Ivy League

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Ivy league’s Pioneering Coaching Pair SpotlightProgress, Problems

NEW YORK — Neither Norries Wilsonnor Tom Williams had circled the datewhen, respectively, the Columbia andYale football schedules had come out.But Dr. Keith Harrison had. So when twoAfrican-American coaches met in an IvyLeague game for the first time ever onSaturday, Harrison — the associatedirector of the Institute for Diversity inSport at the University of Central Florida— made sure not only that he was atColumbia’s Wien Stadium, he was on thefield before the game to greet both men.

“I wanted to take a picture,” Harrison said,as what was eventually a stunning, come-from-behind 23-22 Yale victory unfolded.“It’s history.”

Harrison did, in fact, get a snapshot of thepair: the 44-year-old Wilson, in his fourthseason at Columbia, and Williams, 39,hired in January at Yale. Wilson ended upintroducing Williams and Harrison, whohelps put together the annual hiring reportcard on coaching and administrativehiring by the institute and its director,Richard Lapchick. The moment wasweighted with meaning, they allacknowledged at day’s end, yet at thesame time none of it was bigger than thejob at hand.

“The significance of the day was not loston either of us. We’re both proud of ourheritage, it’s something we’re ... very

proud of.”— Tom Williams,Yale Head Coach “That’s more ofsomething for our kids to talk about whenthey grow up,” Wilson said. “They don’tput in the paper, ‘The black coach won.’They put in the paper, ‘Yale won.’ It’s anissue, just not an issue for me and CoachWilliams. We just have to go out and bethe best coaches we can be for the youngmen that we have a responsibility for.”

“The significance of the day was not loston either one of us,” said Williams, whoseteam scored two touchdowns in the fourthquarter to claim easily the most dramaticwin of his inaugural season. “We’re bothproud of our heritage, it’s something we’revery strong and very proud of — but atthe end of the day, it’s Yale at Columbia,it’s not Tom Williams vs. Norries Wilson.

“We’re proud to take this win home withus. We’re proud to represent the African-American community, but this is abouttwo universities and two football teams.”

Williams’ hiring — to join Wilson, the Ivy’sfirst black head football coach — isconsidered a step forward, as is the factthat the number of head coaches abovethe Ivy League’s classification, in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (formerlyDivision I-A), doubled last offseason, fromfour to eight. None, however, were at aso-called BCS school; Randy Shannon at

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Miami is the only black head coach in thatcategory this season.

The way Williams and Wilson approachthe topic reflects the still-precarious stateof African-American head coaches incollege football. Getting the jobs are onevery big thing; keeping them is not only asimportant as it is for any coach, but vitalto the continued progress of the cause —because their place is not so secure thatfailure by one coach won’t still mean asetback for every future candidate.

Which makes meetings like Saturday’snot as pleasant as they could be,because somebody has to lose. In thiscase, Wilson’s Lions dropped their fourthstraight. Harrison recalled a high-levelassistant at another BCS schoollamenting playing Miami because, he wastold, it meant having to root againstShannon, even as it meant more tocoaches trying to reach Shannon’s level ifhe continued to win.

With that sort of unavoidable conflict,Williams and Wilson represent anecessary, yet bold, option. Wilson cameto Columbia from the Big East, where hewas offensive coordinator at Connecticut;earlier in his career, he had servedminority coaching internships with threeNFL teams. Williams had been anassistant with the NFL’s JacksonvilleJaguars for two seasons before taking theYale job; but before that, he was anassistant on the rise at four previousschools, including a stint as associatehead coach at Stanford, where he hadplayed under Bill Walsh.

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Being in position to stay on the major-school radar as a coordinator could haveled to bigger things — except thathistorically, they have not. So they moveddown to the Football ChampionshipSubdivision (FCS) level, as the four FBSnewcomers also chose head-coachingjobs after leaving major programs such asNotre Dame and Michigan. While itdoesn’t put them in the spotlight, Harrisonoffered as a reminder, “Five and six yearsago, those jobs weren’t even beingoffered.”

That the Ivy League schools did offerthose jobs was no small coincidence. Theathletic directors who hired both made itclear that they never set out to hire acoach of color; rather, the coaches madean indelible impression on them and theircolleagues immediately and made thechoice easy. Dr. Dianne Murphy atColumbia and Tom Beckett at Yale bothemphasized the magnitude of the job attheir schools, where winning is notelevated above teaching, maintaining theacademic standards and keeping thefootball program connected to and in-stepwith the entire school and the rest of theteams.

Beckett sat in on the postgame interviewsand heard the Yale players creditWilliams for pressing on them the idea ofgiving full effort on every play frombeginning to end — which they applied in









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overcoming a 14-3 deficit entering thefourth quarter, particularly when Bulldogscornerback Adam Money chased downColumbia running back Leon Ivery at the2-yard line after a 75-yard run with fiveminutes left and the Lions up 22-17,saving what would have been theclinching touchdown. Yale then scoredthe game-winning points with 58 secondsleft on a 10-yard touchdown pass fromPat Witt to A.J. Haase.

