In Brief : Columbia Hires Rochester Coach

Ray Tellier, the coach at Rochester, today was named football coach at Columbia, which has the worst record in the country over the last 25 years.

Tellier was chosen over four other finalists to succeed Larry McElreavy, who quit after the season amid allegations of professional misconduct, which he denies.

Tellier, who becomes Columbia’s fourth coach in six years, was present for the announcement, which caused a sigh of relief because in the past the school has had other prospective coaches back out at the last moment. In 1979, Vic Gatto offered and accepted the job and a news conference was announced. At the last minute, he changed his mind and decided to stay at Tufts.

Columbia then chose Bob Naso, who won four games in five years and quit. Jim Garrett replaced Naso and was forced to resign after a tumultuous 0-10 season. McElreavy replaced Garrett and bowed out after an assistant coach accused him of showing up drunk at games.