40 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST and it starting with us,” Jamiel said. “That, for me, along with every other player on the team, was a turning point.” “There was a different response after that, and it was good to see,” Cahill said. Not even a year removed from their second straight 2-9 season, the Mountain Hawks didn’t lose again until Dec. 7 in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Not only did they win five straight to finish the regular season and clinch their first Patriot League title since 2017, they went on the road to beat Richmond in the first round for their first playoff win since 2011. It was the furthest a Lehigh team has gone in the playoffs since the 1977 national championship team. But just as important as results on the field was the progress Cahill made in the culture he’s building for the program—“the Lehigh Way,” as he calls it. And having a player-led program is only part of it. Culture Change Shortly after Cahill was first hired at Lehigh in December 2022, the former Yale associate head coach and offensive coordinator began talking about a culture change and “the Lehigh Way.” He wanted to build a program that developed students both on and off the field, and taught them to learn how to win FOOTBALL A Championship Culture In just two seasons, head coach Kevin Cahill has changed the culture of Lehigh football, and it’s already paying dividends on and off the field. It was three days after what was arguably the worst loss of Lehigh football’s season—a lopsided 38-23 defeat at the hands of Yale on Oct. 19. “It was like we were sleepwalking,” head coach Kevin Cahill said. Players were finishing up their first fully padded practice since the loss in New Haven, Conn., and the team owned a 3-3 record, losing their only league game played. Defensive back Jordan Adderley approached quarterback Dante Perri and wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel. He pitched the idea of a player-only meeting. For nearly 45 minutes after the coaches officially ended practice, the players remained. Adderley and Perri addressed the squad first, refocusing thoughts from going home for Thanksgiving to the work that remained with five games—all Patriot League matchups— remaining on the regular season schedule. Jamiel wrapped up the meeting with an emotional plea for everyone to do their job regardless of if they were getting the ball every play or had a spot on the scout team. The meeting was exactly what Lehigh needed. It was also a direct result of one of Cahill’s objectives since he arrived at Lehigh: creating a player-led program where the athletes hold each other accountable. “That was the epitome of the program—being player-led Kevin Cahill HANNAH ALLY
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