Al Golden was named the twenty-second coach of the University of Miami football program on Sunday December 12th, 2010.
Time will tell what to make of the hire, but after a roller coaster two-week search, any fan who can take a step back will see that the Canes might’ve just landed a very good one when it’s all said and done.
Is this the ‘sexy’ hire and big name most were expecting as Kirby Hocutt delivered his State of The U address the morning after Randy Shannon was fired? In a word, no. Especially when the first name on Miami’s wish list was Jon Gruden.
If a Gruden politely declined, the surely Plan B had to be a high-flying, big time collegiate guy. Chris Petersen, Jim Harbaugh, Gary Patterson or some other BCS-bound, face of a successful program, no?
Not this off-season, at least.
Look no further than Gainesville for further proof that big name college coaches were choosing to stay put, for now. The University of Florida has one of the largest athletic budgets in the game, top-notch facilities two national championships in the latter half of the past decade and a talent-filled roster. It’s arguably one of the top jobs in the college game and when athletic director Jeremy Foley came calling days after Urban Meyer stepped down, few listened.
Instead, the Gators went after Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp – an up and comer, but an unproven entity as the 39-year old has zero head coaching experience to date.
Not only did Petersen, Harbaugh and Patterson show zero interest; Florida couldn’t even lure back two of their own. Former defensive coordinator and current Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is staying put in Norman, while Meyer protege Dan Mullen will continue building the Mississippi State program he took over a few years back.
When news of Meyer’s retirement hit, Miami faithful immediately panicked, feeling that Florida’s search would complicate the Canes’ process. Instead, a blessing in disguise as the UF hire confirmed that big name coaches with very good jobs weren’t necessarily going to make the leap to what might even be deemed a great one.
Hard as it is to swallow, take it for what it’s worth; if Florida couldn’t get Petersen out of Boise or Harbaugh out of Stanford, Miami wasn’t getting either to Coral Gables.
Trace it back to the ‘Decade of Dominance’ era, right up through today. Miami is a place where big time coaches are made. No one has ever come to ‘The U’ with an overly impressive resume, but if you can endure all this city throws at you and you leave Coral Gables a winner, you can write your ticket anywhere – and that being the case, it takes a special and different type of personality and character to sign up for the gig.
Howard Schnellenberger fell from the Bear Bryant coaching tree, but was a perennial NFL assistant when heading to Coral Gables in 1979 and five years later had built the Canes into a national champion. Prior to that, his only head coaching experience was a one-year stint in the early 1970s where he led the Baltimore Colts to a 4-10 record.
Jimmy Johnson is still revered to this day, but before replacing Schnellenberger he was a Big 8 guy that couldn’t get his Oklahoma State squad over the hump, going 29-25-3 over five seasons, often smacked around by conference powerhouses.
Dennis Erickson trekked east from Washington State, where he went 12-10-1 in two years. Before heading to Pullman, Erickson went 6-6 at Wyoming, coming off a four-year run at Idaho, where his head coaching career kicked off.
With probation looming, Butch Davis took over a proud, yet about to fall Miami program – a job few wanted at the time. Davis spent the majority of his career shadowing JJ, winning ring as UM’s defensive coordinator in 1987 and two Super Bowls holding down the same title with the Dallas Cowboys a few years later.
Still, zero head coaching experience for Davis when re-arriving in the Gables fifteen years ago and like both Johnson and Erickson, wasn’t the first choice, sexy choice or big name fans were clamoring for.
Every coach Miami landed in its hey day was on the rise, but hadn’t reached their potential yet. Will the same be said for Golden when it’s all said and done?
Forty-one years old, a proven track record – albeit at a lesser program – and a hunger and passion this program hasn’t seen since Davis stepped on campus fifteen years ago. Life-wise, Golden is at that point where he’s primed to go next level. He cut his teeth at Temple and is primed for the next great career-defining challenge.
Many had Golden penciled in for the Penn State job when Joe Paterno finally stepped down. In the past he’s also taken his name out of the running when there were vacancies at both UCLA and Cincinnati, which are pluses.
This isn’t a guy that was just looking to make little moves here or there. This is someone who’s been biding his time, waiting to make that next-level leap and as mentioned in this blog before, timing again is everything.
