Friday, November 28, 2014

List for Rick Taylor



We WILL get the truth to Mr. Taylor, no matter how hard the department tries to cover it up 



John Alex '89 has asked us to come up with some key bullet points that should be presented to Rick Taylor when he meets with the very select few football alumni invited to speak with him next week. 

Below you can find my list, which I have tried to put in order of importance and urgency. 

I urge the rest of you to chime in as I know John is listening.

Please also do not ignore the serious turn of events I enumerate below involving Columbia University Director of Investigations Deirdre Fuchs. 



1)      Why Mangurian Has to Go (5 reasons)

-Win-loss record/21 game losing streak speaks for itself. BUT, for those who think this is just another bad Columbia team you can’t blame on the coach, consider the fact that the 2013 and 2014 Lions were statistically the WORST two teams in Ivy football history. Only ONE of the 21 straight losses was by less than two scores. By mid-2014, most of Columbia’s opponents were either starting their backup players or putting them into the games very early on. We all know Columbia has struggled for decades, but this is particularly bad on every level. The team went from going 4-6 in the Ivies and placing many players on the 1st Team All Ivy list in 2010, to back-to-back seasons of no wins and NO ONE on the All Ivy 1st Team.

-Growing player revolt. Many players, (more than 20), have signed a letter saying they will quit the team if Mangurian isn’t let go by January. The letter also details abuses by Mangurian that are currently being investigated by Columbia University Chief of Investigations, Deirdre Fuchs. HOW CAN MANGURIAN CONTINUE TO COACH WITH THE PLAYERS’ CONFIDENCE EVEN IF HE IS CLEARED IN THE INVESTIGATION?

-The student body, from the Spectator to the casual fan, considers Mangurian to be an object of ridicule. The Spec called for his firing over a year ago and is incredulous that he has not yet been let go.

-The alumni fans are furious and incredulous that Mangurian is still here. Many of them are speaking out in letters to the administration, to Spectator, and of course online.

-“Garbage in, Garbage Out.” Mangurian’s hiring was not above board or even ethical to begin with. The “search committee” did not vet him because Dianne Murphy had already decided to hire him before it was convened. Mangurian’s long history of problems with players and colleagues has continued here, along with his long-standing odd belief in slimming down linemen. This philosophy led to his well-documented problems with the NY Giants, Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All of this is easily found on Google and was just as available there in 2011. There is no doubt the “search committee” never bothered to become aware of any of this. We also know they never bothered to talk with his former players from his three years at Cornell. The results have been disastrous.


2)      It Will Not be Very Harmful to Hire a New Coach in January or Use an Interim Coach, So do it!

With or without a new coach, Columbia will not be a very competitive team in 2015. So it’s wrong to argue that it will be harmful to the won-loss record if we hire a coach very late in the recruiting and preparation process for next season.

The only hope is to make some kind of positive progress this year. And if we get a new A.D. in place or hired by late January, he or she can still hire a very good coach and start the recovery process.


3)      Re-establish the JV Team and Emphasize it

Columbia needs to restart it’s JV team in order to develop its young talent. Again, if the varsity were competitive and needed the raw younger players now to actually win games, we could see the argument for suspending the JV program for a season. But it’s been three seasons now without a JV under Mangurian and the results are clear. Our younger players never looked prepared to play when thrust into the varsity games. Contrast that with Brown, which has emphasized its JV program for years and reaps the benefits by seemingly re-loading key skill players at the varsity level. They invest in their future, we do not.

Additionally, some of the older players who are dedicated enough to give their all in practice deserve a chance to play in competitive games if they aren’t able to play for the varsity. Last season, Mangurian actually made several active players sit in street clothes in the stands for HOME GAMES even though they attended every practice and worked hard each week. It wasn’t until this outrage was reported that Mangurian changed that policy.

4)      Hire New Coordinators

Mangurian actually did hire one very good coordinator when he first arrived at Columbia in Kevin Lempa. He made a difference with the CU defense right away. But he left after that first season and his replacement, journeyman Chris Rippon has overseen a shocking decline in Columbia’s defensive skills.

Jamie Elizondo, the current OC, has not been effective at all and apparently had some kind of mental breakdown after the Monmouth game this season. The players, and the other coaches do not respect him and they show that disrespect publicly.

Mr. Taylor’s first order of business when he evaluated Dartmouth was apparently to get new coordinators for the team. It worked.


5)      End the Cronyism, Secrecy, and Defensiveness


The public persona of the football program, and the Athletic Department in general, is frankly hostile to the alumni and the longtime fans. The current football committee appears to be made up of Bill Campbell admirers and hangers-on with a personal social/career agenda that very much trumps any concern for improving the football team.

