Just when you think that the Leopards finally got their act together by learning how to hire a coach - and replicating it by using much the same tactic for a women's basketball hire - things just continue to crumble. Paul Reinhard, retired sports editor and Lafayette football guru for the Allentown Morning Call, reports in his blog that new head football coach John Garrett has suffered four defections (Reinhard's term) from his staff, plus the Equipment Services Director. Reinhard also reports that Garrett's "football operations budget" has been handed a "major cut" by the administration.

I've been following Pard sports for many, many decades and this seems to hint at more of the same. Every step forward is followed by a seemingly endless series of retreats. The trend line has been consistently pointing downhill since the 1950s. Periods of success are inevitably followed by catastrophic failure, frequently aided and abetted by the College administration. Is this program headed for Division 3? Well, not in the foreseeable future, but I defy anyone to name a more likely candidate. (For you Lehigh types who read this with a smile on your face, I point out that without that Saturday before Thanksgiving football game on your schedule, you become just another eastern college with not a heluva lot going for it athletically. One day a year Lafayette and Lehigh pull each other out of the depths of mediocrity and on to a national stage.) The faculty, Board of Trustees and administration would not shed a tear if it happened. Here's hoping that none of this comes to pass in my lifetime.