Al Golden’s time as Miami’s head coach is running short.
Even though Miami athletic director Blake James said last week that he would wait until the end of the season before evaluating whether Golden should remain the Hurricanes’ coach, Saturday’s 58-0 blowout loss to Clemson might force him to evaluate a little earlier.It was the worst loss in school history, but Blake isn't wavering on his earlier message.
 | @davehydesports | |
Miami AD Blake James tells me no coaching change coming after game. Called it , "disappointing," but, "We'll go and get ready to play Duke."
| ||
"My heart goes out to Miami, because I've been on the other side of that, too," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the game. "They're a much better team than they played today."
The team also might have lost starting quarterback Brad Kaaya, who suffered a head injury in the second quarter and did not return.
Miami was outmatched from the opening snap. It gave up 42 points in the first half, the most the Hurricanes have given up in the first 30 minutes since allowing 45 points in a 66-13 loss to Syracuse during quarterback Donovan McNabb’s last home game in 1998.
Clemson felt so in control that Swinney decided to do his halftime speech on the field.
“Got beat from top to bottom,” Golden said. “They outplayed us, they outcoaches us, and I just told the team that’s completely my responsibility for not getting them ready to play.”
Fans have been calling for Golden’s ouster for the past couple years. Airlplane banners with the hashtag “#FireAlGolden” have been flying over the home and away stadiums where Miami is playing.
Early in the season, it looked like Golden was going to prove his naysayers wrong with a 3-0 start, which included a win against Nebraska. However, losses to Cincinnati and Florida State increased the disenchantment and Saturday’s loss will only fuel a smoldering fire.
Several former Miami players took to Twitter to voice their frustrations, including 1994 All-American tackle Warren Sapp and offensive lineman Leon Searcy, who was part of three national championship teams in 1987, '89 and '91.
“It’s a very passionate fan base and so when they’re not happy, they’re going to make me aware of that, and no one’s happy after a loss,” James said last week. “That starts in our locker room. Al’s not happy with a loss. Our team isn’t happy with a loss. Our leaders aren’t happy with a loss.
“A lot of people in the fan base want to continue to see this team get better. People want to see us win every week and those are the Hurricane fans. I guess I struggle to hear people say they’re Hurricane fans and don’t want to see us win. To me, that doesn’t sound like a fan, but there’s definitely a passionate group that wants to see us do well.”
Golden is 32-24 midway through his fifth season at Miami, and in those five seasons most of the Hurricanes’ win have come against lesser competition. Golden’s Hurricanes are 0-5 against rival Florida State and they have struggled against other ranked foes.
However, it must be noted that Golden did have to deal with some self-imposed sanctions, a sordid NCAA case looming over the program. Through that, however, Miami has been able to secure some high-level recruiting classes and last year's team had seven players taken in the 2015 NFL draft.
But those good recruiting classes might ultimately doom Golden’s tenure because the question always will be — especially after Saturday’s embarrassment — how could a team with so much talent have so few positive results?
And then there’s the issue of money. While Miami fans would like to see a new coach on the sidelines, the school doesn’t have the money to attract one of the bigger names and so the chances of a quick turnaround after parting ways with Golden might be unrealistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment