While I like the hiring of Rick Taylor as an outside consultant, (something I specifically called for last week), the end of the email indicates that Pete Mangurian will be retained as head coach of Columbia football.
Folks, this is insanity. There's no way this will work. Unlike when Taylor came into Dartmouth and advised Coach Buddy Teevens, Mangurian is not someone who can be taught new tricks.
I suppose the only hope is for Taylor to take a few days and inform Bollinger that Mangurian cannot stay on for Columbia to turn a corner. But I doubt Taylor will be at liberty to do so. Once again, the Columbia administration is cutting the improvement process off at the knees.
Read it for yourselves below, but if Mangurian stays on as coach I'm effectively washing my hands of this program. This is truly a disgrace and a perfect example of the kind of mistake that has made Columbia football the national laughingstock that it is.
From: Lee C. Bollinger [mailto:officeofthepresident@
Sent: November 20, 2014 3:41 PM
Subject: Columbia Football
Sent: November 20, 2014 3:41 PM
Subject: Columbia Football
Dear members of the Columbia Football Players Club:
It goes without saying that the results of this football season have been disappointing, not least to our dedicated players who continue to commit so much of themselves to excelling as scholar-athletes.
Many people throughout the University have worked very hard over the past decade to provide every level of support for all Columbia sports. The results for almost all of our sports have been spectacular. Our teams now regularly win championships, vie for Ivy championships, and often compete on the national stage. Columbia Football should be, and must be, competitive within the values of Ivy League athletics. The several obstacles to success that have been noted over the years have now been removed. We have new and renovated facilities, generous support from loyal alumni, an impressive recruiting effort that includes faculty and deans, and thoughtful support on campus for our student-athletes.
Yet the fact remains that no one has yet succeeded in building a sustainable, competitive football program at Columbia in several decades. But you can be sure that as I speak with candidates who might succeed Dianne Murphy as Athletics Director, this is a key topic of conversation. We must, therefore, ask ourselves whether the changes instituted still need time to manifest successes on the field and whether there is still more we can do to help our students be competitive.
To help us answer those questions, I have asked Dianne to commission a review of our football program by respected former coach and athletics director Rick Taylor, who performed a similar review several years ago at Dartmouth as it began its own long-term effort to turn around its football fortunes. Rick coached football as an assistant at Lehigh and Dartmouth and was head coach at Boston University. He served as athletics director at BU and Cincinnati prior to ten years at Northwestern. Importantly for us he was part of demonstrated football improvement at each of those institutions. He will begin immediately to talk to coaches, current and past players, administrators, alumni, and others, as well as working with Coach Pete Mangurian to see if there are steps that can be taken immediately with our current program.
When Pete started as coach, he was candid in saying that it would not be an easy or short process to institute fundamental change in a long-standing culture that had failed to produce success. I know there are some frustrated students, alumni, and fans who understandably feel we should hire a new coach and start yet again. It is my belief, however, that this is a moment when we will benefit most by enlisting a new superb Athletics Director and engaging in serious self-reflection, while maintaining our course in helping an extremely young team grow, recruit top-flight student-athletes to bolster our depth, and ultimately work with the new Athletics Director to do everything we can to make Columbia football every bit as competitive as the rest of our thriving intercollegiate athletics.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
It goes without saying that the results of this football season have been disappointing, not least to our dedicated players who continue to commit so much of themselves to excelling as scholar-athletes.
Many people throughout the University have worked very hard over the past decade to provide every level of support for all Columbia sports. The results for almost all of our sports have been spectacular. Our teams now regularly win championships, vie for Ivy championships, and often compete on the national stage. Columbia Football should be, and must be, competitive within the values of Ivy League athletics. The several obstacles to success that have been noted over the years have now been removed. We have new and renovated facilities, generous support from loyal alumni, an impressive recruiting effort that includes faculty and deans, and thoughtful support on campus for our student-athletes.
Yet the fact remains that no one has yet succeeded in building a sustainable, competitive football program at Columbia in several decades. But you can be sure that as I speak with candidates who might succeed Dianne Murphy as Athletics Director, this is a key topic of conversation. We must, therefore, ask ourselves whether the changes instituted still need time to manifest successes on the field and whether there is still more we can do to help our students be competitive.
To help us answer those questions, I have asked Dianne to commission a review of our football program by respected former coach and athletics director Rick Taylor, who performed a similar review several years ago at Dartmouth as it began its own long-term effort to turn around its football fortunes. Rick coached football as an assistant at Lehigh and Dartmouth and was head coach at Boston University. He served as athletics director at BU and Cincinnati prior to ten years at Northwestern. Importantly for us he was part of demonstrated football improvement at each of those institutions. He will begin immediately to talk to coaches, current and past players, administrators, alumni, and others, as well as working with Coach Pete Mangurian to see if there are steps that can be taken immediately with our current program.
