FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 41 Wide receiver Mason Humphrey catches a 23-yard pass midair to score a touchdown during Lehigh’s 38-14 victory over rival Lafayette on November 23, 2024, at Goodman Stadium. and build relationships within the program. One of the first things Cahill did to build those relationships was eat meals with the team. Over two years later, it’s something he still does. “He’s always around us,” Jamiel said. “His sons, his daughter are at practice. It just means more to us.” The senior said it’s not just Cahill either, it’s the entire coaching staff. And because of those relationships, he doesn’t want to let his coaches down. “It’s just something small like having a meal, playing a round of golf or just coming in the office to hang out,” Jamiel said. Those relationships also proved to be part of the turning point for this season. Before the player-led, mid-season meeting, Cahill addressed relationships moments after their third loss of the season in Yale’s visiting locker room. From player to player, player to coach and coach to coach, Cahill felt the team got away from those solid relationships in that game. He reminded the squad that the fun begins once they’re player-led. Cahill was right—the fun began just days later. “The Lehigh Way” also includes learning life skills. Last season, that included a focus on nutrition, where players learned how to cook for themselves. To tie in learning how to win, everything the team did became a competition. Cooking was no different as the team held a chili cookoff in the spring. “There was some really bad chili, but there was some good chili too,” Cahill said with a laugh. Jamiel, who joined the football team before Cahill’s arrival, said the culture change isn’t just starting to show up in wins, losses and championships. Players have noticed the difference on a daily basis. “Guys want to be there,” Jamiel said. “Guys want to be around each other. … Whereas in the past, when I first got here, it felt like at times there were a lot of people who didn’t really want to put the work in and didn’t really want to win football games. … Now we have a bunch of guys who really care and enjoy the process, enjoy the summer workouts and the things that 99% of people would dread.” What’s Next? After just his second year on South Mountain, and guiding the team from two wins to a Patriot League championship, Cahill garnered numerous awards. He was named Patriot League Coach of the Year and took home ECAC Coach of the Year honors. He was also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the FCS Coach of the Year. But he was quick to share the praise. “That just means I did a great job of hiring a really good staff,” Cahill said. “That’s all it is. If you have a good staff around you, and you have the right players, and you have the right culture, people are rewarded for that.” Cahill says despite some thinking they’re ahead of schedule because they won a championship, he believes the program is progressing as planned. And that there is still work to do. “We’ve implemented a lot of people on campus for recruiting, which has been helpful,” Cahill said. “We’ve implemented bioengineering to help us with reading data, so that’s been helpful. But there are other areas that we still have to grow in and be truly developmental. The strides are good, but we’ve got to do it consistently now and make it even better.” While Lehigh will return many of their starters for the 2025 season, the path to back-to-back Patriot League championships won’t get any easier. In addition to the typical Patriot League foes, their first-round playoff opponent, Richmond, is joining the league, and they visit Bethlehem to open the season. A championship is a start, but it’s only the beginning, according to Cahill. He said the reason he came to Lehigh was to sustain success with the program again. “What I tell the team all the time is ‘What got us here won’t get us to where we want to go,’” Cahill said. “We have to focus on what we do and do it much, much better. That’s the key to sustained success, which is the hardest success. You can win a championship every now and again just based on talent, but if you want to sustain success, it’s much deeper than just talent. That’s the journey we’re going on right now.”—Stephen Gross Lehigh upset Richmond 20-16 in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on November 30, 2024. HANNAH ALLY
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