Lehigh Football Nation

Picture this. You're Lehigh head coach Andy Coen .  Your offensive coordinator, Dave Cecchini , tells you he's taking over at another Division I program, Valparaiso. Dave is not just any old coordinator - Cecchini identifies as a critical part of Lehigh's offensive success over the last few years.  Mentor of WR Ryan Spadola, WR Lee Kurfis, QB Chris Lum, QB Brandon Bialkowski, QB Mike Colvin .  Filling those shoes will not be easy. What you do is give a call to some guys that you know, to find names, like the 35 year old head football coach at Kutztown, Drew Folmar . Folmar and Coen both served as coaches at the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point ten years apart, Coen as offensive coordinator in 1992, and Folmar as quarterbacks and receivers coach in 2002.  Andy put in a call to the folks there. "The people at King's Point spoke volumes about him," Andy told me, "and then as he took over the offense at Kutztown I certainly noticed his ...

It's never easy on a coaching staff when you lose a great assistant coach or coordinator. And when Dave Kotulski announced that he was going to be headed to Stanford, head coach Andy Coen announced that he would be searching for new candidates "immediately". Fortunately for all Lehigh fans, the best possible solution was reached in terms of replacing Kotulski - involving promotion of two existing coaches to co-defensive coordinators - and the return of a familiar face.

It's always bittersweet to hear about a key part of the coaching staff leaving for a different job. But when the new job involves a move to a BCS-level program, it does take away a little bit of the sting. Coaching veteran Dave Kotulski , who was Lehigh's linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, will be taking a position as the inside linebackers coach at Stanford.

In Lehigh football news this week, we see some news on the coaching front - and a couple of updates on the incoming class that have been sitting in my inbox for a while. (more)

Coach Coen announced today some coaching changes that to me seemed very significant for the upcoming season. First was the promotion of defensive line coach Donnie Roberts to assistant head coach , a move that to me seems like a fantastic move. Originally part of the Lehigh coaching "dream team" in the 1990s, his second stint with Lehigh has featured developing a defensive line that seems to be perennially loaded with all-American talent like NT Eric Rakus, DT Royce Morgan, DE Kyle Adams, and this year's all-American candidate in senior DL Brian Jackson . (Not to mention former NFL veteran DE Rich Owens and another one of Lehigh's best in DE Nick Martucci, who were under his tutalage in the early 1990s.) Roberts couldn't be a better choice for assistant head coach and I'm looking forward to see what his impact will be on the entire team defense going forward. Other staff additions would not be complete with mentioning the two coaches which are off the sta...