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- Oct 21, 2011
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Where's the point of no return?
A man flirted with the idea of leaving his wife and moving on to someone who suited him better. His currently tenuous marriage wasn't the best environment for the future family and children he had dreamed of leading to happiness. Their disjointed and often tumultuous relationship created a general feeling of concern amongst their respective family members and friends. When his dear friend - an attractive woman, light brown hair and eyes, though with mostly ordinary attributes - became available, he felt immediately torn. The timing was strangely too good to be true.
He visited with her over a short period of time. His wife was aware. She wondered openly to her friends about what she'd do without him and her next steps. Her friends anxiously urged her to make her peace with what had happened. "Close the chapter and move on to possibly someone who suits you better," they urged. When her husband decided to come back home for the foreseeable future, the wife wondered about his reasons. Did her husband's old friend express disinterest? Did the husband realize he had it better at home? Did going to visit that friend fundamentally change their relationship forever?
All of that to put in life terms the current state of affairs for the Miami Hurricane program.
The mindset
When Coach Al Golden was rumored to be leaving his job as the CEO of the Miami Hurricane program, interviewed for the Penn State job and sent Hurricane fans into a whirlwind, many came out and said that the Miami coaching position and program were not as attractive as they may have once been. One particular perspective was shared that this was still a great job, great environment and had potential for greatness. The message was that a coach could come in and do well because of the talent available specifically to the Miami Hurricanes. I agreed, mostly, with a few reservations. Here was my exact perspective at that time:
One problem remains: regardless of what we're setup to do, what do the decision-makers want this program to become? Everyone can tell me how the leadership cares deeply about winning and all that, but at what point do we need to see the actions and evidence behind that?
That doesn't take some cookie-cutter moves and bringing out the FBI playbook to address the situation. I think it takes guts. It takes a deep look at what this program was built on. I don't believe it was built on incremental progress and improvement. As we've quickly learned, it wasn't supported by 8 pillars. The brand isn't about the videos, the talk and logos. This program was built on and launched by a mentality that has to permeate all levels. Aggression. Forward thinking. Whatever happens going forward, it needs to flow into that type of dynamic. You know who'll succeed in that environment? All those guys from all those neighborhoods mentioned in the original post.
The next important piece of evidence we need to see is that the Administration will not be satisfied with incremental progress. If the University of Miami remains conservative in their approach, I fear it will never again become the Miami Hurricanes most of us grew up on.
We have a problem. The above was written in preparation for the next move. The next "move" may be the status quo. I don't take back a single word I wrote above. I still believe that, in order for this program to once again reach the levels we wish to see, the fundamentals need to be adjusted. The issue is that Coach Al Golden is not moving on. He's back. His entire binder is back. His core values and 8 pillars are back. Apparently, his entire coaching staff will return. Most of all, Coach Al Golden has said his exact approach is being validated and, matter of factly, will be pushed forward.
Now, words are just that without the actions behind them. Even the most delusional know that much. Maybe even these new words, expressing a continuation of the status quo of incremental improvement, are just empty words. Maybe there will be fundamental changes. Based on actions, I tend to believe these particular words. I tend to believe that you go by what a person indicates in his or her actions until he or she show you otherwise.
What do we need to see?
A. Defense
Some want a change in the defense. Allow me to immediately state that my belief is that what we see on defense is a symptom of a potentially root issue. For some time, I have wondered and discussed about the difference between philosophy and scheme. The latter dictated by the former. My belief is, not unlike my words regarding our next coaching search, that we are too conservative. This does not mean that we need to be more complex. Maybe that's the case. Maybe not. It depends on a slew of decisions. What it means is that we consistently see our players playing a step behind.
B. Engagement
Zooming out to a broader issue, is the general approach a good fit? We have a good amount of data at this point on and off the field. Are players engaged with this approach? Winning cures all. Players will buy into something if it works for them. Sometimes, though, the actual winning depends on the players fully buying in beforehand. I can plainly tell you that some of the players are skeptical. I think rightfully so. They'll do whatever they're told, but they care about winning and looking good. As told directly, "man, let's just ball out." Ok.
The question then becomes a matter of whether players will buy into the current approach they've seen.
