Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The Cupboard was not Bare


Sean Brackett in 2010


Of Pete Mangurian's many crimes and misdemeanors as Columbia football's head coach, perhaps the worst was his egregious phone call to Robert Kraft complaining that the previous regime had left the "cupboard bare" of talent going forward.

Even if it were true, such an excuse should have been immediately flagged by Kraft and anyone else who heard it as a serious sign of a coach who was looking to shirk responsibility.

And since it wasn't true, it should have also flagged Mangurian as a coach who cannot evaluate talent properly for the Ivy League... which he clearly cannot.

The fact is, Norries Wilson was fired because he didn't get wins DESPITE amassing very good numbers of more talented players than his predecessors. Either no one in our incompetent and corrupt athletics department bothered to tell Mangurian this, or he just didn't listen.

Anyway, we received more proof today that the cupboard was not bare as the AFL's Las Vegas Outlaws published this press release touting QB Sean Brackett's accolades. Brackett is a charter player for the new team.

Oh, and joining Brackett in that empty cupboard Mangurian claims to have inherited was Josh Martin, who is currently getting more and more quality playing time with the KC Chiefs.

Columbia also handed Mangurian top players like TE Hamilton Garner and OL Scott Ward. Both were marginalized by the "genius" known as Mangurian.

25 days from now, when Mangurian is fired and we start interviewing new candidates, those candidates will be asked to take over a team in much worse shape than what Mangurian took over in late 2011. But the best candidates are the ones who won't be working harder on making up excuses and stonewalling student reporters than they will be on fixing the team.




6 comments:

Roar Lion said...

He inherited at least nine players who made all-Ivy at some point in their career: Brackett, Garrett, Garner, Ward, Ollinger, Waller, J. Martin, R. Murphy and Delaney. Plus, these were all upperclassmen in 2012, meaning Pete got them at their peak.

Is there anyone who believes the current roster has 9 potential All-Ivy players, including two future pros?

While claiming the cupboard was bare is a joke, what's weirder is that a number of guys who started frequently in 2012 and contributed to a 3-7 team now barely play for the worst team in Ivy history. Did they regress that badly? Are they always hurt? Or does the coach have priorities other than playing his best players?

Unknown said...

Jake....nice freaking post! Long overdue.

oldlion said...

The Mangurian Candidate! Sent here by the other Ivies to provide guaranteed wins!

Coach said...

Wilson- good recruiter, good coach- means nothing at Columbia- It's not the coaching!!

#1 Lion said...

You guys don't get it... In order to build grom the ground up, you have to start with NO All-Ivy candidates. So far, Pete's plan is right on track! Thanks Pete!

Coach said...

Michael Sovern, in his biography, stated that the firing of Jim Garrett was a major setback for Columbia football. At least some honesty.