Rippon's Resume

The key part of Columbia's presumptive new defensive coordinator Chris Rippon's resume are his five years as DC at Syracuse from 1999 to 2003.

Those years tell you a lot about what you need to know about what Rippon should be able to do for the Lions.

Generally, the Orange D was very solid under Rippon, except when Syracuse played top ranked teams.

That's not really anything to be ashamed of.  But the Ivies don't really have teams that are so much stronger than the rest of the league, like say how a 1999 Miami team was compared to the rest of the Big East.

Anyone who tries to refute this point by pointing to last year's 69-0 loss to Harvard, should just take a breath and remember that that same Harvard team lost to Penn a week later... the same Penn team that Columbia mostly outplayed and almost beat in Philly in week 5.

The point is, how will Rippon's defenses perform in a league where parity is the norm?

Rippon will also soon find out that big 280-pound+ defensive linemen are perhaps the dearest commodity in this league. I realize they don't grow on trees in FBS football either, but even the best programs like Harvard and Penn have very little depth in that area. I know the Columbia coaching staff was working feverishly to add at least one more big D-lineman to the current recruiting class and we'll have to wait at least until April 2nd to find out if they got one.

Rippon still inherits a defense that improved overall, especially when it comes to fundamental football. There were fewer missed tackles, more crucial run stops, and just better overall heads up play. Rippon needs to make sure that momentum continues without graduating stalwarts Mike Waller, Josh Martin and Ryan Murphy.

And hopefully, Rippon will find the kind of real student-athletes he'll deal with at Columbia a refreshing change from the type of players he's dealt with the rest of his career.