Fundamental issues

[bshaw28]

What's crazy is his late recruiting additions, which I assume are all based off of tape, have turned up some pretty talented players - Eddie Johnson, Rashawn Scott, Figueroa

But in person his evaluations have been off. No idea what he's keying in on while they're camping, but it appears to be the wrong thing.

 

[sfcane2]

Great post. Especially about the culture.

Makes me think Texas should pick Gundu since he aligns with the Texas HS culture.

 

[ramcanes]

Golden has been at Penn State, UVA, Temple. None of those programs get the kind of athletes that Miami is used to having. So it is not apart of his coaching makeup to be able to coach these kinds of players. He can't just reinvent himself and become something he is not.

When you've been coaching "Rudy" type athletes your entire life with that conservative style of coaching and you come to Miami and you have elite, explosive athletes that need to be let loose you are going to be a fish out of water.

Golden might leave for Penn State and have a lot of success there and it wouldn't surprise me. Because he fits Penn State much better than he fits Miami.

He is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole here.

JJ wasn't use to our type of athletes either. He took the job to get those sort of athletes so he could crush the Sooners. JJ adapted very quickly and put them even better use than Howard. If Al can't edit his friggin book is the next month then he needs to start using it like the old timers used the Sears mail order catalog -- nail it to the inside of the outhouse door!!!!!!!

Good points. The key is adaptation from Golden. He's trying to have players adapt to him, because that's Golden's comfort zone.
This is very similar what happened with Michigan and Rich Rodriquez. Rodriquez showed no flexibility to adapt to Michigan's core of local area players way of playing football,Big 10 style. . Golden has come to a fork in the road Will he take the JJ road or the Rich Rodriquez road. We shall see

 

[hoover437]

I have not given up on Golden yet. He inherited a mess and has learned on the job to a degree, but all in all he has guided the program through an extremely tough time. He has built a foundation and this years recruiting class is going to get us moving in the right direction again. I'm in the "he deserves 5 years" camp.

Agree with most of this, we need to see more next year before we start talking 5 years.

 

[Dandycane]

I have not given up on Golden yet. He inherited a mess and has learned on the job to a degree, but all in all he has guided the program through an extremely tough time. He has built a foundation and this years recruiting class is going to get us moving in the right direction again. I'm in the "he deserves 5 years" camp.

Agree with most of this, we need to see more next year before we start talking 5 years.

the 2010 and 11 recruiting classes were devestating with the 11 class being a body grab.....then the NCAA dropped. soon after the 2011 class. it simply adds up to the mess we're seeing right now. i dont think golden has any intention of simplifying or changing his vision....he will wait for the talent to work its way into the system.

 

[bleader]

Seems to me that Northeastern mindset, on offense at least, was scoring every two minutes or so at times, early in the year--at least that's what the TV guys were saying--when Morris was flinging it as far as he could downfield to Dorsett, Coley or Waters --sometimes out of a three wide stack formation-and Duke was also available.

 

[DMoney]

Seems to me that Northeastern mindset, on offense at least, was scoring every two minutes or so at times, early in the year--at least that's what the TV guys were saying--when Morris was flinging it as far as he could downfield to Dorsett, Coley or Waters --sometimes out of a three wide stack formation-and Duke was also available.

The offense was mostly Shannom recruits. Morris, the OL, Hurns, Walford, even Duke. Golden has done a very good job recruiting wide receivers, though.

 

[lauderdaleballer]

5 years given the circumstances. 2015

What was Urban Meyers excuse for going undefeated his first season at Ohio State?

LOL at trying to compare situations.
Meyer took over Tressels program and recruits.
Golden took over radio's and a NCAA mess

What did Charlie Strong take over?

Let's see strong with no bridgewater. Lol

I believe he led them to a bowl victory his first year... The guy coaches well and develops talent... I believe UL has improved each year under his watch...

 

[LuCane]

Good insight and summary of our state of affairs.

I don't know if it's because he's from the Northeast. Chip Kelly was born and raised in the Northeast and got his legitimate growth there. It's more likely about who Coach Golden admires and emulates. That shows you what he values. And, as we discussed during halftime of yesterday's miserable experience, what he values trickles into everything he does, how he does it and its outcome.

Everyone here knows where I stand with my concerns, so no use in re-hashing them over and over. We have talent issues. We have coaching issues. We have "buy in" issues that I've noted (8 Pillars, players' perspectives, etc.) over the course of the season. When push comes to shove, I look very hard at the professionals who seemingly have their young players a "step behind."

I do believe Golden (and everyone on his staff) will be back next year and the foreseeable future. So, same conclusion as 5-6 weeks ago: adjust or crumble.

 

[lauderdaleballer]

I have not given up on Golden yet. He inherited a mess and has learned on the job to a degree, but all in all he has guided the program through an extremely tough time. He has built a foundation and this years recruiting class is going to get us moving in the right direction again. I'm in the "he deserves 5 years" camp.

Agree with most of this, we need to see more next year before we start talking 5 years.

the 2010 and 11 recruiting classes were devestating with the 11 class being a body grab.....then the NCAA dropped. soon after the 2011 class. it simply adds up to the mess we're seeing right now. i dont think golden has any intention of simplifying or changing his vision....he will wait for the talent to work its way into the system.

