Monmouth

[Chalkeye]

Finally got to reading the post game article.

"We have to continue to build the culture and we have a lot of fixing to do."

THIS really jumped off the page at me. Imagine arriving at Lehigh charged with the duty of fixing the toxic environment that Tom Gilmore created. He created it at Holy Cross and he created it at Lehigh. It was a horrible decision to hire this man and it will take a long time for Cahill to clean up this mess.

TG's culture at HC was not toxic. Hardnosed, old school, perhaps even outdated,but those on here trying to paint him as uncaring or evil incarnate do not know the man. I am no apologist, because his record shows how successful he was ultimately. But every coach in America taking over a program works to develop his own personal culture, and I am sure Cahill expects as much accountability from his players as TG demanded. Like Owl says, Troxell is 18 months ahead of schedule on this turnaround. One or two good recruiting cycles and Lehigh should be back in the mix. HC is at their peak, loaded with 5th year seniors despite having no graduate school, with a coach who seems busy looking over the fence at other opportunities. His loaded team was just physically beat up and their QB was exposed as a scatter-armed passer prone to poor decisions when pressured last Saturday. The turn is coming.

[lu90]

Finally got to reading the post game article.

"We have to continue to build the culture and we have a lot of fixing to do."

THIS really jumped off the page at me. Imagine arriving at Lehigh charged with the duty of fixing the toxic environment that Tom Gilmore created. He created it at Holy Cross and he created it at Lehigh. It was a horrible decision to hire this man and it will take a long time for Cahill to clean up this mess.

TG's culture at HC was not toxic..... I am no apologist, because his record shows how successful he was ultimately.

Huh?

[Chalkeye]

Meaning football coaches are paid to win football games. Toxic cultures can survive with a limited shelf life, but are not sustainable. Ask Urban Blight Meyer how that goes. By not being an apologist, I am saying that TG will be judged by his record, and even if he had a non-toxic culture, that is how all coaches are ultimately judged. Sorry to confuse you.

[LUEngineer]

What was the “embarrassing display” reference by TU owl after Silbor INT? What does that refer to specifically? I did not watch the game.

[ngineer]

Muhlenberg has better athletes.

You are correct. Nate Milne recruits the hell out of 100 mile radius of Allentown. Gets 1 star and some 2 star recruits who are mostly 2 inches and 30 lbs too light for their positions. Then he gets them to Muhlenberg and runs that program like it is an FBS Program. He builds them up. Discipline in every respect of the game. Winning mindset.

Lehigh f-up in not hiring that guy. Lehigh always with mindset of Ivy wannabe. Always picking the easy rather than the right choices for Presidents, Deans and Coaches. It has become a God awful institution of weakness and mediocrity.

What makes you think Milne applied and was on the list? Never saw where he was either.

[ngineer]

I haven't heard a peep from "ngineer" this week?

I have been out of town with family in North Carolina. Just browsing through the comments, now. I saw the score and was able to see a small bit of the game track in the first quarter, but was unable to access after that. Cahill has been fairly clear about what to expect this year. He is focused solely on changing the culture in order to turn around the program. Most people have recognized that it will take some time to see changed results. At present, we are seeing a lot of auditions as to who can be a football player at this level. It will take a couple of recruiting classes and, hopefully, the patience of people who seek immediate results.
In such a rebuild process, there will be some ugly performances. The talent level is thin and exacerbated if injuries make it thinner. The best we can do is still be supportive of the players and coaches. As someone once said, "Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals character." With six games left, we will see what is revealed, and trust the Cahill and his staff make good decisions. I still think we can win four games this year.

[ngineer]

Sterrett is insulated from all criticism ...X Lehigh QB, "Chaired" position, DEI and pronoun implementer, to old to terminate w/o a huge payout.

I have no idea what the AD situation is at Lehigh beyond "bizarre"? According to the website Sterrett is STILL the AD so unless I'm missing something the day-to-day oversight is his responsibility as defined by the university. I work/speak with individuals who work in higher ed each week, there's no grinding over DEI and pronouns unless that's "your thing" so for the sake of Mountain Hawk Athletics I hope he or whoever is "running the show" realizes that success encompasses all facets of Lehigh and is not defined by their "virtuous proclamations".

Football still offers an opportunity for community engagement. But it has to be FUN! No casual football fan wants to waste a Saturday to see the "local team" get mauled. Holy Cross is attracting crowds that Lehigh once did when they were humming along. There is still interest in "traditional" college football in the Northeast. The 'Pard faithful will start to come out of their decade long slumber.