Golden and ‘The U’ simply happened to cross paths at the right place and right time. It’s serendipitous and in time could go down at a defining moment for a program struggling to put recent failures in the rear view.
The new Miami leader has a lot to prove and absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt with this oft quick to judge, hard to please fan base. He spent five years at Temple creating something out of nothing, taking over a program that was a disastrous 3-31 over three seasons prior to his arrival.
Golden’s squad went 1-11 his inaugural season (2006) but improved to 4-8 and 5-7 the next two years. By year four, a 9-3 regular season and bowl berth – which by Miami standards is meaningless, but for a program that hadn’t gone bowling in three decades and had only seen two post-seasons in their history, it was a monumental feat.
An 8-4 campaign in 2010 didn’t yield a bowl berth, but the Owls scored wins over Div-I FCS Semifinalist Villanova, Fiesta Bowl-bound Big East champs Connecticut and gave Penn State a run for it’s money in Happy Valley, leading at the half.
Again, moral victories don’t count in South Florida, but when talking about a void of talent Temple squad and where the program was before Golden’s arrival, you’re talking about a real-life underdog and success story.
For those Canes not quite over the moon with the hire, maybe you’ll be sold when you read what others are saying about Miami’s new guy.
CBS recruiting analyst Tom Lemming praised the hire saying, “The pressure was enormous for [Kirby Hocutt] to come up with a good guy … Miami needed a good recruiter and could have really suffered, but they hit a home run. Al Golden, he’s as good as Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown and Jim Tressel, who I consider the top five recruiters in the country. He just never had the platform like he will at Miami.”
ESPN recruiting guru Tom Luginbill calls Golden a “safe and strong pick” and went on to say, “The bottom line is while Golden, a defensive-minded guy, might not be the flashy pick, he has a strong coaching foundation and a keen understanding of what it takes to win and run a strong program, both on and off the field. He is an excellent recruiter, and this was a safe pick who can build Miami the right way” while Ed Cunningham used ESPN’s College Football Live platform to call Golden-to-Miami an “A+ hire”.
On paper it might not be the ‘rock star’ hire you were expecting, but what it lacks in sizzle will be made up for in substance. Everything about Golden appears to be what UM needs and in many ways he is the antithesis of Shannon. The Canes just picked up a winner in life, which will translate to wins on the field. An up and comer who appears to ready to bloom and one with head coaching experience, meaning this won’t be another ‘learning while on the job’ situation that Miami endured with it’s last three hires.
Golden will be announced as Miami’s new head coach on Monday afternoon. Check back at allCanesBlog.com as we’ll have press conference video and more commentary on the Golden era of Hurricanes football.
Didn't think I would say this 3-4 days ago, but I'm happy with the hire. This guy can build a football team. He went 9-4 last year at Temple. TEMPLE! Can't wait 'til the season starts. GO Canes! []_[]
Welcome Coach Golden. Any word on coordinators?
I am stoked about this hire. I think we got a good one with this hire.
Welcome, coach. Ignore the noise. Get the job done.
At first glance I wasn't enthused about the hire. All the negative comments start weighing on my outlook.
But that was at first glance..
Looking at the hire more in-depth, I'm now thinking we may have grabbed the "sleeper" hire here. Let me explain..
Golden is highly regarded by many of the top coaches and analysts in the country. His resume doesn't cover the intangibles that he actually brings to the program. Another young and hungry coach, good communication skills, great motivator, above average recruiting skills, very underrated talent evaluator, very good disciplinarian, etc..
I'll take it as a sign of the important factors we've overlooked. The intangibles.. What is the one thing we can all agree on that this program lacks ? Motivation, discipline, and fundamentals.. Golden offers you everything you need to set the program back on the right track.
Winning cures all and we're only 2 more wins away from an ACC title game.. I suspect we're going to look back at this hire as the next JJ.. Only time will tell the truth, but let's not focus on the name and look at the intangibles… Golden has them all..
I know some guys on the last post were saying Golden is whack. U guys need to do some serious research. He's considered a great recruiter, and he's well-known for developing his players (something the U has lacked for years). Wherever he's been, the defence has always CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED under his coaching.
