Saturday, November 25, 2023

Blasts from the Past


John Garrett


Two other names of coaches I'm hearing from Columbia Football alums these days are familiar indeed. 

Former Penn LB and Bushnell Cup/Ivy Player of the Year winner Tom Gilmore always seems to be in the mix whenever Columbia has a head coaching vacancy. Gilmore was an assistant under CU Head Coach Larry MacElreavy for two seasons before moving on to Dartmouth and head coaching stints at Holy Cross and Lehigh. 

I posted several thoughts about Gilmore in the past, and it's nice to see he's still interested in coming to Columbia, or at least consider it. 

Another name is really intriguing, former Columbia (and Princeton) WR John Garrett. Yes, he's one of the sons of former CU Head Coach Jim Garrett who was famously fired after one season at Columbia (and was essentially finished after he publicly blew up at the team after losing the 1985 season opener vs. Harvard). When the elder Garrett was fired, John was a player on the team and he was unceremoniously informed of the firing with the rest of the team. 

The younger Garrett is currently on the staff at Florida State, but had a mixed record as head coach at Lafayette before being fired by the Leopards after the 2016 season. 

If Garrett is offered and takes this job, AND does well here, it should poetically close the wounds for both the Garrett family and Columbia fans, (though Jim did pass away just a few years ago).

As of now, the job search does still seem wide open. I have no confirmation that the impression some potential applicants have about Ricky Santos being the frontrunner for the job is true. 

One thing I can confirm is that Columbia gets a little break from the calendar in this process. That's because due to the 2024 leap year, and just the usual calendar progression, the off season between the 2023 season and the 2024 season is as long as possible; 308 days. So Columbia gets essentially and extra eight days or so (Ivy football offseasons) are usually 300 or 301 days) to get the new coach hired and resume all the offseason work with as much clarity and leadership as possible.

Remember that Al Bagnoli did not come on board at Columbia until February of 2015, and I'm very confident we will have a new head coach in place well before that this time. 

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the people controlling the search and money take the time to watch this, Santos should get whatever he wants to come help us.

https://youtu.be/I2j52Dw0TOM?feature=shared

Garrett is NOT the answer. Struggled at Lafayette. We should only consider people w recent susccess in their role.

Anonymous said...

Jim Clements at Kutztown was a finalist at Lehigh. Has his team in quarterfinals, again. We should be having a discussion w him, too. Can't leave any stone unturned.

Anonymous said...

Nice video with Santos accepting HC job at UNH. I just don’t see the path going from UNH to Columbia. He’s exactly where he should be unless he aspires to and is qualified for FCS. Didn’t Chip Kelly go from UNH to Oregon, quickly becoming HC after stint as OC? Don’t have any idea about compensation at UNH vs. Columbia. Santos to Columbia would be that disruption we touched on earlier in these exchanges.

Anonymous said...

Santos to Columbia would be a step down in his career path. Makes absolutely no sense. How about some reasonable names for a change.

Anonymous said...

Why exactly is Garrett an intriguing candidate? He's "on the staff at Florida State" but anything more substantial?

Big Buddy said...

Seems like you’re all spinning your wheels. Jeff Devvaney, The Head Coach At Trinity would be worth taking a lookout for this position.
18 years of success a 130- 20 record as Head Coach of Trinity. Never a losing season in Hartford. With this coach. He started coaching in 2001 , then took over as the head coach . Thing is Trinity has a winning culture. Always have. He will bring that to the table.

Big Buddy said...

I apologize that record reflects only to 2022. With this past year 138-21

Anonymous said...

Melnitsky, Trinity OC/QB, is legit as well. Always scoring points w a balanced attack. Experience in winning culture a must. Trinity noted for being blue collar edition as well. Could fit well. Trinity is a city school, too.

Anonymous said...

I like the D III coaches with experience, ability, and imagination. I think that many CU fans are still haunted by the terrible history of the past. We should put that all behind us. We should focus on the fact that we have risen to the land of Ivy mediocrity, and new leadership will take us upward.

Anonymous said...

I agree Bagnoli took us up a notch or two. Now we are positioned , despite Fabish's step back, to enter the top half of the Ivy. Cupboard is far from empty.

Anonymous said...

Gilmore was a DL at Penn, not a LB.

Anonymous said...

Gilmore is the logical choice

Big Buddy said...

I wouldn’t give Gilmore , the keys to a used car. Look at his track record. Get someone who is going to be around for awhile. Someone outside of the box. With fresh rejuvenated ideas.
Yale took a chance on Reno, 10 years 4 Ivy championships. The thought is to bring someone in with a winning, dynamic CULTURE. Not a mediocre one.

Anonymous said...

Agree. Gilmore has never won in almost 20 years of head coaching. Why would that change now?

Anonymous said...

Because he will hold soft players accountable and instill more discipline

Anonymous said...

"Because he will hold soft players accountable and instill more discipline"

This is such a silly statement. You need good players and a coaching staff that can develop them. Gilmore has had one season with more than 6 wins in 20 years (2009), he's so overrated it's funny.