It's time to turn this nonsense around on South Mountain. I'm tired of the Gilmore blame for lack of effort, basic execution at this point in the 2023 season. That was an embarrassing display after Silbor's INT on Saturday. This staff MUST figure out how to get this ship headed in the right direction by first showing the ability to overachieve.

Not what I call 'faithful'. Faithful is when you show up and times are tough. Easy to be a front runner.

[Old Timer]

Great to hear from you ngineer. Yes some, including me, are losing patience. However, your comments are well taken. I just feel that after 53 years as a loyal follower I can vent a bit. I have gone to games rain or shine. (just ask my wife) who thinks I am crazy. but I truly do enjoy the experience. However, changes are needed. The world is moving so much faster. You need to keep pace (in a measured way), and move with it. I just don't see LU doing that. Time for some change!

[adcs2]

I know it is hard to be patient, but let me spits some facts to contradict some of the overreaction that I have seen in these football threads.

1) TG was a bad hire and did a lousy job - no argument on this one

2) Kevin Cahill was a bad choice - That is not the consensus from your PL peers. In fact many think Cahill will have a positive impact on the program

3) Nate Milne would have been a better choice - no way to really evaluate this but, as others have said, was he ever a candidate? He has done a decent job since taking over for Mike Donnelly. The first few years with Donnelly's players. The Mules took a step back last year and despite being undefeated they didn't look great in second half against Ursinus. The Centennial Conference is really weak and they should be over .500 every year at a minimum. Lets see how they fare at the end of the month against Hopkins. Someone commented about the size of the OL being bigger than Lehigh's. Big deal, those kids are D3 for a reason and that is not a knock (I had two D3 athletes).

4) The Mountain Hawks can still win four games - I put the O/U at 2.5

5) You don't need to recruit outside of a 100-mile radius - any reason you can't do both?

6) The turnaround can happen in 1-2 years because look at what Troxell has done at LC - I think 3-4 is more likely. Even though Garrett was a bad culture fit, he did not leave the cupboard bare as far as talent. Troxell did two things in that a) he immediately had a positive impact on the culture and b) he and his staff set out to recruit hard to fill in the gaps around the talent that was already in place. A couple of noticeable differences is that there was virtually no turnover on the coaching staff (Garrett would lose like 4-5 assistants every spring) and Troxell was able to convince several players (Hamm in 2022 and Olivas/Shaeffer this year) to return for a fifth year. Shaeffer said this season has been his most enjoyable season playing for the Maroon & White. The players obviously enjoy playing for that staff. Winning doesn't hurt either.

But pump the breaks - Knute Rockne isn't walking through that door. Let's give Cahill two full recruiting classes to see what he can do.

[ngineer]

I know it is hard to be patient, but let me spits some facts to contradict some of the overreaction that I have seen in these football threads.

1) TG was a bad hire and did a lousy job - no argument on this one

2) Kevin Cahill was a bad choice - That is not the consensus from your PL peers. In fact many think Cahill will have a positive impact on the program

3) Nate Milne would have been a better choice - no way to really evaluate this but, as others have said, was he ever a candidate? He has done a decent job since taking over for Mike Donnelly. The first few years with Donnelly's players. The Mules took a step back last year and despite being undefeated they didn't look great in second half against Ursinus. The Centennial Conference is really weak and they should be over .500 every year at a minimum. Lets see how they fare at the end of the month against Hopkins. Someone commented about the size of the OL being bigger than Lehigh's. Big deal, those kids are D3 for a reason and that is not a knock (I had two D3 athletes).

4) The Mountain Hawks can still win four games - I put the O/U at 2.5

5) You don't need to recruit outside of a 100-mile radius - any reason you can't do both?

6) The turnaround can happen in 1-2 years because look at what Troxell has done at LC - I think 3-4 is more likely. Even though Garrett was a bad culture fit, he did not leave the cupboard bare as far as talent. Troxell did two things in that a) he immediately had a positive impact on the culture and b) he and his staff set out to recruit hard to fill in the gaps around the talent that was already in place. A couple of noticeable differences is that there was virtually no turnover on the coaching staff (Garrett would lose like 4-5 assistants every spring) and Troxell was able to convince several players (Hamm in 2022 and Olivas/Shaeffer this year) to return for a fifth year. Shaeffer said this season has been his most enjoyable season playing for the Maroon & White. The players obviously enjoy playing for that staff. Winning doesn't hurt either.

But pump the breaks - Knute Rockne isn't walking through that door. Let's give Cahill two full recruiting classes to see what he can do.

+1