C. Adjustments and Flexibility
When it was about getting a new coach, I asked for someone whose core values were things like aggression and forward thinking. Now that our coach will still be Al Golden, I ask for core values to be adjusted. Will he be willing? Is he capable? During the NCAA mess, we saw him show a practical approach. We saw him bob and weave sufficiently well to get the results necessary. I think it was fair to conclude that he could apply those methods to how his guys play football. Right now, I'm not sure.
Metrics in Context
I suspect a good amount of the responses to this perspective will be that we've seen marginal improvement in certain areas. After all, that's the ring of the public comments so far. That we've been hampered by poor talent. The NCAA mess, of course. None of that answers how we measure success in context. None of that makes it ok to look and play as if we were completely unprepared for the Louisville bowl game. None of that makes it ok to have an OL unit littered with experienced future NFL players play below their talent level. I don't think most fans asked to compete for Championships this year. I believe we asked to play at or, hopefully, above our collective talent level. You don't win in the current landscape of college football unless you have decent enough talent (we don't have great talent yet) and you're trying to get ahead of your opponent. If you rely on methods and rigidity in the hopes the other team will fail, you're likely to play below your individual and collective talent level.
Please do not talk to me about explosive plays unless they are in context. Against what teams were they made? What did those teams do afterward? How does what we saw apply to future success? Listen, we can get into stats, numbers and trends, but there's a pretty good article and discussion already out on that. Find it here: http://www.canesinsight.com/threads/61448-quot-Upward-trend-quot-Latest-Vish-Sebastianpub-Analysis?highlight=vish
Marriage Counseling?
So, here we are as the University of Miami. The wife from the story above. We know how most of these things end, but we hope for the best. Is there a chance we make it through this and get to our definition of success? Sure. Is there a chance if we continue to plug along the current path with the same approach. I don't think so. We'll get more talent. We'll even collect enough talent to have a Championship level team. But, sticking to the current philosophy and approach is likely to get us into some big games where we also play against teams with great talent. Can we be one step ahead?
There's no way anyone can give us answers right now. There are mostly questions.
If Al Golden is the husband to the Miami Hurricane program's wife role, he needs to take bold steps to destroy any lingering resentment and move toward what we all want. The only success that matters to most fans is winning.
A man flirted with the idea of leaving his wife and moving on to someone who suited him better. His currently tenuous marriage wasn't the best environment for the future family and children he had dreamed of leading to happiness. Their disjointed and often tumultuous relationship created a general feeling of concern amongst their respective family members and friends. When his dear friend - an attractive woman, light brown hair and eyes, though with mostly ordinary attributes - became available, he felt immediately torn. The timing was strangely too good to be true.
He visited with her over a short period of time. His wife was aware. She wondered openly to her friends about what she'd do without him and her next steps. Her friends anxiously urged her to make her peace with what had happened. "Close the chapter and move on to possibly someone who suits you better," they urged. When her husband decided to come back home for the foreseeable future, the wife wondered about his reasons. Did her husband's old friend express disinterest? Did the husband realize he had it better at home? Did going to visit that friend fundamentally change their relationship forever?
All of that to put in life terms the current state of affairs for the Miami Hurricane program.
The mindset
When Coach Al Golden was rumored to be leaving his job as the CEO of the Miami Hurricane program, interviewed for the Penn State job and sent Hurricane fans into a whirlwind, many came out and said that the Miami coaching position and program were not as attractive as they may have once been. One particular perspective was shared that this was still a great job, great environment and had potential for greatness. The message was that a coach could come in and do well because of the talent available specifically to the Miami Hurricanes. I agreed, mostly, with a few reservations. Here was my exact perspective at that time:
One problem remains: regardless of what we're setup to do, what do the decision-makers want this program to become? Everyone can tell me how the leadership cares deeply about winning and all that, but at what point do we need to see the actions and evidence behind that?
That doesn't take some cookie-cutter moves and bringing out the FBI playbook to address the situation. I think it takes guts. It takes a deep look at what this program was built on. I don't believe it was built on incremental progress and improvement. As we've quickly learned, it wasn't supported by 8 pillars. The brand isn't about the videos, the talk and logos. This program was built on and launched by a mentality that has to permeate all levels. Aggression. Forward thinking. Whatever happens going forward, it needs to flow into that type of dynamic. You know who'll succeed in that environment? All those guys from all those neighborhoods mentioned in the original post.
