Sources confirm that Head Coach Mark Fabish will not be retained as head coach and a new head coach will be named by next month.
I previously reported that the team was notified of this last night but that was apparently not true for the entire team, though some players were aware.
I join many of you in feeling many mixed emotions about this news, especially because Fabish was an enthusiastic and strong supporter of the players.
For those who have been strong detractors of Fabish for years, I realize many of you are angry that I did not lobby for his removal. But as I vowed when he was named interim head coach, I wanted to give him full support during the season.
Now that the season is over, it's time to focus on finding a great new head coach for Columbia.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
65 comments:
Could be true but the players have NOT been notified of this action.
Cornell already made an "official announcement" about Archer. Where is ours?
I don't understand how anyone could be angry at you. You took a rational, unbiased position in regard to Fabish. I admire that and thank you. You gave him full support. I didn't. Either way Go Lions! Bye bye Bubble Screen!
Observe the process in selecting a new head coach ,it will reveal more of future success than the actual choice.
Thanks for your excellent coverage of Columbia football over many years, Jake. It would be great if in the future no one could post as "Anonymous" but had to use a handle. That way, the rest of us could make a determination as to who is an uninformed, hostile troll, and who is actually commenting on a football program they care about. The moron(s) who posted consistently that Fabish would be retained and get a LT contract is/are now free to move on to the next stupid opinion.
Well said!
Agreed; can somebody explain how to set up a handle—I’ve tried and have not yet been able to get one of my grandkids to explain how to do it.
Tough break for a good man-if we had held on against Princeton and Penn, beaten Brown in OT, and possibly even kept our 9-0 lead against Dartmouth we would be having a different conversation and congratulating Mark.
Is Tom Gilmore, former HC and Lehigh coach available?
Gilmore should indeed be available. Personally, I think he's a terrific coach.
Didn’t Gilmore flame out in his last job? Is Poppe locked in? What about offensive coordinators at HC, Lafayette, or a few of the other Ivies?
Tom Gilmore seems like a good coach but he struggled at the end at HC and then failed at Lehigh. Not sure he would be a candidate anywhere.
I happen to agree that if we had won two of the four close losses and gone 5-5 (3-4), Fabish would have kept the job. But we lost them all and we lost them because our offense - his purview for eight years - was awful. The blame falls directly on the architect of our offense and it would've been crazy to promote him to HC.
It is with mixed emotions I hear the news of his dismissal (still not published on website or in Spec). He seems a genuinely good man, and undoubtedly had the support of many of his players, especially those he recruited. On the other hand, the offense was moribund for the last 3 seasons. With exception of Georgetown and Cornell 1st half, it actually seemed to regress this season.
I wish him well, and the team, thru this transition. I hope the search committee and administration find the right candidate to truly takes us to the next level.
In lumine tuo...
Much really depends on what Columbia thinks the problem is. If they believe that they had the talent to compete, that there is enough talent returning, and the players just need a good (proverbial, not literal) kick in the rear, then I think Gilmore is that kind of coach. If they believe that the entire program needs a re-build, then they may look for someone with that type of experience.
Since his title was “interim” I think it is more accurate to say that Columbia chose not to retain him. In other words, he was not fired. Seems like a small point but in fairness to him I think it’s better to be accurate.
My hunch is that Columbia's new Head Football Coach will have roots in the State of Pennsylvania or the State of Massachusetts. More specifically, I suspect that he is now an assistant coach at Villanova, Temple or Boston College.
Our all ivy showing was pretty dismal.
Bill Campbell came back to Columbia after a stint at Boston College.
The Special Teams Coordinator at Temple, is from the Bronx, played at Dartmouth, and did a three year stint at Columbia as a linebacker and safeties coach.
Chris Biden, the Offensive Coordinatior at Villanova, holds all of the school’s passing records. He also recruited Northern New Jersey for the Wildcats. An intriguing possibility.
Very unfortunate how it all played out. Essentially, a waste of a season. Maybe the only benefit is the experience the Offensive Line acquired.
One has to wonder what advice, if any, Al Bagnoli offered Mark Fabish in season, or if Fabish, even reached out to Al.
The more one thinks about it, and then looks at the Offensive statistics, it just proved to be unfathomably bad.