“The feeling you had as you walked away[from the player interviews] was thefeeling the whole Yale community feltwhen they were introduced to CoachWilliams at the beginning,” Beckett said.“They knew immediately that he was theright fit. He’s an educator, acommunicator; he inspires people.”

When Murphy hired Wilson in late 2005,over more than a dozen candidates, shemade it clear to her staff that she had nointention of making a big deal about himintegrating the league coaching ranks.“That is not the story; do not go there withme,” she recalled telling her staff. “Ourstory is that we’ve hired a football coachat Columbia, and he’s the right man forthe job.”

Within that, though, she admitted thatcoaches in both men’s positions might betorn about taking a job at that level:“Unfortunately, a lot of times, people areso anxious to get a job, to finally get thathead coaching or athletic director’s job,that they take a job that isn’t a good fit ordoesn’t give them the resources to besuccessful.” In reaching for any head

coaching job, she said, minority coaches“tend not to get the jobs that everybodywants.”

That was the major issue in theoffseason, while five black coaches werebeing hired in the lower levels, the likes ofAuburn, Tennessee and Washington, forexample, went elsewhere for their headcoaches.

Yet neither has ever hinted that he wassettling by going to the Ivy League. TheLions are now struggling at 2-5, butColumbia’s only non-losing season since1997 was Wilson’s first, when he went 5-5in 2006. Meanwhile, at 4-3 Williams has achance to be the first Yale coach to havea winning season in his first year since1963.

Winning, of course, is the ideal result forboth coaches. But in the grand scheme ofthe ongoing quest to level the field incollege football coaching, days likeSaturday are a sign of progress.

“I feel good,” Harrison said, noddingtoward the field where earlier he hadtaken photos with the two coachingpioneers. “This is some powerful imageryhere.”

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EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 31:Cornerback Talmadge Jackson III of theOregon Ducks breaks up a pass in theend zone intended for wide receiverRonald Johnson #8 Of the USC Trojansin the second quarter of the game atAutzen Stadium on October 31, 2009 inEugene, Oregon. (Photo by SteveDykes/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***Talmadge Jackson III;Ronald Johnson

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EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 31:Cornerback Talmadge Jackson III of theOregon Ducks breaks up a pass in theend zone intended for wide receiverRonald Johnson #8 Of the USC Trojansin the second quarter of the game atAutzen Stadium on October 31, 2009 inEugene, Oregon. (Photo by SteveDykes/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***Talmadge Jackson III;Ronald Johnson

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: Headcoach Mack Brown of the Texas

Longhorns watches the action in thefourth quarter against the Oklahoma StateCowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium onOctober 31, 2009 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Mack Brown

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: EarlThomas #12 of the Texas Longhorns runswith the ball after an interception for atouchdown in the third quarter against theOklahoma State Cowboys at BoonePickens Stadium on October 31, 2009 inStillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by RonaldMartinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption*** Earl Thomas

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31:Quarterback Colt McCoy #12 of theTexas Longhorns runs with the ball in thefourth quarter against the Oklahoma StateCowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium onOctober 31, 2009 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Colt McCoy

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LSU wide receiver Brandon LaFell (1)runs into the endzone after catching atouchdown pass behind Tulane safetyChinonso Echebelem (24) in the first halfof an NCAA college football game inBaton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 31,2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: CodyJohnson #31 of the Texas Longhornsrushes for five yards short of the endzoneand is stopped by Donald Booker #44 ofthe Oklahoma State Cowboys in thefourth quaretr of the game at BoonePickens Stadium on October 31, 2009 inStillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by RonaldMartinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption*** Donald Booker;Cody Johnson

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: EarlThomas #12 Sergio Kindle #2 of theTexas Longhorns celebrates a touchdownscored by teammate Earl Thomas #12 (R)on an interception in the third quarteragainst the Oklahoma State Cowboys atBoone Pickens Stadium on October 31,2009 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo byRonald Martinez/Getty Images) *** LocalCaption *** Sergio Kindle;Eaqrl Johnson

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STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: EarlThomas #12 of the Texas Longhorns runsin to score a touchdown on aninterception in the third quarter againstthe Oklahoma State Cowboys at BoonePickens Stadium on October 31, 2009 inStillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by RonaldMartinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption*** Earl Thomas

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Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Leethrows a pass during the first half of theirNCAA football game against Kentucky in

Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newtonthrows a pass over the line during the firsthalf of their NCAA college football gameagainst Mississippi State in Lexington,Ky., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. (APPhoto/Ed Reinke)

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Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen haswords for defensive tackle Devin Jonesduring the first half of their NCAA collegefootball game against Kentucky inLexington, Ky., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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