Talking about Tom
Not all the talk about race and college coaching is worth listening to, but Ed Daigneault gets it exactly right in this piece about Yale's new coach Tom Williams.
It's nice that he also points out that Columbia Coach Norries Wilson has brought the Lions back to respectability, which we may not be entirely clear in the won-lost record, but is entirely clear on the field of play, where Columbia outplayed at least half of its Ivy opponents in 2008.
Ivy fans know that while Yale may have the richest alumni and most storied football history in the conference, things can still go bad in a hurry in New Haven.
The Elis went from perennial contenders in the '60s, '70s, and '80s to chumps in the 1990s. Columbia beat Yale four years in a row from 1994-97, and not all of those teams were the Lions' best.
While Jack Siedlecki's tenure was not totally fantastic over the years, he seemed to be getting much, much better in his final three years.
Williams will be taking over a team that will be losing just about all its best players to graduation. That should actually help in his first two years, as knowledgeable fans will realize this and not set the bar too high.
From a Columbia standpoint, I would look at recruiting in the state of Connecticut as a possible measuring stick. With Coach Wilson's strong CT ties, the Lions have been grabbing more and more strong recruits from right under Yale's shadow. If that keeps happening, it may mean the Eli program is really in decline everywhere else as well.
George Seitz, RIP
I have recently been informed that three-year letter winner George Seitz '56 died last week. Sadly, I do not know much about his playing career, except to say he played on Lions teams that twice beat Harvard and took on Army at Yankee Stadium in 1953.
Anyone who has more personal or gridiron info on Mr. Seitz kindly comment below or email me.
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