Lembo to Princeton?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://biggreenalertblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/statistically-speaking.html


Football Scoop is reporting that Princeton is interested in former Dartmouth assistant Pete Lembo, who had a glittering 44-14 record at Lehigh and has gone 5-6, 7-4, 8-4 and 9-3 this fall building Elon into an FCS powerhouse. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore and Maryland assistant Don Brown (both former Dartmouth assistants with experience around the Ivies) have also drawn some interest.

xeyebrowx

[Skjellyfetti]

I'd be shocked if Lembo left for an Ivy. And Elon is an FCS powerhouse? xlolx

[Elon Fightin' Christians]

Lembo is under contract at Elon thru 2012.

[89Hen]

And Elon is an FCS powerhouse? xlolx
I didn't want to say it. xwhistlex

[Elon Fightin' Christians]

Another name to keep an eye on is former Davidson Head coach and current Rutgers Asst Joe Susan.
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/11/rutgers_terecruiting_coordinat.html

[WVAPPmountaineer]

Lembo is under contract at Elon thru 2012.

We have all found out that coaches contracts mean nothing - the only one I can remember that caused problems was when RichRod left WVU ====

[Go...gate]

It is my understanding that Bob Surace, former Princeton FB Center and present Ass't Coach with the Bengals, is a strong candidate.

[WVAPPmountaineer]

Lembo is under contract at Elon thru 2012.

Part of what I remember when Lembo accepted the Elon job was that he wanted to be able to compete with full scholarship numbers ???? ----

[proasu89]

What happened to Hen's post? He asked a legitmate question.

[89Hen]

What happened to Hen's post? He asked a legitmate question.
2 points for smack. xcoolx

[nms1987]

We have all found out that coaches contracts mean nothing - the only one I can remember that caused problems was when RichRod left WVU ====

Contracts do mean something.
They just don't mean what most people think they mean. They don't mean someone is DEFINITELY going to be coaching somewhere until year X.

Plus, schools fire coaches under contract all the time. Why should fans get upset when a coach they like dumps his contract to coach somewhere else and whine that he was "under contract!" but celebrate when their school fires a coach they hate, despite the fact that he was "under contract".

[nms1987]

As for Lembo, I would be surprised to see him go to Princeton. Though he is a northeastern guy he as always desired to coach elite football teams. That is why he left Lehigh for Elon, the south is a far more fertile recruiting ground and the Elon job was good for him so it was a good chance for him to build a great team.
He has been annoyed with some aspects of Elon, but he has started to get things to go the way he wants. Case in point... the locker rooms, weight rooms and practice fields. Elon's stadium itself is lovely, a huge recruiting tool, but their other facilities are pretty poor. Many HS recruits would be taking a step down in facilities, from their current HS, if they chose to go to Elon. The facilities situation has always been one of Elon's bigger hurdles in recruiting so obviously correcting that problem has always been a major cause for him. And Elon has started to do that. They just broke ground on a brand new athletics facility that would include locker rooms, meeting rooms, business offices for the athletic dept, weight rooms and all sorts of other stuff. They played a little video about it before the App game and what was telling was that every time Lembo talked about it on the video the main thing he said was how it would help him recruits (though his language was a little more vague I believe). It was clear Lembo felt this was the missing piece he needed at Elon. The new building's practical purposes (weight rooms, office spaces, lockers, ect) was obviously secondary to its ability to be a status symbol in recruiting... which is true at every football school that recruits on a major scale.
So, long story short, I could see why Lembo would have left Elon (if they wouldn't upgrade the program and facilities like he needed) but now that things have gone his way I would be surprised.
Also, though Lembo has tons of experience at academically oriented (kind of a silly phrase I know.. aren't all colleges academically oriented?) east coast private schools and though he does seem to stress academic success for his football players more than your typical coach I would be surprised to seem him move down to a school and league that intentionally treats athletics as an item of less importance since for so long he has wanted to build a power somewhere

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Does anybody have an idea on how much Ivy League schools pay their head football coaches?