This guy can bring everything the U needs right now. The only thing I am a bit uncertain of is his offence. I'm sure most of it will depend on what O.C. he hires, but after my research, I'm definitely not worried that this guy can't do the job.
Mark my words: Under Al Golden, Sean Spence (or maybe even another of our linebackers) will be All-American by year's end, and will win an award.
F it, I will go balls out: a member of our Defensive Line, Linebacker core, and Defensive Back group will win awards and be named All-American at season's end.
U heard it here first, kids.
He's got one year. Period. No 3,4,5 year rebuilding process. Give him ONE year. It's a cheap hire and he needs to prove himself immediately. This team can not afford a long rebuilding process, not right now.
Welcome to Miami Mr. Golden, now start winning.
This is exactly who we need.Support our new coach. Im excited to see what he can do. I hear he is a great recruiter. Recruits want to play for MIAMI. Congrats AL, make us proud. GO CANES!!!! Anyone who says MIAMI will never be THE U again will be eating there words real soon. We have talent now, he will get the most out of them. We could have gone 11-1 this year but there was one thing stopping that, TURNOVERS and DROPPED BALLS. There was no discipline. Golden will change that. Everyone needs to stand behind this team and show up to the F@#$ing games. Thanks allcanes, your doing an awesome job.
Well, like you stated in the previous post, this definitely wasn't a "homerun" that many of us Miami "faithful" were hoping for. Give Golden credit though, it doesn't seem like the other names (aside from Edsall) were up for the pressure-cooker that is University of Miami football. Glad he's ready (hopefully) to embrace it, because he's definitely going to hear it from this fanbase, if he doesn't get the job done. I'm not say he can't or won't win at UM, but he certainly better, or he'll get run outta town with the quickness as well. With all the supposed "talent" on this roster, Miami is set to win big now.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that this team should win an ACC title within the next 2 seasons, of course 'should' being the operative word. I also think within 3 years, if this team isn't contending for a National Championship, it probably won't happen with Golden either. This depends on who he can hire as a staff and I'm saying this because Morris and the other Freshmen who were major contributors this season, would be Seniors and will have hopefully developed like they're supposed to.
I think those are VERY reasonable expectations, given the current state of the program now, but of course, let's see how everything plays out (e.g. staff, recruiting, potential transfers, etc.). I can't say that I'm anymore excited about Miami football from the beginning of this season, but I can't say I'm bummed about this hire either. Hopefully, Al Golden can make the Canes 'Golden' again…
Trestman was leaked to be "the guy" so that when the real hire surfaced, fans would be relieved pretty much no matter who got hired. AND IT WORKED!
That being said, Canes could have done better. Leach obviously wanted the job, as did Tuberville, my top candidate. Both are more successful than Golden in significantly better conferences.
Maybe money is still an issue… Maybe friends of the program with deep pockets promised to fund Gruden's hire, but backed away from the other candidates, so we were stuck once a gain picking from the bargain bin.
Golden knows how to run a program though, so he's an upgrade over Shannon, and I'm happy with that. Check out several of these Inside Temple Football if you need any convincing: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Inside+Temple+Football+with+Al+Golden&aq=f I think he'll be able to move the meter in a positive direction, though only time will tell whether he's NC material.
It'll take time though… especially with the installation of the 3-4 defense. It isn't obvious to me whether a Shannon-led 2011 would be worse than a Golden-led 2011 as a result of this change, but this is what the people wanted and hence the price we must pay.
One thing is certain: Miami football sure isn't what it used to be. Let's hope this guy can get us back there. He should definitely be familiar with the program as he was a recruit when Penn State beat us in the '87 Fiesta Bowl and played against us (and lost) in '91.
Welcome to The []_[] Al Golden!
I started the season with coach Shannon and a pocket full of hope. I eneded the season with wishing for no more Shannon. My wish came true….Shannon fired …Be truly careful what you wish for …Teased with Gruden and then.. Hello Al Golden? New hc of my beloved Miami Hurricanes….no Mike Leach!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But not even Charlie Strong,Trestman, or Tuberville and so on..really so on… I could live with Al Golden if temple was undefeated or champs under his helm….but with 8-4 …no way!!! Not for my Canes!!! The only thing I have for kirby and Al Golden is ….. Remember ? MY POCKET FULL OF HOPE!!!!! Go CANES!!!!! Miami for ever!!!!
