Is former Lehigh coach Lembo headed to Purdue?

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Evidently, a lot of people think it's a good possibility. Pete Lembo, who was the head coach at Lehigh from 2001-2005, is coming off a terrific second season at Ball State. His Cardinals were 9-3 this season and he's 15-9 in two seasons after the program went 6-19 under former coach Stan Parrish. Lembo was evidently asked about the Purdue opening after his team's win over Miami of Ohio last week and according to the Associated Press, his answer was laughter. “This is how I respond to that,” Lembo said as he was laughing when asked about his name being mentioned. I guess I should say that it’s flattering that that’s the case, but I’ve been doing this way too long, and I’m very thankful to be here. I’ve enjoyed this much, much more than I thought I would be sitting here at the end of the second regular season. So that is the furthest thing from anybody’s thought process right now." And then there was this praise from Tom Davis of the News-Sentinel. He wrote: "How good has Lembo been in guiding the Ball State program – on and off of the field? Ask anyone that is close to the Cardinals and they’ll tell you he is better at running the entire operation than former coach (and current Michigan coach) Brady Hoke ever dreamt of being, and Hoke was really good. That’s not a knock on Hoke, Lembo is just that great. This guy is as cerebral as any football coach in the country. The Georgetown graduate studies every minute detail of the program, and immerses himself into it to ensure that its future, not just the here and now, is solidified. Lembo has spread sheets showing where he’ll have gaps on his roster in 2016 and what he’ll need to do now to rectify those holes." There was plenty more praise in that piece. Looking back, many Lehigh fans weren't happy with Lembo despite him going 44-14 and making two playoff appearances in five years. Even though he won his first 11 games as coach in 2001, and went on to win the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, he received little credit because many said he won games with Kevin Higgins' players. I thought that was unfair. The biggest knock on Lembo at the time was that he wasn't the charismatic Higgins, who had done wonders to revitalize the Lehigh program. Lembo also made the mistake of losing three times in five years to Lafayette after Lehigh had won seven straight in the series. The home loss to the Leopards in 2005 -- the first time since 1989 Lehigh lost to Lafayette at Goodman -- knocked the team out of the playoffs. And, I think Pete, being only 31 at the time he was hired, would admit he was still learning and growing as a coach at that point. He didn't handle a few situations well, like that criticizing question from a longtime alum and program donor at the weekly press luncheon. Pete bristled with a response I am sure he regretted the second it came out of his mouth. It got written about -- not by me -- and he paid a price in PR for it. Soon after this PR snafu, Lehigh changed its policy and no longer had the press and alums together at the weekly press functions. In my five years on the beat with Pete, I felt we had a good relationship and rapport. I never had an issue with him. I didn't cover Lehigh when Higgins was there, so I wasn't making comparisons to how the previous coach operated. With Lembo, you could see someone who was very bright, and very goal-oriented. The one flaw in that era, again, was probably that he didn't handle criticism very well, and because the expectations were so high, he got his share. Trust me, I know it can be hard and sometimes it takes a long time for you to learn to brush it off your back and realize you're not going to please everybody whether you're a sports writer or a college football coach. Perhaps that was the case with Lembo, and my guess is that he handles it much better now than he did at Lehigh. But despite popular opinion that he was run out by Lehigh, that wasn't the case. Lembo, as has been proven since, is a guy who is always looking for the next challenge, the next opportunity and the chance to build something. He was inheriting, not building, at Lehigh. It was only a matter of time before he was off to another challenge and he needed to get to a scholarship program where he could show off his recruiting skills. He knew there were limitations at Lehigh. While he may not have been the most popular guy on campus, he was not kicked to the curb by Lehigh. After leaving Bethlehem, Lembo went 35-22 in five seasons with a previously non-relevant Elon program and now his success at Ball State is generating a lot of attention. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.