Anonymous said...

Also, please answer the simple question. Why hasn't Gilmore's approach ever worked? His tough, disciplined players have done nothing but lose for almost 20 years. What does the Columbia job offer him that he didn't have in his previous jobs?

Anonymous said...

Agree. I played on the late 80s Columbia teams when Gilmore was an assistant coach and I really like the guy. But I hate him as a HC candidate for Columbia right now.

Anonymous said...

Gilmore - great recruiter, great defensive mentality, great fundraiser, great motivator, and will hold everyone accountable!

Anonymous said...

Pretty much of a shocker, Elko to Texas A & M.
People banking on a dynamic, not a record.

Anonymous said...

Just can’t win games.

Anonymous said...

Gilmore, no. No evidence of success in decades.

Anonymous said...

Gilmore offers discipline. Garrett offers experience and it’s not going to take him 3 years to get up to speed. Not to mention, I’m sure Jason would assist with the QBs in some way and Judd, who was an excellent RB, would show the RBs a thing or two.

What’s interesting is that a guy who is VERY interested in the job, Vito Campenelli, has not been contacted by Columbia? Meanwhile others schools have reached out to him more aggressively. He’s a Bergen Catholic grad, coached at Rutgers for several years, held the title of interim HC at RU, has been at Syracuse a couple of years and is now the interim HC at Syracuse. Oh, and HE beat Georgia tech last week. Ummmmm, you can take a guy who has a resume like that, or get a Div-III guy who just beat Plymouth State.

Anonymous said...

Pilling is a joke! This “search” is BS. He has a couple guys in mind and he’s going to stick with them. Hey Peter, Div.-III guys aren’t the answer, nor is a Nova assistant that you can get on the cheap. Stop looking at Walmart for coaches!!! Wake up!!!

If this guy Campenelli wants the job, why the heck wouldn’t you interview him? If this guy lands at Cornell, and we remain mired in mediocrity with an inexperienced Div.-III experiment, we lose (again). Thanks for nothing, Pete!

Anonymous said...

Shopping at Walmart for coaches, nice!

Hey Peter, there is a sale of Head Football and Men’s basketball coaches in aisle #3. Oh, and you can use coupons to get a BOGO on assistant coaches as well.

Peter, this is COLUMBIA, not a community college. Please hire qualified, experienced guys for goodness sakes!!!

Anonymous said...

Be specific. Who does he have in mind?

Anonymous said...

Why will Gilmore win at Columbia if he hasn't won ever as a head coach? Is there something unique about the Columbia job that was missing at HC and Lehigh?

Anonymous said...

Campenelli doesn't want the job. Columbia fans are delusional if they think and established FCS head coach would come here. Nothing wrong a proven winner at a D2 or D3 school.

Anonymous said...

You make me laugh, where do you think Bagnoli came from.? DIII Union College and what kind of coach did he become.

Anonymous said...

Tellier, Bagnoli, Slideckie (Yale), McElreavy, all came from Div.-3 --- THIRTY YEARS AGO!!! And they didn't do much, if anything? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense getting a Union, Trinity, or Klutztown State coach to come in to Columbia??? Oh, and for your reference, Bagnoli was at Union, for TEN SEASONS (1982-91), not the 9 months that you want a ex-special teams coach from Harvard. Just in case you missed that, TEN SEASONS, as opposed to 9 months... Do the math!

Stick with Peter Walmart and we will continue to have a mediocre program.

Anonymous said...

His name is Nunzio Campanile. His brother Vito is the current HC at Bergen Catholic.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect, Campanelli already applied for the position, but surprise, surprise, no word from Columbia. So saying that he doesn't want the job is more nonsensical rhetoric on your part. Not sure what is Pilling waiting for?

Anonymous said...

"With all due respect, Campanelli already applied for the position"

And you know that how?

Anonymous said...

WHAT.?!!

Anonymous said...

Is it true that Kraft has advocated for Gilmore? Jake any word on that?

Anonymous said...

This sounds made up. Nobody goes online and fills out an application.

Anonymous said...

You spoke to "Campanellis" agent? That's not even his name, man. You're advocating for a guy and you don't even know his name.

Anonymous said...

I believe nowadays you have to fill out an application online for multiple reasons, background check, employment history, etc. Furthermore, the agency that Pilling hired, Collegiate Sports Associates, requires any potential applicant to fill out an online profile, complete with CV. Funny though, the Columbia job is not listed on their site? The Tulane AD job ad a position at JMU and Ohio State are listed, but not CU Football? That's odd.

Below is the form that must be filled out, for your refernce.

https://collegiatesportsassociates.com/submitprofile/

Anonymous said...

Jake any word on who Kraft sat next to at homecoming? That could be very telling.

Anonymous said...

"Jake any word on who Kraft sat next to at homecoming? That could be very telling."

Mrs. Kraft

Anonymous said...

She is not innovative enough with offensive schemes, damn!

alawicius said...

Ha ha, good one.