Like Vultures Circling Their Prey…

The critics and armchair quarterbacks really put their money where their mouths were this week. A certain Canes fan site had it’s members pitch in $1,400 in an effort to voice their collective opinion regarding head coach Larry Coker and Athletic Director, Paul Dee.

One sign read, “Enough Is Enough. Dee & Scapecoker – Pack Your Stuff”. The other simply stated, “Fire Dee & Coker. Go Canes” while promoting their website.

We’re a few hours from kickoff and you have to wonder what effect this will have on both teams, coaching staffs and the fans. Does the team really block this kind of stuff out – or do the glance at the sky for a second and contemplate where they really stand on the matter?

Sitting at 1-2 and not having taken the field since getting embarrassed at Louisville, 31-7 one would hope that the Canes are solely focused on beating Houston.

Word is that Javarris James will be the primary back today. I wonder if that translate to a balanced rushing attack or another event like The Devin Hester Experiment, where coaches force fed Hester the ball the entire Peach Bowl. It was an act of pure desperation. Will James we used wisely or will the staff force feed him a la Tyrone Moss at Florida State in 2005. Moss was toast by the second half, overworked and cramping up.

Back to the banner.

When I heard about it earlier this week, it sparked different emotions. One side of me loved the idea. Freedom of speech. People making their voice heard nationally instead of in some late night message board rant which six other people read. This wasn’t meant to be some historical movement. No one expected Coker’s head on a platter Monday morning. It was just a collective group of fans who wanted to shout a little bit louder than the rest of the angry mob.

The other side of me truly felt bad for Coker.

He knows he’s at 1-2 and isn’t getting the job done. He feels the pressure daily – sometimes by the hour sometimes by the minute. Hell, the media stands up for Coker because they seen the abuse a Miami coach endures when things start to unravel. The most anti-Coker guy out there – even HE has to feel bad for LC right now.

Flying those banners right now? Pointless in the long-run. Somewhat classless in the short-run. Larry Coker doesn’t deserve to have his nose rubbed in it. He won a title and had a nice three year honeymoon at The U.

Am I saying keep him in board in 2007? At this point – no. It’s time for change but nothing is happening until next season, at best. Starting with, Coker has ten Saturdays to save his job. Nine regular season games and I included the ACC title game, because without getting to Jacksonville he’s done at Miami.

For his sake, I hope he turns it around and I hope that 180 happens today. Will it? We’ll see. Worry about moving the chains, playing defense and scoring some second half points. The wins will come and I personally would like to see Coker go out with some dignity.

I don’t give Miami a shot in hell regarding winning the ACC and I give them a 25% shot of even getting to Jacksonville. Winning at Georgia Tech and hosting Virginia Tech back-to-back weeks seems absolutely brutal considering the struggles against Florida State and Louisville.

These next few weeks pit the Canes against four consecutive cupcakes. It has to be the easiest four-game stretch Miami has seen this decade. Starting today the Canes have 12 quarters of football to work out all their kinks before the REAL season starts.

For now let’s see how Houston unfolds… I’ll say Hurricanes 26, Cougars 13.

.:Canes305:.

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