Welcome to the U family Coach Golden! Let's go to work!!!!!
Big A from the 321 to the 305
Wow. When I read we hired Al Golden, I felt like it was Christmas morning, I wanted a BB Gun and got….socks! However, I am ready to get behind him and support this team! Show me what you can do Al! GO CANES!
I guess if he can right the ship at Temple then he can right the ship anywhere. Let's hope so, anyways. Good luck Al, bring the glory back to The U.
To paraphrase former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, you win with the coach you have, not the one you want.
Golden seems like a solid hire, but he's already behind the eight ball because Hocutt managed expectatiosn so poorly.
His first test comes quickly: he's going to have to assemble a staff, followed closely by putting together a recruiting class. We'll find out real quick if his reputation as a recruiter is deserved.
Ultimately, it's the wins on the field that count. Next year it looks like UM opens with four tough opponents (VT, NC, OSU and KSU). Nothing else matters but wins and championships. It will be a challenge with high expectations.
Welcome Coach and good luck! I'll be supporting you – you're my coach now.
Go Canes!
Let's do this!
I think it is a great Hire. The man clearly knows how to manage a football game. Maybe now we can save our time out for the 4th quarter instead of using them all in the 3rd. By the way the Texas fans could not be happier that to send Will M. on his way. The Texas defense looked horrible this year and they were getting really tired of is excuses
Maybe ignorance is bliss, I have no clue about this guy. My initial reaction is "is that the best you got?"
We'll see if the Canes turn Golden or not.
This is the great hire that will make all the fans return to JRS to see a game or renew season tickets?
We'll see if the Cane turn Golden or not.
I will try to stay positive
while I wait to see if Golden is pure Gold
Good Luck to Coach Golden. The University of Miami family is behind you.
Welcome to The U. Looking forward to seeing what he does to take Miami to the next level and how he prepares the team for games next season like FSU and Ohio St.
Welcome to THE U couch… Now start making phone calls and get this recruiting situation under control. Start with our young DE with blood ties to the program who seems to be on the fence and dont stop till you have both those young men from NWestern back on our side…
Home run ? More like a bunt.
I hope I'm wrong. I want 2 B Wrong.I want everyone to tell me I was wrong for wanting Tommy Tuberville.
I just don't think the Joe Pa thing will go over at "The U".
But, what do I know? All that matters is GO CANES ! Love the blog! Love the app! Had it all season.
We are sooooooooo up the creek with this guy as our coach.
As a long time and fed up season ticket holder I guess I(or we as fans) can look forward to another four years of dissappointment.
Thanks Alot Kirby for really dropping the ball on this one.
Perhaps you should resign now as well.
This is absolutely unbelievable.
Kinda surprising. He wasnt exactly off the radar but I was under the impression that Kirby was out to get a coach with a big reputation.I dont know a whole lot about Al Golden but compared to Randy, there are some similarities. I know it's an apples to oranges comparison but I'm gonna throw it out there.
Randy a young def. coordinator hired in 2006 takes a once mighty program and starts rebuilding. Has a tough 1st year but eventually builds the program up from 5-7 2007 to respectible 9-4 in 2009. Unfortunately the program regressed a bit the following year and we are 7-5.
Al Golden a former def. coordinator was hired in 2005 at Temple and took a 11 loss team to win 4 games the following year. He was eventually able to build the program up to a 9-4 record last year only to fall back to 8-4.
Did we just hire BizarroShannon??
Not that I dont think he was a bad choice but I thought the whole point of getting rid of Shannon to improve things. However Kirby knows a hell of a lot more than I do so I will wait and see.
Sounds good to ME!
