Golden Gets Raw On Rose Show

Miami head coach Al Golden is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore.

Well, not really, but if you caught him on the Joe Rose show this past Monday, you again heard Golden, somewhat unfiltered and unafraid to ‘go there’ regarding his vision for the Hurricane program, as well as airing his frustrations regarding the old culture at UM that helped cause a 41-36 run over the past six seasons.

The interview runs almost twenty minutes, so for those unwilling to make the time to listen, some notes on what Coach Golden had to say about the current State of Miami:

– In regards to back surgery keeping Stephen Morris out of spring ball, elevating transfer Ryan Williams into the role of starter, Golden feels fortunate that Miami picked up the former Memphis quarterback, as well as the fact that both Preston Dewey and Gray Crow are early enrollees and on board for spring ball at the quarterback position.

A year ago Miami was faced with only Morris being on the roster (not saying much for the old staff and their recruiting efforts), but now has three guys ready to learn the system and compete with Morris down and out.

– Golden says that Williams is leaner and quicker entering this season than he was a year ago. He also stated that while running with the scout team and learning the system helped, the fact that Williams is a bright kid and played a lot of football year one at Memphis, it’s helped with the learning curve in his transition under center at Miami.

– Golden admits that the 2012 team is very young in age, but even with that, in looking at film, he’s seeing guys doing what they’re being trained to do, which Golden feels is the definition of a team.

– While Miami is starting out at a different point year two, than year one of the Golden regime, the second-year head coach feels that the overall team strength, condition and understanding of what coaches want these kids to do conceptually, is all better than a year ago.

– Regarding the recent suspension of Seantrel Henderson and others, Golden let’s fans know that as much as supporters of this program are rolling their eyes, the coaches are even more frustrated. Since taking over and getting ready to kick off season one, Golden and his assistants have dealt with NCAA-imposed suspensions, distractions and inconsistencies, which all impede process and eventually result in lost football games.

Golden made it clear that he’s personally tired of this behavior. He’s talked to the suspended players and wants to work through this and past it, but was quick to state that there’s something wrong with the culture, when there’s such a correlation between the number of UM players at the NFL combine (eight) and number of wins last year (six).

“We better learn how to be a more disciplined – and better – team,” said Golden, who challenged himself and the other coaches, to get the culture problem fixed.

– Regarding Henderson and his God-given talent, size, intangibles and ability, Rose asked if the over-sized offensive lineman truly gets “it”, or if a guy like that is looking for shortcuts.

Golden was diplomatic, making it less about Henderson and more about the standard athlete, stating that, “In God’s infinite wisdom, He doesn’t give everybody, everything.”

Golden went on to explain that if a kid like Henderson could build up the aspect of his game that wasn’t handed to him – the work ethic, attitude and things in his control –

He compared Henderson’s gift of size, speed, agility and flexibility, to that of a smaller guy who is all heart, finishes every play, studies football and gets the job done, yet won’t reach the NFL simply because of a lack-of-size.

“All he [Henderson] has to do is make better decisions, have a better attitude, and develop his football intelligence to the point where now he’ll have an incredible resume moving forward,” said Golden.

Golden drove home that he and his staff are up to the challenge as they love developing student athletes, but that he cannot stand distractions and bad decisions, which are bigger than Henderson and are truly a part of a much bigger cultural dynamic that he and staff are working to correct at Miami.

– Rose brought up the number of UM players at the combine, in relation to the underachieving and lack of success on the field. Despite a sub-par record, Miami players are always invited to the combine in large numbers.

Golden responded, driving home the point that he’s at “The U” to get things fixed and that it’s on him and his staff to build a “team”. While that should always be the case, it simply hasn’t been so.

All the underclassmen who declared early, Golden sees them as a microcosm of a bigger fundamental issue. He needs to get the team’s overall goal on the same level with all those who support this program; winning championships first, before running off to make that NFL money. He says is starts with recruiting the right kind of player – the team-first type who it championship-minded and less self-focused.

“There is no reason why winning championships, on the road to the NFL, can’t go together. There’s no reason. It’s been done here for years,” said Golden, before referring to a picture on the wall of his office, featuring Andre Johnson and Ed Reed, holding up the crystal championship trophy.

Golden went on to talk about guys like Reed, who came back for a senior season – a fifth-year, after redshirting as a true freshman – with the team goal of bringing home a title. Golden again drove home that Miami must get back to those ways to be successful.

– Regarding the spring depth chart, Rose asked about guys like safety Vaughn Telemaque and cornerback Brandon McGee not being listed as first teamers, despite experience.

Golden stated that both have responded well and have come to work with a desire to earn starting roles. When asked if Golden was trying to send a message, he made it clear that the message is clear — this is a 6-6 team made up of players that played like members of a 6-6 team, as well as a coaching staff that coached like a 6-6 team. The blame was spread universally and the message remains; that .500 ball is not good enough at UM.

