Quick disclaimer; lest anyone read that headline and get the impression that Al Golden and his staff can get away with anything less than a stellar performance—that is far from the implication here.
Coming off a decade of sub-par Miami Hurricanes football, one needs to set the record straight and immediately diffuse what could be a misconstrued statement in situations like these.
Without that, it all but guarantees a flooded inbox by the overzealous folks who never get past the headline before the long-winded rants and social media abuse goes into overdrive.
The following sentiments have been a half-baked idea since watching “The U: Reloaded” by former running back Najeh Davenport upon its release last year.
Notes were jotted down, quotes transcribed and both hovered in the “drafts” folder—the genesis of an article that simply didn’t make sense to complete amidst a four-game losing streak to close out last season.
While Miami is yet to take the field since closing out 2014 in disappointing fashion, some winds of change appear to be blowing both attitude- and maturity-wise. The current crop seems to be inching closer towards that breaking point where the late-nineties Canes wound up; that place where a losing culture was no longer acceptable and something needed to give.
Whether that’s how this upcoming season plays out, time will tell—but everything coming out of Greentree seems to imply that this crew is finally done with all the bullshit.
WINDS OF CHANGE BLOWING FOR CANES
The lack of chemistry, self absorbed, me-first players, guys who simply didn’t get it—those seasons of disaster seems to be passing like a South Florida thunderstorm. Sunlight is finally peeking through the clouds and this Miami program appears to be on the brink of a turnaround, of sorts.
Whether that fully happens this season; Golden playing his part in the process, while the players show the maturity they lacked in the wake of last year’s disappointing fade against Florida State, or the coaching staff blowing enough key moments resulting in their demise—the Hurricanes finally seem close, for the first time in forever.
A recent re-watching of Davenport’s “The Drive For Five” truly is must-see TV as a new season approaches. While there certainly is a disparity in the type of player that existed a decade-and-a-half back; whatever this era’s version of that energy is—these current Canes seem to have that same aura.
One big-time missing ingredient; a hip hop era and authentic attitude that simply can’t be replicated.
Tupac Shakur preached that, me-against-the-world mentality while Miami’s own Trick Daddy dropped “Can’t F**k With The South” a few albums after filming his video for “Shut Up” on the hallowed grounds of the Orange Bowl—complete with an Edgerrin James cameo soon after the first rounder signed with Indianapolis.
That vibe and energy was similar to what the Decade of Dominance-era Canes were bringing when Uncle Luke and the 2 Live Crew were interwoven into the program’s soul.
It’s what fueled a throwback player like an Al Blades—that era’s mouth piece, who had the secret recipe in his DNA by way of two legendary older brothers who passed down the legendary stories by way of oral tradition.
No disrespect to this current crop of Canes; but you’re not going to get that same middle-fingers-to-the-sky angst from the likes of Drake, Wiz Khalifa or Kendrick Lamar.
While the venom and authenticity of that era is long gone—it doesn’t prevent today’s Canes from accepting the responsibility that it’s on them to make the ultimate difference.
COACHING HALF THE BATTLE; PLAYERS MUST RISE UP
Miami faithful love to wax poetic about former head coach Butch Davis—quick to ignore the banners that flew on Saturday, the knocks on game day coaching and a general disdain for a man that for understandable reasons needed five years to start turning things around.
This is the point of the article where the keyboard jockeys are cracking their knuckles and settling in for the long-haul regarding a rant about what Davis walked into and how much worse it was than Golden’s plight, et al.
Not the point here, so let’s get past all that and continue on.
More impressive that Davis’ ability to reel and coach-up top-flight talent; getting leaders and the right kind of kids that put the onus of the rebuild on their shoulders, guiding Miami back to greatness.
Even if the narrative and ingredients were different; fact remains that both Davis and Golden were handcuffed their first few years at UM and unable to bring in their first- and second-choice players—oft settling for third and fourth choices, making for a lot more misses than hits.
Golden has certainly has his setbacks over the past four seasons; sporting an identical 28-22 record as his predecessor Randy Shannon—who never had a 51st game at Miami; canned immediately after the regular season finale in 2010.
Both Davis and Golden came in with my-way-or-the-highway attitudes, cleaning house and working to establish a new culture—albeit in completely different styles.
Still, even the most anti-Golden detractor has to like what the moxie and energy they’re seeing out of this current crop of Canes—a group of seniors that arrived in 2012 and the class that officially started righting the ship.
Some are headed to the NFL—Duke Johnson and Ereck Flowers—while others like safety Deon Bush, cornerback Tracy Howard, linebacker Raphael Kirby and defensive end Tyriq McCord all look like foundation-type players primed to go out with a bang, leaving the program in good hands for the solid classes that came behind them.
