood.
You'd do well to listen to the concerned parents. They know better than you how to be part of a winning atmosphere, perhaps because they saw their kids in one in high school. To paraphrase a religious thinker, act as if you are a winner and maybe winning will be bestowed upon you. And to quote another, if not now, when?
To that last poster
That all sounds well and good but when you have seen this same script play out over and over for decades it gets a little bit frustrating.
Most of us won in HS and win professionally, too, so I guess our blind spot is CU football.
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