2010 wasn't that bad... #3 passer in school history, stellar oline(underdeveloped), single season record holder at wr, consistent te... If it wasn't for 2010 we would have lost all of our games combine with the defense...

 

[DutchieFlair]

Golden's not as smart as people think he is. IMHO Shannon and Coker set such a low bar that anything even remotely better were hailed as superior when in reality its a merely incremental difference and should in all fairness be minimum requirements for a coach at a program such as Miami. I expect similar failure to execute to be the hallmark of this program for the foreseeable future so long as Al Golden stalks the sideline.

 

[Biscuits]

What really shook my faith was seeing the infamous Eight Pillars actually listed out:

Choices
Attitudes
Partnerships
Gratitude
Team ME
Passion
Preparation
Empowerment

That's some convoluted, watered-down HR ****. Little in there that connects and inspires 18-22 year old males. Every time I heard about them before I actually saw them, I thought, "Oh cool. The dude has a plan and will work it." Then I saw that tripe. I get you need principals. But that's an extremely lame list of themes to live by.

If I were to build a football team, and it had to be eight ******* themes, instead of like four, they would be something like:

Aggression
Discipline
Passion
Effort

Nah, **** that. Four is enough.

 

[terdferguson]

"In my opinion, there is one issue that trumps them all: Coach Golden has not adapted his Northeastern mentality to a South Florida program. He is a New Jersey guy who coached at Penn State, Boston College, Virginia and Temple. His professional idols are Bill Parcells, Al Groh and Tom Coughlin. He is as pure of a Northeast guy as it gets."

This is a good point. I read this and I say, you know what? I don't blame Golden. I blame the people who hired him. He is who he is and it's the job of the people doing the hiring to bring in the guy that's the right fit for our program.

 

[CANE1775]

The first thing the guy needs to do is learn how to dress. I mean Jesus Christ. Those suits he wears look like they came from Woolworth.

 

[FullyERicht]

Seems to me that Northeastern mindset, on offense at least, was scoring every two minutes or so at times, early in the year--at least that's what the TV guys were saying--when Morris was flinging it as far as he could downfield to Dorsett, Coley or Waters --sometimes out of a three wide stack formation-and Duke was also available.

The offense was mostly Shannom recruits. Morris, the OL, Hurns, Walford, even Duke. Golden has done a very good job recruiting wide receivers, though.

And they are the worst most disappointing part of the team. Stephen Morris is a terrible QB that was slightly above average as an air raid QB against **** defenses.

The worst realization for me is that Goldens players, like randy's, don't improve/develop

 

[BosCane]

I agree with just about all of D's post.

And, unfortunately, although I think Golden may learn and adapt eventually, I do not believe it will happen here.

He had a rather hollow victory with his success at Temple. It'll take repeated failure (here, most likely) to get this guy to change his approach, mindset, and philosophies. He's young enough, and smart enough, to do it. He just hasn't failed enough (YET) to undergo such a process.


PS - An additional point to D's post - Golden has incredibly low expectations that don't match those we've grown accustomed to down here.
You can see that he is actually ecstatic when we beat a GT or UNC. He truly believes those are tough competitors and every win should be cherished.
That is NOT the Miami way. We expect success. We take it for granted, even. There should be no locker room parties for simply doing your job - beating a team that you expect to beat 10 out of 10 times. Golden doesn't share this mentality, and it is starting to show. He's the equivalent of a parent that celebrates when his kid gets a B- on an exam. Its SOFT.

 

[Jonnyblaze]

Meh. Whatever the reasons are its beyond tiresome. Going to try my best to make life easier for myself next season and have zero expectations for this team and just see what happens.

 

[Ibis Wingz]

Great post OP.

It makes me think... Are there any elite college coaches from the Northeast?

Many people would consider Brian Kelly an elite coach.

Chip Kelly was also from the NE, but he's no longer a college coach.

 

[casualcane]

I dunno if Golden is smart

 

[bozcane]

As it relates to Golden's focus on what's important i'll offer this concern -

Stephen Morris had a peculiar sounding quote in the Herald follow-up article today. During a post-game interview he made this seemingly insignificant aside that struck me as odd, regarding what's next in his life:

"I think it will probably hit me tomorrow when I wake up and won't have a schedule from coach Golden and won't have a text saying where I need to be. It's been a pleasure here, man. It's been a true blessing. I'm blessed to say that all these coaches have truly left such a great mark on my life. It's changed me to a better man. I'm proud to say. Football is a game of wins and losses. Unfortunately we didn't win how we wanted to win. Sometimes we lost the way we loss. I'm always going to be proud to say I'm a Cane.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umia...lks-championship-timetable.html#storylink=cpy

So is Golden such a control freak that he not only writes 300 page binders on core values, but he also regulates detailed, every day schedules for players? For all of them like this? When Morris leaves here whom will he look to to tell him what to do each day, now that his dependence on Golden must be transferred?

Maybe I misinterpreted what he said, but IMO this only weakens a player's mental capacity to think on his own, be proactive in shaping his own to-do's en route to being accountable every day. I would think it affect his self confidence on the field too.

(BTW, for those touting him as an alternative I'm told Schiano is a major nitpicking control freak in his own right, which was part of his undoing at Tampa, right down to detailing the brand and size of the bus that would transport player's luggage to the game in order to save 20 minutes getting to the plane for away games).