The next important piece of evidence we need to see is that the Administration will not be satisfied with incremental progress. If the University of Miami remains conservative in their approach, I fear it will never again become the Miami Hurricanes most of us grew up on.
We have a problem. The above was written in preparation for the next move. The next "move" may be the status quo. I don't take back a single word I wrote above. I still believe that, in order for this program to once again reach the levels we wish to see, the fundamentals need to be adjusted. The issue is that Coach Al Golden is not moving on. He's back. His entire binder is back. His core values and 8 pillars are back. Apparently, his entire coaching staff will return. Most of all, Coach Al Golden has said his exact approach is being validated and, matter of factly, will be pushed forward.
Now, words are just that without the actions behind them. Even the most delusional know that much. Maybe even these new words, expressing a continuation of the status quo of incremental improvement, are just empty words. Maybe there will be fundamental changes. Based on actions, I tend to believe these particular words. I tend to believe that you go by what a person indicates in his or her actions until he or she show you otherwise.
What do we need to see?
A. Defense
Some want a change in the defense. Allow me to immediately state that my belief is that what we see on defense is a symptom of a potentially root issue. For some time, I have wondered and discussed about the difference between philosophy and scheme. The latter dictated by the former. My belief is, not unlike my words regarding our next coaching search, that we are too conservative. This does not mean that we need to be more complex. Maybe that's the case. Maybe not. It depends on a slew of decisions. What it means is that we consistently see our players playing a step behind.
B. Engagement
Zooming out to a broader issue, is the general approach a good fit? We have a good amount of data at this point on and off the field. Are players engaged with this approach? Winning cures all. Players will buy into something if it works for them. Sometimes, though, the actual winning depends on the players fully buying in beforehand. I can plainly tell you that some of the players are skeptical. I think rightfully so. They'll do whatever they're told, but they care about winning and looking good. As told directly, "man, let's just ball out." Ok.
The question then becomes a matter of whether players will buy into the current approach they've seen.
C. Adjustments and Flexibility
When it was about getting a new coach, I asked for someone whose core values were things like aggression and forward thinking. Now that our coach will still be Al Golden, I ask for core values to be adjusted. Will he be willing? Is he capable? During the NCAA mess, we saw him show a practical approach. We saw him bob and weave sufficiently well to get the results necessary. I think it was fair to conclude that he could apply those methods to how his guys play football. Right now, I'm not sure.
Metrics in Context
I suspect a good amount of the responses to this perspective will be that we've seen marginal improvement in certain areas. After all, that's the ring of the public comments so far. That we've been hampered by poor talent. The NCAA mess, of course. None of that answers how we measure success in context. None of that makes it ok to look and play as if we were completely unprepared for the Louisville bowl game. None of that makes it ok to have an OL unit littered with experienced future NFL players play below their talent level. I don't think most fans asked to compete for Championships this year. I believe we asked to play at or, hopefully, above our collective talent level. You don't win in the current landscape of college football unless you have decent enough talent (we don't have great talent yet) and you're trying to get ahead of your opponent. If you rely on methods and rigidity in the hopes the other team will fail, you're likely to play below your individual and collective talent level.
Please do not talk to me about explosive plays unless they are in context. Against what teams were they made? What did those teams do afterward? How does what we saw apply to future success? Listen, we can get into stats, numbers and trends, but there's a pretty good article and discussion already out on that. Find it here: http://www.canesinsight.com/threads/61448-quot-Upward-trend-quot-Latest-Vish-Sebastianpub-Analysis?highlight=vish
Marriage Counseling?
So, here we are as the University of Miami. The wife from the story above. We know how most of these things end, but we hope for the best. Is there a chance we make it through this and get to our definition of success? Sure. Is there a chance if we continue to plug along the current path with the same approach. I don't think so. We'll get more talent. We'll even collect enough talent to have a Championship level team. But, sticking to the current philosophy and approach is likely to get us into some big games where we also play against teams with great talent. Can we be one step ahead?
There's no way anyone can give us answers right now. There are mostly questions.
If Al Golden is the husband to the Miami Hurricane program's wife role, he needs to take bold steps to destroy any lingering resentment and move toward what we all want. The only success that matters to most fans is winning.
