I see I'm not alone-- my reply to the Hurricane Club's solicitation:
To whom it may concern:
We do not want, nor do we need “pep talks” from “Ray Ray” about what it takes to be a champion. You see, we lived it at the University of Miami. (note that’s in the past tense.) We understand what it takes, because we were a part of it, well before we became the “U”—which is now an embarrassing symbol of mediocrity. There is a serious undercurrent of discontent amongst alumni, and fans at present; this will turn into apathy in short order. It’s already in motion.
When the administration and athletic department pull their collective heads out of the sand, by confronting coach Golden, and forcing him to fire his hand-picked Defensive Coordinator (who also allegedly is his best pal, and Godfather to one of his children) then I, and many like myself, may reconsider donating once again.
It is apparent our Head Coach is in complete denial regarding the performance of his Defense scheme, and the abilities of Mark D’Onofrio, the man charged with teaching, and executing it. Our Defense has ranked at the bottom of the ACC in almost every category, and among the worst in all of Division I football teams nationally—two years running.
Rather than confront this issue with forthrightly, Al Golden assumed the persona of “Baghdad Bob” while cherry-picking statistics to support his case when appearing on the Joe Rose Show, and later, during the press conference at the Hecht. In doing so, he insulted the fans and alumni by positing that the Defense was “trending” up. You may recall this canard? It didn’t take but a few hours of research and simple analysis to debunk “rah-rah Al’s” claims that “ALL IS WELL.” Mind you, this occurred in the midst of his flirtation with his alma mater, Penn State, and following three days of radio silence, which also featured the “de-commitment” of our #1 defensive recruit.
Did you see our Bowl Game versus Louisville? We were ill-prepared, played with little emotion, or intensity— and after nearly six weeks of so-called practice and preparation. Al Golden and staff were completely outcoached in every phase of the game—as they were in several other contests, some we won despite their incompetence.
So please, rather than appeal to a restive and disgruntled alumni base, who’s withstood more than a decade of mediocrity, and an embarrassingly poor product on the field-- Ask Ray Lewis if he’ll cover my dues for the coming year. Granted he’s retired, and now living on a “fixed income,” but I trust you’ll have better luck appealing to him than a large portion of current/former Hurricane Club members—who have seen more than enough, and who’ve had enough.
By refusing to replace our Defensive Coordinator, among other coaches, Al Golden, the administration, and the powers that be are guilty of dereliction. Al Golden is suffering from a crisis of confidence amongst a large portion of the fan base. Our once proud football program is at a precipice; teetering dangerously close to irrelevance.