Welcome Al Golden to the U…
This might not be the "Name" hire everyone was wanting, but this could be the substance hire. Shannon was the right guy to build the program pretty much from scratch and get the talent back. Golden could be the guy to go from there and take it to another level. Golden may not put fannies in seats immediately, but they will come if the product on the field is good, and I think it will be. He's said to be a great recruiter, which is a must in the state of Florida right now and he seems to be a solid coach. Temple was always in the same area like Buffalo was before Turner Gill righted that ship, so I think if you can win at a place like that, it says a lot about your abilities regardless of conference. I am going to remain optimistic as I hope all U fans will be. There have been MANY great coaches who were not "first choices" and I believe Golden can be one of them.
Columbus Cane
I'll be honest..on the surface I really didn't like this hire at all. However with the more real research I do on Golden, I feel maybe Hocutt DID get the right guy. I wanted the big name too but Golden seems to know what it takes and has that hungry attitude. Something a bigger proven coach might not have had. I really think the coordinator hires are going to be just as important though. Are their any clues as to whom Golden might bring in to run his squads?
I really wanted patterson or peterson..but golden was number three on my list..good hire..huge improvement over randy
I personally feel good about this hire and it will be interesting to see how the start of his career at Miami unfolds. He has the reputation of being an excellent recruiter and he now has one of the best recruiting pools to dive in. Not a big name hire, but his dedication to academics and his winning trend on the field speak for themselves. He knows how to develop talent when it's at his disposal, he's a disciplinarian and a passionate motivator in one. He is also the first head coach since Butch Davis to have head coaching expierence at Miami. I firmly believe that with the talent he'll inherit and the recruiting hotbed he's sitting in, he'll have the Canes competing for conference titles and BCS bids for years to come. May or may not happen as soon as next year, but he WILL bring Miami back to relevance. What he did at Temple was astonishing.
Always believed this hire was between Coach Golden and UConn's Randy Edsall. They both seemed to be the kind of coaches that Miami has hired that have been successful with this program: Fairly young guys who've had some success with smaller programs and were hungry to do more. Just hope if this hire is successful that Golden will remain here for awhile and not be poached by Penn State or Notre Dame!
Jimmy Johnson's record at Oklahoma State:
Overall: 29-25-3
Conference: 17-15-3
Al Golden's record at Temple:
Overall: 27–34
Conference: 20–12
Here's an interesting fact to ponder..
Florida was turned down by some of the exact same coaches everyone here was clamoring for and ended up with Muschamp. Miami had spoken to several coaching candidates but only offered the job to one guy. They weren't turned down because they never offered the job to anyone else.
UM doesn't require home run hires(based on name value previous), it built it's reputation on finding guys off the grid and letting them showcase their ability. UM takes a special kind of coach to lead it's program. Not a pre-madonna or big name. It requires a guy that "wants" to be here.. He doesn't have all the facilities and stadium with student bodies located in cities or towns with nothing around to compete with it.
Miami has a vibrant social scene daily. UM has to compete with the night life scene, pro sporting teams, and various other events every weekend. Coming here is a high pressure gig. High risk, high reward. Golden (or anyone else for that matter) would have really been dedicated to coming here if they're going to leave a cushion job where expectations are not high and the perception doesn't own the lifespan of your job. Golden could have sat comfortably at Temple for the next few years riding it out waiting for Penn St. He chose to come here against the odds. That's a character builder.
It's much different than a Randy Shannon simply because Shannon had ties to the program and was employed here prior to accepting the HC job (essentially nothing to lose and everything to gain).
Golden has no ties to the school and everything to lose by coming here. If he wins, he's the stuff that legends are made of, the very foundation of what the U was built on. If he loses, he will have lost any credibility for the next big job. Again, high risk, high reward.. Those that have won at Miami have had the red carpet rolled out and the door wide open for any coaching job in the country at their disposal. Lose and it's all gone in a matter of weeks..
I'll take my chances on the outsider with everything to lose, simply because he's here for the right reasons. Not because it's an easy out…
I wasn't enthused about the hire when I first saw it online last night. Then I started reading about him. It sounds like a very good hire.
With the talent he will be working with next year, I think he could pull a Coker. Seriously. I'm not saying a title or bust but I really believe the pieces are in place to make a run. We'll see. I think UM will be much, much better on game days next fall if anything.
Chard
Let's compare JJ to Golden in their coaching tenures prior to coming to the U:
Jimmy Johnson's record at Oklahoma State:
Overall: 29-25-3
Conference: 17-15-3
Al Golden's record at Temple:
Overall: 27–34
Conference: 20–12
Here's an interesting fact to ponder..