– Golden explained that the guys higher up on the depth chart all earned their positions, so if either Telemaque or McGee were out-worked in the off-season, they’re where they are entering spring ball as a result of their own efforts.

Golden highlighted that by stating that Ray-Ray Armstrong is currently listed as a first-teamer, because of the work he put in and, “despite of what he put us [UM] through in the fall.” Armstrong missed the first four games of 2011 due to past dealings with Nevin Shapiro and was suspended an additional game – Florida State, no less – due to dinner with the owner of a sports PR firm.

The implication – that if Golden were playing favorites or if kids weren’t truly earning their rank, Miami coaches would have great reason to keep Armstrong in the doghouse. Instead, Armstrong gave up his winter break to work out, has become a leader in the process, and is showing the coaching staff how bad he wants it.

– Regarding the early enrolles and how quickly they’re picking things up, Golden again praised quarterbacks Dewey and Crow for arriving in time for spring ball, as their efforts are needed. Golden also praised offensive lineman Ereck Flowers for hitting the ground running. Same with cornerbacks Ladarius Gunter and Larry Hope, as well as defensive lineman Dwayne Hoilett and linebackers Josh Witt and Raphael Kirby.

Golden drove home the point that it’s hard to go through an off-season program without being around for summertime and a full season, like kids who don’t enroll early, but drove home that these newbie will be better for it in the long run.

– Golden praised strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey and his staff for doing an “awesome” job getting these kids stronger, faster, better and well-conditioned, though there’s still work to be done. He also stated that top to bottom, administration-wise, that everyone is on board with the process.

– Golden explained that a team is considered “weak” if only eleven guys are benching 225 pounds twenty reps, which was the case at UM when he took over. Entering spring football, that number has gone from eleven to over thirty guys (with a half dozen more on the verge of breaking that number).

Golden states that strength and conditioning-wise, things are improving. He cites diet as a big part of it, as well as the actual training itself. He states that there are a lot of moving pieces and people involved with the process, but the end result is guys getting stronger, which is imperative to on-the-field success this fall.

– Golden explained the process of spring ball and Miami taking every day that the NCAA allows. Instead of practicing four or five times a week, Golden has kids going Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, for the sake of academics as well as not wanting to beat kids up physically. He also said it’s not just about maintaining strength, but gaining strength, and rest / recovery is a big part of that. You don’t want to over-push kids four or five days a week for a month.

In terms of the team goals, Golden wants to (1) improve fundamentals, (2) build a foundation as a smart, tough and consistent football team and (3) to have fun. Golden also stated that it’s hard to have fun when you’re constantly “weeding your garden” – an analogy he gave days back regarding recent suspensions. It’s about growing and building a team of like-minded guys who want to work hard and get the job done.

– Regarding the combine, Golden paid attention to the eight Miami kids in Indianapolis and he reiterated that he wants all UM kids to do well. Same with the kids he coached at Temple who are competing, as he knows that too is a reflection on “The U” with him on board now.

Golden makes it clear that Miami and the brand of “The U” needs these kids to do well. Nothing good comes from seeing this crop of kids who declared early, fail.

– UM will have a pro day this Thursday, with the eight kids from the combine, as well as others who didn’t get an invite.

– In the final moments of the piece, Golden takes some shots at the system which has caused kids to leave early and in Miami’s case, leaving before even being graded out by the NFL advisory board.

Golden takes issue with the agents who promote this type of behavior, right down to ‘selling’ kids on where they’ll go in the draft and not looking out for their best interest. Rose points out that kids are more focused on running a fast 40, as opposed to creating a solid body of work on the field during their three to four years playing college ball. Golden agree and again, pointed the finger of blame at the agents who are selling kids on that falsehood.

Golden explained that the combine is just one piece of the puzzle, equating it to the same way college coaches evaluate high school kids. Coaches and scouts at the next level are trying to put the puzzle together, calling Miami coaches, according to Golden, regarding kids who are letting the combine do the talking for them — kids with a lesser body of work.

Golden mentioned kids who were injured or only had minimal starting time, which sounds like the case with a Marcus Forston, Oliver Vernon or even a Tommy Streeter. Kids without the resume of production or resume of performance.

“Teams don’t like to accrue risk. They like to mitigate risk,” said Golden. “They like to look at prospects – if they’re going to spend money, they want to make good, educated decisions. Again, ultimately it’s going to come down to performance. How well you play on the field and all of those things.”

“I think the combine is a piece of it, certainly, but I think that everybody you talk to in the business would say that performance, production, durability – all of those things trump the combine workout.”

– Golden wrapped with a shout-out for all the fans who came out to support the program this past weekend regarding football, baseball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.

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