Harvard is a place where tradition is found just about anywhere you look, including its head coaches. Just look at Tim Murphy, the recently retired skipper of the football program. He had been leading the Crimson on the football field since 1994 and had become an institution throughout New England and college football.
But on Thursday, the chance for a new tradition to start got underway as Harvard officially introduced Andrew Aurich as the school's next head football coach.
Aurich, who was announced as the new head coach earlier this week, comes to Harvard from Rutgers, where he was most recently the tight ends coach for the Scarlet Knights. Although this will be his first time being a head coach, he's coached at the high school, college and NFL level. And he's no stranger to the Ivy League, having played at Princeton as an offensive lineman and coached there for two stints.
He told reporters that he wanted to be a head coach in the Ivy League.
"And I didn't know how it was gonna come about," he said. "And I thought often about how being at Harvard would be an unbelievable opportunity because to me this is the top of the totem pole when it comes to Ivy League athletics and I would want to be at a place like this."
Erin McDermott, Harvard's athletic director, said multiple Harvard football alums, including Andrew Berry, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns and former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, were involved in advising the coaching search.
“They’re all incredibly busy people and I was very grateful that they accepted even just being part of it — and then their engagement was really impressive,” she said. “It shows ... how much they care about this program. And I really, I felt like that gave me all the more confidence, as we went through, just with their support and their engagement in the process.”
Aurich, who stressed the focus he’ll place on culture and supporting his players, has a tough act to follow: Murphy, who retired last month, finished his career as the all-time winningest football coach for both Harvard and the Ivy League. He told reporters that he’s already had some time to speak with his predecessor.
“Very, very, wise. Gave me some great advice already that I was like, ‘I didn’t think about that, I’m definitely gonna use that to not miss some spots — where, maybe, I can get out in front of it ’cause I already know it ’cause he already kind of filled me in on it,’” he said.
He said his biggest challenge, as a first-time head coach, is not knowing what he won’t know. But he’s keeping the high standards for the Crimson that were set by those that came before him.
“I mean, we’ve got to be competing for a championship — and the guys who are leaving our program got to be ready to go and get out in the real world and be successful,” he said.
