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Jaime Elizondo

Well, that was fast.

Less than three months into the job, Columbia offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels has left to taking a coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But Head Coach Pete Mangurian may have provided Columbia with an upgrade. Instead of the very young McDaniels, we have a new OC in  Jaime Elizondo who arrives in New York fresh from a stint as the OC for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

Elizondo also has good FCS football experience from his five years as recruiting coordinator at Hofstra. He coached at his alma mater Maryland before that.

I assume Elizondo will take the recruiting coordinator job here at CU as well.

But the even more exciting news is former two-time All America WR Wendell Davis is the new receivers coach, replacing Aaron Smith who left for Boston College.

Davis has coached for the San Francisco 49ers and was at Palo Alto HS last year.

Mangurian met Smith during his All America days at LSU.

Once again, Mangurian seems to be following the Jim Garrett model by getting a real former star NFL player to take a position coaching job. (Garrett's "Davis" was DB coach Rod Perry).

Davis' best year in the NFL was 1991 when he grabbed 61 passes for 945 yards and six TD's for the Bears. Chicago made it to the playoffs that year as a wild card team.

Losing McDaniels and Smith so early in Mangurian's tenure would be troublesome if it weren't for the fact that each did bolt for what look like better jobs. Still, it's not the most comforting fact to ponder for the rest of the offseason.

Also, I believed from day one that McDaniels would not have been the REAL top man for the offense because I expect Mangurian to be very hands on in that department. McDaniels may have just seen that writing on the wall.

But I like Elizondo's resume, (Hofstra had great offenses every year), and Davis is a great pickup with unique experience compared to every other coach in the Ivy League.

At this point, with 7 weeks to the spring game and barely a month until spring practice, stability must become a priority for Mangurian and the program.

Preparation, and the lack thereof, doomed Columbia last year and the Lions don't need anymore roadblocks.

Jerry Sherwin


Superfan?

I am not a martyr.

I am not a hero.

I just want to get those facts out there right up front just in case anyone reading this thinks I am.

The truth is I am simply a very partisan Columbia sports fan, (basically a "homer"), who still has a small degree of self-respect and expectations for excellence.

That's why after six exhaustive years of strongly supporting Norries Wilson and his staff, I felt compelled to demand a change during the season last fall.

I took a lot of hits for doing that. No, I'm not asking for sympathy but it was a very lonely time and the senseless attacks on me personally were tough to take.

But it was worth it. Most fans knew I was only making a common sense plea, and seven weeks later Wilson was indeed fired.

It was worth going out on a limb and burning a bridge or two to get
the right results.

And that's why I am discouraged more than anything else when I read
stories like the one published yesterday in the Columbia Spectator about Jerry Sherwin '55.

Let me say that Sherwin is a great person and his devotion to Columbia sports, especially basketball, is really wonderful. Also, his commitment on behalf of the players before and after graduation is
second to none.

But at some point, people like Sherwin are doing the athletic department no favors by holding back the tough love it needs to really succeed.

I know a lot of readers here really think the current athletic department regime under Dianne Murphy has done great things. And taken on an individual case-by-case basis, there's no arguing against each and every one of Murphy and her staff's accomplishments.

But the ultimate failure to produce winning teams in the sports that matter is what continues to plague all of us who care even a little about athletics at Columbia.

It was one thing when I publicly made a vote of no confidence in the administration and the football staff, but I am nobody.

Just imagine how valuable, how crucial, it would be if someone like Jerry Sherwin made a similar stand!

Jerry Sherwin, who isn't just a fan or a blogger or a radio broadcaster, but a former president of the alumni association!

Jerry Sherwin, who has the love and loyalty of almost everyone who has ever been connected to Columbia basketball and more!

Imagine if Sherwin said he was going to stop going to every basketball game until we finally got a winning record in the Ivies again.

Imagine if he wrote a letter to the editor of the Spectator saying he was tired of the losing and all the excuses for it!

I sat behind Sherwin at the Homecoming game this past October and had a chance to talk with him at length about what was going on with the football team and the coaching staff.

It was clear he was oblivious to all the most important facts, and he was also clearly not buying my line about the hard truths... UNTIL he saw what took place on the field in that game in the fourth quarter.

Suddenly, he seemed more frustrated and disappointed than I was. I wish we had won that game that day, but at least someone like Sherwin got the wakeup call he so dearly needed.

In short, Columbia needs a lot more guys like Jerry Sherwin. But we need those kinds of die-hard fans to politely but firmly demand excellence and winning teams.

My friends, without being nasty we have to make it clear to everyone in the administration that we are not sheep who will keep showing up to slaughter week after week and game after game.

Now that the Spectator has made Jerry Sherwin's name something even the undergrads know, there's no better time than now for him to do something just as impressive as attaining that perfect attendance record.

GREAT NEWS

Speaking of speaking up and getting what you want, that Orthodox Jewish basketball team WILL get to play in their state semifinal game sometime today or later this weekend.

I applaud these kids’ devotion to their traditions, but still fighting for a chance to play.