To be honest, I don't understand why they would be appealing, given that there is no opportunity to go to playoffs and win National Championships.

[whoanellie]

fwiw.... no he really stinks.... no people or coaching skills
forgetaboutit....

[blukeys]

Another name to keep an eye on is former Davidson Head coach and current Rutgers Asst Joe Susan.
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/11/rutgers_terecruiting_coordinat.html

Joe was an excellent Offensive Tackle at Delaware. He also coached at Delaware.

[fightingphoenix]

Elon wouldn't be building Lembo a brand new field house if he was leaving...

[proasu89]

Why was my post deleted because I asked why Hen's post was deleted? xnonono2x

[ngineer]

I would be surprised to see Lembo leave Elon for Princeton. Not the direction I see Pete headed, which is BCS land and Old Nassau is not the route to the big time. Pure and simple.

[Ivytalk]

I would be surprised to see Lembo leave Elon for Princeton. Not the direction I see Pete headed, which is BCS land and Old Nassau is not the route to the big time. Pure and simple.

Right. Old Nassau is the route to...oblivion.xcoolx

[nms1987]

fwiw.... no he really stinks.... no people or coaching skills

I can understand the no people skills thing. He is pretty intense and can come off as pretty gruff, but you have got to be kidding me if you think he has no coaching skills.

Talk about ungrateful. Elon's program is NOTHING without Pete Lembo. He is the first coach to do anything with that program since they became D-I, he succeeded where Al Seagraves and Paul Hamilton failed miserably. I mean, not to sound arrogant, but just who do you think you are? You're Elon. You aren't Florida or Michigan. You aren't Georgia Southern or Delaware. You don't have a D-I history that you can look back on and say, "You should do better here, after all Coach So-n-So did!" Not only does Elon have no history of success pre-Lembo but Lembo is also the first coach that can give recruits a desire to play for Elon other than whatever appeal the school itself (outside of athletics) has to a particular student.

I can totally understand being upset about the poor play at the end of the year the Lembo reign has showed but to suggest that he "has no coaching skills" might be the stupidest thing I read in awhile.
It is like getting a brand-new Mustang or something. It ain't no Ferrari, but it is more than OK.

Lembo built Lehigh and now Elon into contenders, and that is pretty tough work considering how small and not-football-crazy those colleges are.

Claiming that he can not coach has got to be a complete joke. And frankly, considering that your school's president (rightly) views athletics as a key tool for boosting prestige, money, visibility and academics (by boosting alumni donations and, even more so, freshman applications and academic admissions numbers) Lembo has to be given some credit for the gains the school itself seems to be making.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

fwiw.... no he really stinks.... no people or coaching skillsLembo built Lehigh and now Elon into contenders, and that is pretty tough work considering how small and not-football-crazy those colleges are.

Lehigh was 12-1, 10-2 and 12-1 prior to Lembo taking over. Lehigh is not "that" small and the Lehigh Valley loves its pigskin. Lehigh has always been a football/wrestling school. To say Lembo built Lehigh is completely false.

[carney2]

Another name to keep an eye on is former Davidson Head coach and current Rutgers Asst Joe Susan.

A coach named Sue?

[whoanellie]

fwiw.... no he really stinks.... no people or coaching skills

I can understand the no people skills thing. He is pretty intense and can come off as pretty gruff, but you have got to be kidding me if you think he has no coaching skills.

Talk about ungrateful. Elon's program is NOTHING without Pete Lembo. He is the first coach to do anything with that program since they became D-I, he succeeded where Al Seagraves and Paul Hamilton failed miserably. I mean, not to sound arrogant, but just who do you think you are? You're Elon. You aren't Florida or Michigan. You aren't Georgia Southern or Delaware. You don't have a D-I history that you can look back on and say, "You should do better here, after all Coach So-n-So did!" Not only does Elon have no history of success pre-Lembo but Lembo is also the first coach that can give recruits a desire to play for Elon other than whatever appeal the school itself (outside of athletics) has to a particular student.

