I'm still a fan of Golden. He took this job with no knowledge of the NCAA and led us through it like a champ, he recruits like a monster, and he can formulate a coherent sentence. Golden has proven he can handle the big picture, the program image, and from the sounds of it, he wants to be here for a long time. This would be a huge boon for a Miami program that can't seem to ever have any coaching continuity.
On the other side, I think his game day coaching is suspect, but that could be fixed with competent, experienced coordinators. D'Onofrio does not fit that bill. Maybe his defense is too complicated, maybe the players aren't talented enough, but either way, whatever he's doing is not working. It is his responsibility to put the pieces he has in positions where they can make plays. If he has a bunch of square pegs, he can't continue to jam them into round holes. Coley may not be a great play caller (RB screens, anyone?), but he's a fantastic recruiter, he's young, it's his first year with these guys, and this is his first year calling plays. He'll grow.
I do think the one thing Golden is missing is that killer instinct. This is my one major issue with him. The punt on fourth and one. Every fan knew that was an awful decision. Aside from being plain dumb (we hadn't stopped Duke all day), it lacked guts. We should've taken the game from them just like we should've taken the Coastal from VT. The inability to put away "easy" games. We take our starters out of a game in the third quarter and give up three touchdowns to win by 10. That's bull****. He says it all the time -- the game is 60 minutes long -- you play until the clock stops ticking. He doesn't kill. He maims and waits for death by blood loss.
For a Miami program that was built on a **** the world mentality this is a problem. I don't know if he'll ever develop a killer instinct, but if he can, I think he'd be very dangerous. If he can't, we will be 10 wins every year without never winning a NC. Consistently above average, but not up to Miami standards. You need that mentality because in the big game the guy on the other sideline has it.
Long story short, I'm good with Golden right now, but I'm done with this defense.