No question, Fabish is a very decent fellow, but he was the master of his own destiny.
Yeah, if football coaches won more games they would all be congratulated.
Not until the first half of the Cornell game did the offense show up. then it clammed up again in the second half. I wonder what adjustments Cornell made and we failed to make.
Thinking about it, Mark made a mistake in promoting Joe D’Orizio, who was a good position coach, to the OC. He should have brought in a bright young offensive mind to run the offense.
Hire Gilmore and players walk. The guy is toxic.
"My hunch is that Columbia's new Head Football Coach will have roots in the State of Pennsylvania or the State of Massachusetts. More specifically, I suspect that he is now an assistant coach at Villanova, Temple or Boston College."
Based on what? I bet it will be a coach that no one has posted about before.
But i thought there was so much elite talent?
I still do not understand why Coach Fabish and his assistants did not call a press conference of sorts early in the season to explain what was happening with the quarterback situation. Columbia came into the season with two highly regarded senior quarterbacks and at least three or four apparently solid back-up. Yet it was evident from the first snap of the season, that our starting quarterback was struggling and had to be replaced, which didn't happen until about the midpoint of this season. We also never saw either of the two leading back-up quarterbacks from North Carolina, or for that matter the one from Westchester County New York. We did see the Freshman QB from Texas, but only on a few wildcat plays. Surely the underperformance of the quarterbacks was a major issue, and yet, it was, to my knowledge, never addressed publicly by the coaching staff. If it had been addressed by the coaching staff, it is certainly possible that the explanation for the underperformance of the QB's on the roster would lead to a better understanding of what was happening on the field. Whether that would have saved the season for the Lions, and the coaching staff's jobs we will never know.
Who were readily available in July. More stupid comments from Columbia football fans
You know who saw all the qbs asshat? The coaches. All season long. Do you think the coaches had an incentive to not put best option to win games on the field? This isnt nfl, no requirement to provide injury mews, qb progress updates or really any info
Coaches do miss some things, as for example, our First Team All-League punter, William Hughes, was at one point last season, number four on the depth chart. He was great in the final few games of the 2022 season and throughout the 2023 season.
Why do you feel the need to resort to name calling? “Asshat” really? Grow up and act like an adult. It’s a bad look and quite honestly embarrassing. Sincerely, not the “Asshat” you were referring to.
All reasonable questions re QBs this past season. Seems all questions were left unanswered. Think the QB from Texas also had a couple of passes against Dartmouth. Both completed. Must have been QB3 on the depth chart since we never saw any other backups.
Been telling you guys this for months. Fab was not a good coach and was largely disrespected by those in the program. Small guy on all fronts. Columbia deserves better.
Perhaps Dabo Swinney is looking for a less stressful coaching job or perhaps he's scared to compete against Cal and Stanford. We should call him.
An announcement of a nationwide coaching search was posted at 7 pm this evening on the Columbia Athletics website.
I would suggest that everybody show a little class. Mark was a decent guy who had a few bad breaks and couldn’t do anything with the offense once it started to stagnate. But that’s no reason to engage in ad hominem attacks on a good man who was under the spotlight. I for one wish him all the luck in the world, except of course if he ever matches up against us in the future.
Ok, sorry about that jagoff
Hmmm, perhaps the foul-mouthed commenter is making a point about the appropriateness of allowing anonymous comments about a persons livelihood. Perhaps “free speech Jake” should make some changes.
actually many WERE notified yesterday
I agree. Stop with the anonymous posts and responses.
With Cornell looking for a coach along with us, does this make it more difficult for us to attract someone who might also be considering Ithaca? I suspect we will be looking at the same candidates.
To the loser calling Mark small and that he was "largely disrespected" by those in the program- clearly you have an axe to grind because that is total BS. Columbia U is a left wing dumpster fire in a hell hole city that does not deserve him anyway- he should consider himself lucky not to be associated with that garbage and the coward IVY League whose Presidents are scared to go get their ass handed to them by A Montana or Dakota and then lie about the reason.
Those are very exciting programs all right! What about Rutgers?
Bright young offensive mind is a wonderful phrase.
A nationwide search!