I can totally understand being upset about the poor play at the end of the year the Lembo reign has showed but to suggest that he "has no coaching skills" might be the stupidest thing I read in awhile.
It is like getting a brand-new Mustang or something. It ain't no Ferrari, but it is more than OK.

Lembo built Lehigh and now Elon into contenders, and that is pretty tough work considering how small and not-football-crazy those colleges are.

Claiming that he can not coach has got to be a complete joke. And frankly, considering that your school's president (rightly) views athletics as a key tool for boosting prestige, money, visibility and academics (by boosting alumni donations and, even more so, freshman applications and academic admissions numbers) Lembo has to be given some credit for the gains the school itself seems to be making.

thanks a lot I just wanted to have a totally negative post totally tongue & Cheek so he would NOT be considered and then You have to bring up his resume' for the love of "Pete" and He is Elon football. 7,8,&9 win seasons over the last 3 seasons
shows a wealth of improvement and has done it developing his coaches and players. He's articulate and totally organized ...He's the smartest guy in the room without having to boast....2 minutes into a public address one can see how He was the #2 center at Georgetown behind Alonzo Mourning during his time there.
yes and he's 40 years old.

[nms1987]

Lehigh was 12-1, 10-2 and 12-1 prior to Lembo taking over. Lehigh is not "that" small and the Lehigh Valley loves its pigskin. Lehigh has always been a football/wrestling school. To say Lembo built Lehigh is completely false.

Sorry. I'm aware of Lehigh's football history. I meant to say that he built Elon and Lehigh has slipped, by their standards, somewhat since he left.

Under 5,000 undergraduates however IS small.

[nms1987]

thanks a lot I just wanted to have a totally negative post totally tongue & Cheek so he would NOT be considered and then You have to bring up his resume' for the love of "Pete" and He is Elon football. 7,8,&9 win seasons over the last 3 seasons
shows a wealth of improvement and has done it developing his coaches and players. He's articulate and totally organized ...He's the smartest guy in the room without having to boast....2 minutes into a public address one can see how He was the #2 center at Georgetown behind Alonzo Mourning during his time there.
yes and he's 40 years old.

Sorry, I didn't realize your post was meant in jest.

[ngineer]

thanks a lot I just wanted to have a totally negative post totally tongue & Cheek so he would NOT be considered and then You have to bring up his resume' for the love of "Pete" and He is Elon football. 7,8,&9 win seasons over the last 3 seasons
shows a wealth of improvement and has done it developing his coaches and players. He's articulate and totally organized ...He's the smartest guy in the room without having to boast....2 minutes into a public address one can see how He was the #2 center at Georgetown behind Alonzo Mourning during his time there.
yes and he's 40 years old.

Sorry, I didn't realize your post was meant in jest.

Helps to use those little emoticons in such situations...;)

[DJOM]

Sarcasm is a subtle art form. Wish I had some info regarding coaching search, but I don't.

[ElonPride]

He is the first coach to do anything with that program since they became D-I, he succeeded where Al Seagraves and Paul Hamilton failed miserably. .

That statement is not totally true. Elon finished 9-2 in '99 (went 3-2 against top 25 teams), and 7-4 in '00. Those were the first two full D-I years and under Seagraves.

NOW, from '01-'05, there was basically nothing! The team went something like 14-42.

[WVAPPmountaineer]

Elon wouldn't be building Lembo a brand new field house if he was leaving...

Wow - I wouldn't bet the barn on that - I hope you are right - but for Elon to continue to have any hope of success they had to do something about the fieldhouse facilities ----

It wasn't too many years ago APP State built a brand new 9000 seat coliseum and had the opening game scheduled with the North Carolina Tarheels and what do you know - Buzz Peterson, Michael Jordan's old roommate - LEFT ANYWAY!!!!

[ronpayne]

Wow - I wouldn't bet the barn on that - I hope you are right - but for Elon to continue to have any hope of success they had to do something about the fieldhouse facilities ----

It wasn't too many years ago APP State built a brand new 9000 seat coliseum and had the opening game scheduled with the North Carolina Tarheels and what do you know - Buzz Peterson, Michael Jordan's old roommate - LEFT ANYWAY!!!!

