Under a Cloud

The 95 young men still playing football for Columbia University are in the midst of a 20-game losing streak and are the butt of jokes across the country.

However, this apparently isn't enough for the administration. It seems bent on also adding the torture of uncertainty to the team's plate.

Right now, the Columbia locker room is divided and angry. The players don't have the foggiest idea whether the coaching staff is staying in place.

I believe the staff will indeed be let go in five days, but the players have been told nothing by anybody in the administration and they don't know whom to ask.

Right now, the juniors and seniors on the team are generally in favor of getting rid of Head Coach Pete Mangurian, while the sophomores and freshmen generally want him to stay. However, I don't sense anyone will shed a tear when the firing comes.

What really stands out is the atmosphere of fear on this team. I have never encountered a group of Columbia football players this generally afraid to speak out.

The reason is simple: this coaching staff has worked harder than any other imposing a code of silence on these players. From Day One Mangurian has promoted an "us vs. them," "in the family vs. outside the family," terminology and attitude. The players are intimidated and confused about where to turn.

If only the coaches worked as hard on winning as they did on imposing that code of silence, we might not be 0-20.

The Documented Problems

For those of you who are new to this blog, please remember that even before the end of last season I have been calling for Mangurian's dismissal. It was clear even in his first season in 2012 that he was a very bad match for this program.

Here's a detailed list of 17 Red Flags I documented in this blog well over a year ago. Since then, things have only become worse. And yet the administration and Bill Campbell boast that they never even considered firing Mangurian at the end of last season. They should be ashamed.

The point is this: I never claimed to be a prophet and I'm not. But it's been very clear for a long time that Mangurian has had to go. The administration's pure disdain and lack of concern for the players in this football program is painfully evident.