Turncoat Personnel Leave for Bulldogs

Harvard football looked golden two months ago. It had just won the program’s 14th Ivy title in dominant fashion—the heavyweight champ taking on a field of lightweights. It had steamrolled to an easy 45-7 win at the Yale Bowl, embarrassing the Bulldogs en route to its 10th win in 11 Games.

But then, slowly, things started to unravel.

Much of this was expected. Stars like quarterback Collier Winters hit the road. Defensive tackle Josue Ortiz said sayonara.

That’s all natural; it is the inexorable march and the immutable ebb and flow of college sports. A good thing won’t—can’t—last forever.

But what happened next, no one expected.

Yale coach Tom Williams resigned amid allegations that he lied on his resume, and to fill the open position, the Bulldogs tapped Harvard coach Tony Reno.

So far Reno has churned out All-Ivy stars at a remarkable pace, produced some of the nation’s stingiest secondaries, and won the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2002.

No one could blame Reno for his decision. It’s not everyday that you’re offered the chance to run a major football program.

In his press conference, Reno expressed his deep admiration for Harvard coach Tim Murphy and his program.

“He prepares [his team] to be great players on and off the field,” Reno said. “Those are pieces I’m going to bring here to make Yale successful.”

Turns out, those weren’t the only pieces Reno took with him to New Haven.

The newly-hired coach lured away three other Harvard assistant coaches: Kris Barber, Joe Conlin, and Dwayne Wilmot. In a matter of two weeks, four of the nine assistant coaches have traded the Crimson for the Bulldogs, bringing with them Murphy’s whole bag of tricks.

Et tu, Brute?

Generally, when coaches leave, they sugarcoat it. They’ll say they’re looking forward to working with this coach or excited about that opportunity.

But those common courtesies vanished this time around. Seemingly no one pretended otherwise—this one was about better cash and better titles. Sold to the highest bidder. Part Sotheby’s, part Iago.

Even the generally understated Murphy was blunt about it.

“The bottom line is that Yale made them very lucrative offers financially along with titles,” he wrote in an email.

It was just that simple.

And better still, these coaches—Reno included—find themselves in a win-win situation. If Yale suddenly leapfrogs to the top of the Ivy League standings, then they’re all geniuses, cut from the same cloth as legendary Yale coach Carm Cozza. If not, well, they haven’t had the time to grow their own talent, or they lost Pat Witt, or they’re still just learning. Or something like that.

But in luring away almost half of the Crimson coaching staff, Yale and Reno made an explicit decision. Clearly, the Bulldogs couldn’t crack the Murphy enigma. The 18-year Crimson coach has beaten Yale like a drum. And the Bulldogs have tried everything from new coaches to fake punts. Nothing has helped Yale’s cause. So how do you knock down the champ?

Blindside him.  Do something he would never expect. There’s no ref to call this one, so go on, hit him below the belt! Maybe that will send him reeling.

And then go for the knockout blow.

Did Yale’s uppercut finally hit? Could Reno and the Bulldogs—along with the graduation of the Harvard’s talented senior class—have TKOed Murphy and the Crimson, ending the Golden Age of modern-era Harvard football?

Don’t count on it.

Under the winningest coach in Crimson history, with different players and assistant coaches cycling through at a rapid clip, Harvard just keeps on winning.

With Murphy still at the helm and a host of current and future stars returning, don’t expect things to change in 2012. It’ll take more than a few cheap shots to steal away that championship belt.

—Staff writer Robert S. Samuels can be reached at robertsamuels@college.harvard.edu.