Columbia hires Pete Mangurian as football coach

The Lions' search for the next football coach took just a few short weeks. Athletic Director M. Diane Murphy hired former Cornell coach Pete Mangurian to replace ousted head man Norries Wilson at Columbia.

Murphy hired the Mangurian candidate (sorry, had to do it) once before — as an associate athletic director for the Big Red, she was involved in their search for a football coach in 1998. Mangurian coached the Big Red for 3 seasons, during which they went 11-10 in Ivy play.

He's spent the last 10 years in the NFL, serving as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, the tight ends coach for New England and the offensive line coach for Tampa Bay. He was fired from his job with the Buccaneers last January.

He inherits a team that went just 1-6 in Ivy play this season.

“He has a great track record,” Lions quarterback Sean Brackett told the Columbia Spectator. “He’s been everywhere football is played—the Ivy League, the NFL, and college football. He’s coached a lot of good players. He’s been around a lot of great coaches. Everything he said made me relieved that we are getting the right guy for our football program going forward.”

For more, read the Spectator's story on the hiring.