The biggest mistake Fabish made was giving the offense to D'orazio. The team returned a 1st team running back, 2 all ivy WRs along with a cast of other contributors, 2 QBs that have proven the ability to win games and TEs that have contributed for the last 2 years. The OL was new and had growing pains but by no means was the reason for the abysmal offense that we saw this year. That leaves D'Orazio. He led that cast of talent to being the worst Ivy offense by a landslide and likely the worst offense Columbia has seen in nearly a decade. The second the offense put up 0 points against a Princeton team (which was significantly down from other Princeton teams) on national television, Fabish should have demoted D'Orazio on the spot. He either should have taken back over play calling immediately or handed the reigns to another coach on staff. Everybody on here wants to thrash on Fabish, some warranted some not, but ultimately he and everyone else on the staff will pay for the decision to let D'Orazio call plays. I feel for the entire defensive staff more than anyone else.
Unlike Mangurian, Fabish had a large group of people who liked him. It would also be hard to dispute that he is a “quality person”.
As such, the movement to give him “another chance” is understandable.
At the same time, people have to acknowledge the facts, many of which are succinctly stated above.
Remember too, we will never know what actually lead to his dismissal. He may have been approached by the Athletic Director, in season, and told he had to make changes, such as calling plays himself, and simply refused. Fabish may have been told, “you will be named Head Coach, but you must bring in an entirely new staff to coach the offense” and he dug in his heels, whether out of ego, or a sense of loyalty.
These are certainly possibilities.
We all should agree that the Offense this year was simply dreadful, and the truth be known, the offense had not been overly productive for the entire period post Covid. Mark Fabish’s fate was tied to the Offense.
However, disappointed the “pro Fabish camp” may be, it is incumbent upon them to move forward and support the next staff; no differently than those of us who were never “pro Fabish” were asked to do by them.
It would also serve the school, the team, and us as fans, alumni, and former players, if the harshness disappeared from this site. People have a right not to agree and not be called names. Does it enhance a point of view to label someone, “a jerk” or worse?
Nothing we post about is earth shattering, to quote Alan Iverson, “Practice ….” As presumably smart people, we should recognize the importance, or lack thereof, of Columbia Football, in the vicissitudes of daily life and conduct ourselves with civility.
Best to all for the upcoming holidays.
Well said
So who is running the program during the interregnum? Lots needs to be done—firm up commitments, continue recruiting , organize off season program, recruit guys who are eligible for a fifth year, etc. ;usually one of the assistants stays on as a matter of good practice and continuity.
I like Chris Biden from Villanova, I think that he played for Andy Talley, the best coach in Philly (Sorry Eldo)
Biden,oops
Boden
Speaking of corrections. My apologies.
It is “Allen” not “Alan” Iverson
Indeed correct about Chris Boden. Andy Talley retired in 2016. Boden played in 1997.
Andy Talley, when he retired had the most wins of any college coach in history. He has since been eclipsed, but indeed a great coach. He was at Villanova for 37 years.
There is much to recommend Boden, but realize there are numerous other great options out there.
The job is also more attractive today than it was right after Mangurian.
Marcellus Wiley in the news
https://nypost.com/2023/11/22/sports/marcellus-wiley-accused-of-raping-fellow-columbia-student-in-1994/
omg
Why now?
You're deranged.
Good afternoon:
How about Chuck Priore (Stony Brook)? knows the league, won a lot of games at Trinity College and for most of his 18 years at Stony Brook. His loyalty to the school rewarded with dismissal after several middling years and a 0-10 record his final season.
Other people to consider:
Poppe
Pat O'Leary (remember him)?
Have a great day!
Fabish biff.
What the hell are you talking about? You sound like you're bananas.
Priore is too old
That is a true and excellent point
Can anyone please explain tp me how Pilling can pull the trigger on Fabish so quickly and yet he kept the CU basketball coach??? Engles has come in LAST place in the Ivies for the past four years! I get it, Fabish is gone whether you agree with it or not, but our men's basketball team will come in 9th this year (Princeton's second team would beat us). Yes, I am aware that they beat Temple and that powerhouse LIU this year but they are awful. I've never seen it so bad. Also, they beat two Division THREE schools SUNY-Deli (yes, that's a place) and Bard College.
We should be looking for Pilling's replacement!
Amen! When will Engles be let go? It’s several years overdue. Peter, are you listening?
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