NEW YORK -- Jim Garrett, director of research and development for the Cleveland Browns and a professional football coach the past 14 years, Thursday was named Columbia's 14th head football coach.
Garrett, 54, takes over a program that has won only five of its last 63 games and has had one winning season since 1963.
He takes over from Bob Naso, who was forced to resign Nov. 19 after five years and a 4-43-2 record.
Garrett has been an assistant coach with the Browns for the past seven seasons. Before that he was an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints, where he served as defensive coordinator from 1976-78, the Dallas Cowboys on three occasions and for the New York Giants from 1970-73.
He was head coach of the Houston Texans of the World Football League from April 1974 to the team's collapse that October.
'We are pleased and excited that Jim has joined our staff,' said Al Paul, Columbia's director of athletics. 'His tremendous enthusiasm, optimism and energy will certainly be infectious for the Columbia football program.'
Garrett graduated from Utah State in 1952 and played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants and British Columbia and Ottawa of the Canadian Football League. He also signed a baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. After retirement he became an assistant coach at Coast Guard and then Lehigh before being appointed athletic director and coach at Susquehanna in 1960.
Garrett has eight children, one of whom is a wide receiver for Columbia and another who is a freshman quarterback at Princeton.