Note how THIS meeting was handled. Dianne Murphy ONLY contacted a select few football alums in what looks like a weak attempt to stack the deck and shield Taylor from hearing from anyone but sycophantic types who will whitewash the situation at Columbia. 

This has to stop. For Columbia football to be more successful in recruiting and fundraising, the doors must be opened much, much wider. The football committee should be expanded and host more events than just a dinner or two and the golf outing. It and the new coach must endeavor to communicate with ALL the football alumni and donors, not just a select few. This list of ways to improve alumni and fan relations could go on and on, but the first priority is to make it a priority and not just focus on a small number of people who have pledged some kind of allegiance to the current regime.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

A woman named Sophie left a comment on my blog page that Elizondo did not take the team bus home after Monmouth because he went to see his ailing father in the hospital. Surely, that game was unpleasant for everyone regardless. Elizondo is a good man in the wrong job.

Wondering if any of the 20 players who signed the petition are freshmen or sophs.

Also wondering if Tellier has made himself available as sort of a liaison between administration and coaching staff? What does he have to say about the whole situation? He's just a good solider so he can stay in the ranks of the hot dog committee?

Unknown said...

Chirp chirp. Put your name on it! Now is your chance

Seeunt said...

So, he is getting investigated and have the kids who signed the petition been contacted about what they have had to go through? Is the university just looking to cover its potential liabilities?
Why hasn't he been suspended pending the investigation? Smells like more of the same from the school. They don't care about the kids, Bollinger is just pushing the blame down the road.
It is really going to get interesting when this so called petition gets put into the public media. CU thinks it has nipped this in the bud because it is doing an investigation, but once people start digging into last year and this year it isn't going to look so pretty.

Old Lion said...

The administration contends that it is actively searching for a new AD with a football background. Any quality candidate will have the mandate of fixing football. If a new AD is in place within 60 days, doesn't it make sense to allow the new AD to hire the next coach? And if that is correct, should Mangurian be relieved now, with an interim coach appointed, like Ray Tellier, or should we just tough it out for the next three months?

Jake said...

Al, I don't know about the team bus decision but i do know Elizondo got into a huge screaming match with the other coaches in front of the players at Monmouth.

Jake said...

What just about all the players didn't see was that one of the defensive coaches had pulled down his pants and mooned Elizondo right in the locker room during that argument that everyone else heard. Now, if "Sophie" wants us to believe that Elizondo missed the team bus on purpose after that to visit a relative, that's fine.... but sounds weak.

#1 Lion said...

In this day and age of sexual abuse, intimidation and bullying being highlighted in athletics, there should be a NO TOLERANCE policy employed by the University, period! I heard about the same incident at Monmouth. “Exposure” from one coach to the other (and in front of the players) is a clear violation. I hope Ms. Fuches notes this in her report. The fact that this happened under Pete's watch makes him complicit. He should be fired immediately!


BTW OldLion, I suggested the same thing... getting Ray Tellier to act as the interim coach. After all, we are selling the University, not football at this point.

I would ask that OldLion, Greg Abruzzi, Bob Kent, and potentially Des Werthman be added to the Taylor meeting list.

Chick said...

I don't know anything about Manguiran as a person, which is why I make no ad hominem remarks about him.
My interest in him is whether he's a successful coach for Columbia football. Three Ws and 27Ls tell me he isn't.
I have no power over Bollinger's actions, however, and would just have to hope for the best should he retain PM.

However, the reported players' revolt raises the stakes out of sight now. It's no longer even the dead-serious problem of how soon we get a first-rate AD and coach and a winning program, but whether football survives at Columbia.

Depending on how each element of this toxic situation
Is handled in the next 60 days, I can envision the football program collapsing. And if that happens, watch the domino effect on other teams. As it is, the current
Improvement in another feeble program--women's basketball--brought out only 266 and 205 spectators at home in Levien Gym for thrilling overtime victories over
Rhode Island and Bradley this week.

President Bollinger needs to show his leadership abilities right now, move lame duck AD Murphy offstage and direct a resolution of the problems that opens a much better prospect for the future.

Anonymous said...

In all my years I have never suffered the indignity of being mooned.

Imagine suffering through a bad loss at Monmouth then getting into a shouting match with your peers and then mooned!

Oy vey things have sunk so low.

Robert A. Levine said...

Statistically, Columbia was not only worst in Ivy League history, bit the worst in the football subdivision of 150 teams last year. How could Mangurian be left to coach another years after those statistics. Don't know where Columbia stacks up this year.