And it only took us about 8 years(?) to get him to come back :-)

[WVAPPmountaineer]

That statement is not totally true. Elon finished 9-2 in '99 (went 3-2 against top 25 teams), and 7-4 in '00. Those were the first two full D-I years and under Seagraves.

NOW, from '01-'05, there was basically nothing! The team went something like 14-42.

Seagraves was dealt a tough hand as the transition coach and no conference - tough to recruit - Hamilton was a massive failure because he played his son at QB and moved two top QB recruits to other positions - I know you are correct about Elon and D-1 but for those who might not know - Elon was a power in the NAIA D-1 in the 70s and early 80s winning back to back national championships in 80 and 81 with Jerry Tolley at the helm ----

[OL FU]

Unless Princeton pays their coaches a wad of cash, I will believe it when I see it. xnodx

[PhoenixMan]

Lembo's name will will be associated with a lot of openings. Haven't heard the Richmond association yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. If he leaves I don't think it will be to an Ivy league school. Why would he? (except maybe for a huge salary increase, which I don't think Princeton will do). Elon has gotten better each year under him, in the Top 10 for most of last year and this year, and a playoff berth in 09. He'll stick around IMO

[elon77]

Seagraves was dealt a tough hand as the transition coach and no conference - tough to recruit - Hamilton was a massive failure because he played his son at QB and moved two top QB recruits to other positions - I know you are correct about Elon and D-1 but for those who might not know - Elon was a power in the NAIA D-1 in the 70s and early 80s winning back to back national championships in 80 and 81 with Jerry Tolley at the helm ----

I believe there was a certain individual who posts on here quite often who played on those 80's teams. xthumbsupx.

[OL FU]

If he leaves I don't think it will be to an Ivy league school. Why would he? (except maybe for a huge salary increase, which I don't think Princeton will do). Elon has gotten better each year under him, in the Top 10 for most of last year and this year, and a playoff berth in 09. He'll stick around IMO

I agree. I can think of many reasons to go to an Ivy School as a student, professor, administrator, researcher, you name it. But not a football coach, at least not this switch unless they pay a pile of money.

[nms1987]

Elon was a power in the NAIA D-1 in the 70s and early 80s winning back to back national championships in 80 and 81 with Jerry Tolley at the helm ----

I'm aware. They even had an NFL first rounder back in the day, which is why I was careful to note "D-I" success. Their NAIA championships, though definitely something to take pride in, don't have much relevance to the Elon situation Lembo inherited.

[Skjellyfetti]

Lembo not going anywhere:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/college/college_football/article/URFBGAT11_20091211-125801/310951/

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Lembo not going anywhere:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/college/college_football/article/URFBGAT11_20091211-125801/310951/

The article does not indicate that he was a candidate for the job either.

[Skjellyfetti]

The article does not indicate that he was a candidate for the job either.

Didn't say it did.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Didn't say it did.

I know. I didn't say you did either.

[elon77]

I know. I didn't say you did either.

But did either of you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?xlolx

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

But did either of you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?xlolx

The LOL emoticon isn't working for me for some reason. If it were ... I would put several here... xthumbsupx

[elon77]

The LOL emoticon isn't working for me for some reason. If it were ... I would put several here... xthumbsupx

SKJELLYFETTI might have, he's probably out in freezing Montana to watch his team play while we are sitting at home.xnodx I wonder if they have Holiday Inn's in Montana?xlolxxlolxxlolx

[Skjellyfetti]

SKJELLYFETTI might have, he's probably out in freezing Montana to watch his team play

I wish. xbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingx

[whoanellie]

I wish. xbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingxxbawlingx
i saw the UM configuration of their stadium and that huge endzone seating area has to be for a wind break from the north wind. I'm sure it gets swirling effect.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

SKJELLYFETTI might have, he's probably out in freezing Montana to watch his team play while we are sitting at home.xnodx I wonder if they have Holiday Inn's in Montana?xlolxxlolxxlolx

Freezing Montana? Try the Philly metro area... Brrrrrrr.... You'll see tonight... xlolx