Florida was turned down by the exact same coaches everyone here was clamoring for and ended up with Muschamp. Miami had spoken to several coaching candidates but only offered the job to one guy. They weren't turned down because they never offered the job to anyone else.
UM doesn't require home run hires (based on name recognition from previous jobs), it built it's reputation on finding guys off the grid and letting them showcase their ability (making their names here). UM takes a special kind of coach to lead it's program. Not a pre-madonna, or big name. It requires a guy that "wants" to be here.. He doesn't have all the facilities and stadium with student bodies located in cities or towns with nothing around to compete with it.
Miami has a vibrant social scene daily. UM has to compete with the night life scene, pro sporting teams, and various other events every weekend. Coming here is a high pressure gig. High risk, high reward. Golden (or anyone else for that matter) would have really been dedicated to coming here if they're going to leave a cushion job where expectations are not high and the perception doesn't own the lifespan of your job. Golden could have sat comfortably at Temple for the next few years riding it out waiting for Penn St. He chose to come here against the odds. That's a character builder.
It's much different than a Randy Shannon simply because Shannon had ties to the program and was employed here prior to accepting the HC job (essentially nothing to lose and everything to gain).
Golden has no ties to the school and everything to lose by coming here. If he wins, he's the stuff that legends are made of, the very foundation of what the U was built on. If he loses, he will have lost any credibility for the next big job. Again, high risk, high reward.. Those that have won at Miami have had the red carpet rolled out and the door wide open for any coaching job in the country at their disposal. Lose and it's all gone in a matter of weeks..
I'll take my chances on the outsider with everything to lose, simply because he's here for the right reasons. Not because it's an easy out…
This guy's a joke. A nobody. Total and complete failure on the part of Hocutt et al. Terrible hire. Garbage.
UM has a history of coaches making their name running the Cane squad…
Or ruining their name running it into the ground…
Good hire for you guys…I think Golden will make a name for himself rather than what Coker and Shannon have done…
Let me get this straight. We hired a TEMPLE football coach? I understand that the program is in dire straights for a change. Shannon is fired for not winning and not drawing fans. Temple only draws about 500 fans a game and is happy with their program. We now have a coach that didn't win the Big East or even made a bowl game this season.
I'm sorry but we would have been better off asking Shannon to come back and explaining that we made a mistake. Sorry, Randy!
Some people have compared this hire to Butch Davis. Davis came from the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Shannon and Coker were not the answer. You can't promote from within and get major results. Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson (our two greatest coaches came from Oklahoma State and Washington State) coached at major fbs programs.
I was hoping for a Mike Leach or a Dan Mullen hire. Offensive minded and proven winners. I am now dreading another mediocre season from a mediocre team in a mediocre conference. I guess I still have Hurricane baseball. Go Canes!
Check out the press conference link on the Herald. I was impressed and got a good vibe.
Columbus Cane
I was most impressed with Golden's comments to the former UM greats. He begged them to come back and be a presence once again. As long as we follow the bullshit NCAA rules about alumni contact with players, we have as good a chance as ever to get our ATTITUDE back. Nothing bothered me more about Shannon than his stoic emotionless attitude on the sideline and his disdain for his former team-mates. Shannon undermined a key ingrediant to Miami's long run of dominance. I am pulling for Golden with all of my heart! Go Canes!!!!
Let's hope that the job isn't to BIG for him, This isn't Temple, anymore. They were proabably satisfied with 7 wins.
I swear we have some very idiotic "fans" out there who refuse to use logic. Whats worse are the ones who hide behind the anonymous moniker. At least be adult enough to present a name. With that said I am excited about this hire. Too many people these days get caught up in the Star Power of big name coaches and use that as a measure for success/determine the validity of a program. If you look at our history going back to Schnelly, we have never hired those "rockstar" type coaches and have done quite well. I swear some of you people just want flash and no substance. To all those doubting Al Golden saying he is a terrible coach and Kirby bombed on this hire, I hope that you all will come back and humbly eat crow when(thats right WHEN) Golden gets this program back on the right track.