I've been doing a little research this week to determine whether Rick Taylor really does deserve solid credit for helping to turn around the Dartmouth football team after he came in to consult with the program post-2008.
All my sources say he was a huge factor, because essentially everyone actually listened to him.
One of the things Taylor reportedly stressed was gradual improvement and not looking for sudden jumps to the top.
I suppose a dishonest or poorly-informed Columbia fan could argue that the Dartmouth story is a lesson for those of us who want to let Pete Mangurian go now. They could say we have to give him time to make those gradual improvements.
But they would be wrong.
In his three years at Columbia, the football team has become demonstrably WORSE, not better. As more and more of his predecessor Norries Wilson's players leave the team, the worse the team gets.
An interesting contrast is the career of former Columbia Head Coach Larry McElreavy.
Coach Mac was 0-20 in his first two seasons at Columbia, but we KNEW he was making progress because of the success of the freshman team that he recruited.
That team went 6-0 in 1987 even as the varsity was 0-10. It was that freshman team and the '88 squad that went 4-2 that formed a talented nucleus for a few years to come.
Mangurian doesn't even have a JV team to point to, and all we have is hard evidence that his recruits can't catch passes, can't run block, can't stop the run, etc. etc.
That doesn't mean his recruits are potentially great players, but he clearly cannot coach quality play out of them at all.
The Dartmouth lesson and the story of Rick Taylor is important for us going forward. We need a new coach who can do the things Mangurian has promised but hasn't delivered.
We need an administration that will LISTEN to outside advice and stop being so defensive, vindictive and insular.
We need our own Rick Taylor.
2 comments:
Jake,
I know you are probably laughing or wincing but every time you make a positive comment about Mac I have to chime in.
Giving McvElreavy credit for anything is a mistake.
Had he not been a POS, dishonest, deceitful worm we'd have won games in his first season and many more than he actually won.
Sadly, CU has very few coaches to use as an example but using Mac is just wrong on so many levels.
Hey guys didn't Rick taylor and teevens work together before dartmouth. Kinda convenient right? Didn't buddy visit harvard shortly before dartmouth? Let's see I get my buddy a consulting gig, visit one of the top programs in the league (where his friend coaches) and then tell my buddy to tell the president at dartmouth what they need. Hmmmm
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