The Beast : To Believe, Or Not To Believe

Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why??

If you were inside my brain on Tuesday afternoon you would have literally seen that question rolling around in my head a thousand times.

Miami head coach Al Golden hit the ACC Teleconference on Tuesday at 12:20 p.m. ET. The call was moved up a day from its normal Wednesday slot due to the holiday, meaning that while the call took place, the rest of the Miami media was talking to player as part of the normal Tuesday noon to 12:30 p.m. routine.

While at the standard Tuesday media breakfast I suggested to the Herald’s Susan Miller Degnan that we should have someone monitor the ACC call. That way should Coach Golden say something meaty we’d be able to follow up when catching him at 12:30 p.m. on his regular weekly press conference.

Yeah, #EPICFAIL by all of us as no one monitored the conference call, under the guise that all was well in Hurricaneland.

We wrapped the Golden presser, one of his best of the year, and headed off to our respective work spaces within Hecht. It’s been a while since we’ve had a true media room in the athletic department – something that’s a staple pretty much at every college or pro facility – and our original room was filled up with UM SID archives. Our next room became home to UM promotional items.

A you can see, we’re kind of a big deal in the Gables.

Because we no longer have a space to work as a group, we all scatter and go our separate ways. For me that meant a thirty-minute trek home, where I finally sat down to listen to the replay of the ACC Teleconference.

And then “it” happened. Take a listen.

Yup. My thoughts exactly.

The oddest thing about the quote; the fact that several media outlets were tweeting it without the, “I believe…” intro, which is the most important part. There’s a huge difference between, “I’m going to be the head coach at Miami in 2012” and “I believe I’m going to be the head coach at Miami in 2012.” Night and day.

Also, let’s not ignore the stalling tactics used by Coach Golden in that ornery reporter’s interaction with him. First it was the, “I’m sorry now” line, followed by the “is there a question there” comeback

Most experts would tell you that the stalling was on purpose in order for Al to give himself time to think up and answer. It could be that – or Coach Golden was simply making the reporter work for it. Al is always great answering questions, but I’ve seen and learned that they have to be asked the right way and this guy failed the test.

After the stalling, the standard, “my family and I love it here” and eventually those two words; “I believe”.

Before over-analyzing the “I believe” intro, let me make it abundantly clear that I’ve never been around anyone in any industry or walk of life who has mastered the English language like Al Golden. His grasp of vocabulary and its usage is hard to fathom. On Tuesday alone he used the words “indomitable”, “congruent” and “commensurate” in a five-minute span.

Everything Coach Golden says in public is well calculated, well thought out and has a lot of nuance. There are several times a week where I need to go back and re-listen to my recording of what he’s said just to make sure I didn’t miss a word that could change or alter the entire meaning and point.

In other words, Al Golden didn’t throw an “I believe” in that statement as sheer filler.

So why did he do it, then?

There’s two parallel reasons. One, he’s working on getting his contract restructured and he’s keeping the pressure on UM, letting it be known to the powers that be that he has other options. Maybe at Penn State. Maybe somewhere else, as well.

Two, Al Golden is too smart to say “never”. He’s not going to go the route of Nick Saban or Butch Davis with an absolute, so don’t expect him to come out and say, “I’m not taking the Penn State job or any other job” unless he signs a new contract and has truly passed on every other opportunity.

Do I think All is going to leave? No, I really don’t think so. But I’ve been in this industry so long and have seen it happen all too often to emphatically state that he’s staying put. As bad as the situation might be in Happy Valley, there’s an emotional tie to his alma mater and that may be too strong to be deterred by the current situation. Plus, you have to believe there’s still some bitterness and frustration regarding not being told about a pending NCAA investigation at Miami.

Golden is truly holding a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card and he’s going to use that to his advantage one way or another – and I don’t blame him.

Here’s what I do know – until Coach Golden signs a new contract and until someone else is hired at Penn State, I won’t personally be convinced that we’ll get to see year two of “the process”. Another scary thought, even if Miami escapes this Penn State threat and Al is as good as many believe he will be, UM fans will be going through this type of situation a often.

A lot more Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why?? could be in our future.

IN OTHER NEWS : I hope everyone tunes into tonight’s special edition of allCanes Radio. We’ll be talking about the bowl ban, “I believe,” the end of “the streak,” and so much else. We hit allCanes.com at 7 p.m. and were’a also available live through the allCanes iPhone app. Tune in, talk Canes and find out how you can save 25% on your allCanes gear.

For those who can’t listen live, check out the free podcast via iTunes on Turkey Day and

Happy Thanksgiving to all and Go Canes!!!

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