It’s Tom Gilmore’s Gig

Tom Gilmore, the Mountain Hawks’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2000-03, has been named the program’s 29th head coach. The decision was not an easy one, according to Lehigh Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett ’76, noting at Gilmore’s introductory press conference that there were likely qualified applicants beyond the 15 or 16 candidates interviewed.

Sterrett said Lehigh was looking for an individual who could preserve the tradition within the program and teach fundamentals and principles not only in football, but also about life and education.

“We absolutely wanted somebody who would be a person of integrity, who was an educator at the core,” Sterrett said. “Great passion for the job … and the responsibility that goes with it.”

In selecting Gilmore, Lehigh hands the reins to a coach who has already enjoyed success with the program. Lehigh has recorded four Division I FCS playoff wins in the past 20 years, and two of those came during Gilmore’s previous stint with the program.

He takes over head coaching duties from Andy Coen, who stepped down from the program in December. Despite Coen’s three coaching stints at Lehigh, he never overlapped with Gilmore, leaving Lehigh for the second time in 1999 before returning as head coach in 2006.

Gilmore began his coaching career as an assistant defensive line coach for the University of Pennsylvania, his first of two coaching jobs at the school. He also coached at Columbia and Dartmouth before starting at Lehigh in 2000. After Gilmore left Lehigh in 2003, he spent the next 14 seasons as head coach of Patriot League foe Holy Cross before moving to Wake Forest in 2018 as an outside linebackers coach.

But no matter where Gilmore went, or how long he was away, he said Lehigh was always a special place for him. Not only was Gilmore part of a number of successful teams while he was on the Mountain Hawks’ staff 15 years ago, he became a father just before he left and also met his wife while he was recruiting a quarterback from South Jersey for Lehigh.

“I just think it’s a perfect fit for me as a football coach,” Gilmore said. “I really value an elite academic institution like this that can make a difference in a young man’s life. But at the same time, we’re going to be competing for championships year in and year out. That’s what we did when I was here and I truly believe that’s what we can do in the future.”

As one can imagine, Gilmore has grown between the time he left in 2003 and now. He said he learned about running a program at Holy Cross and was able to see things from a different perspective while at Wake Forest, where he was able to work with former Lehigh head coach Kevin Higgins and former Lehigh offensive coordinator Dave Clawson.

While others have influenced Gil-more’s coaching style and philosophy, the 54-year-old has a clear idea of the characteristics he wants his teams to have.

“The product you want to see and I want to see on the field is a team that plays hard from the first whistle to the last—a well-prepared team,” Gilmore says. “Some of that comes with the X’s and O’s part of it. You have to be innovative, and I pride myself on that.”