GHOSTS FROM THE U’S PAST DROPPING KNOWLEDGE
Listening to tales of Hurricane folklore from Davenport’s behind-the-curtain documentary—it certainly speaks to players of that era, less than a decade removed from Miami’s unthinkable run in the eighties; wanting to recapture the glory of the players they grew up watching.
“It was a class that gelled naturally. Al (Blades) having that background and culture from his brothers Bennie and Brian … and being able to pass the word along on how they ran things and how they did things—that’s what we wanted,” explained future first round defense end Damione Lewis.
“We wanted to be the UM of the 80’s—the one that everybody either feared or loved.”
For this current crop of Canes, the early 2000-era teams are the ones they grew up watching; this year’s senior class barely in grade school with Miami took home it’s last title. It was all business in 2001—albeit as dominating as any UM team in the program’s history.
While the motivation and degree-of-swag might not be the same between generations—the common denominator; the light-switch moment where a group of Hurricanes decides that losing is no longer acceptable and something has to be done.
Back in the day the turning point was that rock-bottom 1997 season.
“It’s what started the storm—that 5-6 season,” former linebacker Rod Mack explained in Reloaded.
“Each group of guys is gonna be the guys that really turned this thing around,” explained receiving legend Santana Moss, regarding a four-game losing streak in 1997, culminating in a 47-0 loss to Florida State.
“I think from that week on you could just see us play different. Even though we weren’t winning a lot of games, you could see the unity—you could see the bond.”
Miami finished the season 5-6, but went 4-2 down the stretch after the 1-4 start. Ugly and painful as it all was, the tide was turning.
A week after that loss in Tallahassee, the Canes survived a double overtime showdown at Boston College—a game where a battered and bruised Miami squad literally willed itself to victory.
“It goes all the way back to 47-0 at Florida State. It took us there, I think. Some of us who were through that game, we were like, ‘Enough is enough. Enough is enough,'” stated a still-frustrated Ed Reed in “The Drive For Five”.
NEW SCHOOLERS TAPPING INTO VINTAGE MIAMI VIBE
As stated before, the angst in 2015 might not be the same as 1998—but this generation is saying and doing things their own way and aims to be equally as effective.
“We don’t listen to it,” receiver Braxton Berrios recently told AP writer Tim Reynolds weeks back in regards to the outsiders and critics. “We’re not worried about that … we’re not. We’re going to be good. We know we’re going to be good and that’s really all that matters to us. We can’t stop them from saying anything, we can’t sway their opinion. We don’t care.”
Kirby and quarterback Brad Kaaya—Miami’s leaders and representatives at the recent ACC Kickoff—used their platform to focus on team unity and to share tales of poor chemistry that plagued the program as recently as last season.
Kaaya went off regarding a lack-of-unity this spring that resulted in team punishment and an eventual breaking point.
“The last straw is when the whole team got out there,” Kaaya explained on ACC media day.
“We said, ‘We’ve had enough. When is it going to stop? We can’t keep having this happen.’ That morning we came together, right before spring break. Ever since, it’s been different. It has been cut down tremendously. This summer, we had no major issues. Coach Golden is not having any nonsense anymore. It’s all about business. Team leaders holding guys accountable.
“We didn’t want to focus on all the distractions holding Miami back. This team is clean.”
Kirby didn’t elaborate as much as his offensive counterpart, but chimed in regarding teammates who weren’t all-in regarding recent spring and summer drills, that resulted in team leaders being given the authority to lay down some punishment
“They know who they are, and they know why they were picked last,” the senior linebacker told the Miami Herald weeks back. “I’ve seen drastic changes in those guys since then.”
While many will write this off as lip-service—so did folks in the late nineties when those battered and bruised Canes were yet to prove themselves. It’s only in hindsight that teams from that era are now revered.
How many were truly on Davis’ side and trusting his process in 1998 after that 66-13 shellacking at Syracuse or the following season when Miami ran it late against second-ranked Penn State, didn’t convert and gave up an 80-yard touchdown a play later en route to a loss?
What about that embarrassing loss to East Carolina a week later or 33-point loss at Virginia Tech later in the season?
In hindsight, Miami was certainly on the right track—but it was oft a case of one step forward, two steps back. Hell, many were still anti-Davis year six after an early-season loss at Washington, despite the Canes rebounding, going 11-1 and knocking off Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Davis and his Canes’ late nineties progress was only truly realized over the coming years after a 46-4 run ensued; four straight BCS appearances, back-to-back title games and a national championship in the books. In the moment; not so much.
All of that next-level success provided that eureka moment regarding the steps forward the two seasons before; as well as NFL Draft success—turning former whipping post Davis into a revered hero and eventual legend.
Pissed off, focused, determined Miami players help mask Davis’ flaws and were the key ingredient that paved the way to an incredible run.
Fifteen years later, it’s going to take similar effort and the same type of results for the Canes to write a similar script for maligned Golden—keeping their current coach in charge and his process in tact.