When Pete started as coach, he was candid in saying that it would not be an easy or short process to institute fundamental change in a long-standing culture that had failed to produce success. I know there are some frustrated students, alumni, and fans who understandably feel we should hire a new coach and start yet again. It is my belief, however, that this is a moment when we will benefit most by enlisting a new superb Athletics Director and engaging in serious self-reflection, while maintaining our course in helping an extremely young team grow, recruit top-flight student-athletes to bolster our depth, and ultimately work with the new Athletics Director to do everything we can to make Columbia football every bit as competitive as the rest of our thriving intercollegiate athletics.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
18 comments:
I disagree with your conclusion, Jake.
I believe that PM is being retained for the present so as not to promote total anarchy within the football structure. I think that once a new AD comes in, the clock will begin ticking.
I also note the slick twist on reality regarding our athletic "resurgence" and the elimination of all the obstacles to football success.` The doctors continue to spin.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over again and expecting different results.
I knew it. I'm sure Rick Taylor can do a very good report but they should really bring in Stephen King.
Mitch S. 68CC
A new coach cannot be hired until there is a new AD. A good candidate for AD will not want to be saddled with another 4 year commitment on another HC who was hired by somebody else when it involves the highest profiled sport on campus. And a new AD is going to insist on ther right to decide upon the football HC.
PM must have some Svengali like powers over LB to maintain his position as HC after 20 - more likely 21 - consecutive losses!!! Apparently he's not going to be fired this week-end after his horrendous 3 year tenure (3-27) as HC . Pitiful!!!
Bravo Dianne! Just when we thought we had the upper hand by getting you out as AD, you screw athletics (and the University) one more time! That's twice in the span of four years. That's a rare accomplishment, and one that should be commended. Not only did we have to live with this disaster of a coach for three years, we now have to endure him for another year while your replacement is being found. Simply put, well done!!! Payback is indeed a b!#&h and you won!
Most coaches look over their shoulder after going 0-10. At Columbia, going 0-20 is merely a challenge by Lee to say "hey coach, I bet you can't make it to 0-31". I suspect after he achieves that benchmark; he will get a contract extension. Thanks Lee!!!
The whole thing stinks. At first I was encouraged the hiring of Taylor. But this President and Board of Trustees
simply do not want to really fix football. God forbid they should do anything that might eventually, even a hundred years from now, move the IL toward an 11th game, even though most everyone else plays 13 or at least 12. God forbid they should do anything that might eventually move the IL toward participation in football playoffs, now strictly verboten although all other Ivy sports are allowed to compete in playoffs by the politically psychotic Ivy presidents.
Back to the present, Bollinger has announced that Mangurian will coach the Lions in 2015, if he has a 21 game losing streak. I hope the streak ends Saturday but that's really not the point. Is Taylor going to teach Mangurian how to coach? Is Mangurian going to listen to any advice about anything?
If Mangurian gets serious, forgets his ego and delivers a solid, winning season--assuming he really will be back--I'll be the first to praise him. If not....j
One more thing, Bollinger's announcement tells the talented available coaches to forget it. By sticking with PM, Bollinger is saying he's just tinkering with the edges.
The others will move on with their careers and totally forget Bollinger and his bullshot.
By delaying the hiring of a new AD, the administration has again set back the football program. They have had months now to have found an AD but they are just doing a study now? I do think that if they get lucky and find an AD before January, they will give the AD latitude to fire PM. By Jan.1, it becomes too late, I would think, but this is Columbia.
Who in their right mind would give an unemployed ex-NFL coach a 5 year contract? Who????? Dianne, that's who! Oh, and this would have to have been signed off on by Lee. All three idiots deserve themselves?
If there are two years left on the contract they will probably tell the AD candidates that they are stuck with Mangurian for one more year. The rationale will be along the following lines: we want you to get acclimated and then draw your own conclusions.
Don't forget Mangurian's housing. I wonder if they would get that back right away if he was terminated. Probably have to run out the lease or something.
In any case, the report should make for fun reading. But will the report ever be publicized?
Let's face it- there is no way Columbia is going to sign any decent players with this situation, and , now, with the bad publicity added.
New Penn AD stated that we will keep Penn at the top in football!
I see that Princeton hired an alum for their AD job , who was running Chelsea Piers. Just wondering of there is a Columbia alum in this universe who might be qualified for this job,
Howie Endelman is one!
Rumors that Teevans is leaving Dartmouth
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