Message To UM; Invest In Golden Now

The Miami Hurricanes are set to play the Duke Blue Devils this Saturday at 3:00pm ET, but the real story remains off the field as contract talk and the future of Al Golden has been front and center all week.

Golden’s agent Brett Senior had some words for CBSSports.com and Dennis Dodd a few days back, though has since stated that some things were taken out of context. Per Dodd, Senior said or implied the following:

– There is some form of ‘escape’ clause in place should UM get hit with sanctions that severely damage the program and its immediate future. Penalties “that would cripple a program for five years” would be tough for his client to ride out.

– Nothing formal or direct has supposedly occurred between Senior and Golden on the contract front as the coach is focused on the current season.

– UM has acknowledged that something has to be done contractually to lock down Coach Golden and initial overtures came from the program, not the coach or agent.

– Senior stated that Golden was “teed off” regarding the news of the scandal as he came to UM with “great aspirations”, wanting to coach football and lead young men. Senior stated that is a distraction Golden shouldn’t have had to deal with and should’ve been made aware of.

Golden reportedly has a current five-year, ten million dollar deal in place with UM, but based the hornet’s nest he walked into, Miami is going to have to go on offense here, making things right financially – even if it’s eight games into Golden’s tenure and the Canes are 4-4.

When you read Senior’s comments, you realize you’re dealing with an agent who’s playing the game, so you have to take some of it with a grain of salt. That said, it’s Golden and Senior who are holding all the cards and Miami needs to realize that, before attempting to play hardball.

UM has had its share of bad contracts. Ferne Labati and Perry Clark come to mind on the basketball front while the powers that be extended a contract for Larry Coker before the 2005 season kicked off. Coker was 44-6 after four years and went 16-9 over the next two seasons before his eventual firing.

Donna Shalala and first-year athletic director Shawn Eichorst cannot let the ghosts of bad contracts have any impact on a renewal that can mold and shape the future of Miami football. UM has gambled and lost in the past, but right now the stakes are higher than ever and should Miami lose Golden, then what?

Honestly, who is going to take over this program in the near future? Miami has been irrelevant for the better part of the last decade and whether sanctions come down or not, the Hurricanes are a few solid recruiting classes away from being a player again and without the right guy at the helm, top classes are far from guaranteed.

Beyond that, kids have to be coached up and Miami hasn’t had a staff that truly pushed and produced top-flight players since Butch Davis left town after the 2000 season.

When looking back at those 2003 and 2004 NFL Drafts, the majority of that talent was recruited by Davis and staff – guys like Andre Johnson, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow II, Vince Wilfork, Jon Vilma, DJ Williams, Willis McGahee – who played under Coker, then-defensive coordinator Shannon and offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, but were truly the type of top-notch prospects that Davis recruited and landed.

Golden seems to be in that Davis mold. He also looks to have some Jimmy Johnson and Howard Schnellenberger in him. This is a head coach on the fast track to good things and losing Golden would be crippling for a program at a serious crossroads.

Think back to the end of the Coker era and the lack of prominent coaches who threw their hat in the ring for the gig. Greg Schiano didn’t even want to leave Rutgers for Miami as he was coming off a good season and seemed to no longer have that “up and comer” title attached to his name.

Things haven’t been as smooth for the Scarlet Knights since, but after 2006, Schiano appeared to be a hot commodity that – in his mind – didn’t agree the risk was worth the reward, turning down UM so he and his family could stay put in the northeast.

Golden blew into Miami’s backyard last December, a right time- and right place-type scenario. A year sooner or later, maybe not, but then and there, Golden and Miami were a perfect fit. He’d proven his worth at Temple and time was ripe for a big move. Golden chose Coral Gables, pre-Nevingate, feeling the risk was worth the reward.

Win at UM and you write your ticket anywhere, which is the biggest reason I still struggle to by the Golden-to-Penn-State talk.

If Golden wanted to coach his alma mater, he’d still be at Temple biding his time. He didn’t need to come south to Miami to take on a rebuilding project to pad his resume stats just to land the Penn State gig. Golden knows he can get much better talent to stay home in South Florida, as opposed to cherry-picking and trying to bring guys north.

Again, win at Miami and you can go anywhere – namely the NFL – which one would think is where Golden wants to end up. Especially with mentors like Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.

Golden sees an opportunity at UM, barring sanctions don’t wipe out the next half decade. Because of that, Miami will get something out of every dollar they invest in the up-and-comer as Golden needs a successful stint at UM on his resume to keep climbing the ladder.

Golden is invested in UM for the time being. Time for UM to repay the favor, making amends for an unexpected scandal while investing in the perfect ‘right now’ option. – C.B.

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