Why Al Golden; a statement, not a question

The title of this piece isn’t a question; it’s a statement. There’s a reason Al Golden wound up the twenty-second head coach of the University of Miami’s football program and we’re going to discuss why.

Some readers are clamoring for some bowl talk and that’s forthcoming. Miami is two weeks from meeting up with Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl and there will be ample time to break down the match up. For now, it’s still all about Golden. A coaching search that lasted two weeks, on the heels of seeing fourth-year head coach Randy Shannon let go – it’s still the hot topic in Coral Gables.

That said, there’s only so much that can be said about a first-year head coach yet to call his first game and with kickoff over eight months out, it’ll soon be time to shift the focus to the bowl game and recruiting, as well as other Hurricane sports.

This hire deserves some more conversation right now – especially when you read about Golden’s tenacity since taking over. A full-on media blitz, calling into countless radio shows the morning after his huge press conference. Shunning five-star digs to bunk in the UM dorms, leaving him closer to his new office. Reaching out to local high school coaches. Flying to the northeast to sit down with new prospects, while mending fences with verbals who decommitted post-Shannon and hiring three new assistant.

If that’s how Monday afternoon through Thursday evening were spent, the University of Miami sure as a leg up regarding the present and the future because it doesn’t appear Golden will rest until this ship is righted.

The initial knock on the new Miami leader has to do with his past – most notably a five-year stint at Temple, which is as far from a powerhouse as you’ll find in Division I football. Forget where Golden came from and simply focus on the job done during his tenure.

Taking a program that went 3-31 the three years before your arrival and putting together a 9-4 and 8-4 season on your way out the door – that’s a monumental turnaround. Last year Temple reached it’s first bowl game in thirty years and third in over a hundred years of existence. The fact their eight-win squad didn’t go bowling this season is a travesty, as Golden should be able to boast of back-to-back postseasons on his way out the door.

When you look at a list of great coaches, all had to start somewhere and each journey begins with that first step. For Golden, it was Temple. Nick Saban started at Toledo. Urban Meyer got his shot at Bowling Green. Jim Harbaugh turned around the University of San Diego before heading to Stanford. Steve Spurrier had a stint in the USFL with the Tampa Bay Bandits before heading to Duke and then to Florida.

Even in Coral Gables, no eventual big time coach started somewhere prestigious. Howard Schnellenberger failed with a one-year stint in the NFL before spending the next five as an offensive coordinator with the Dolphins before the Canes came calling. Jimmy Johnson rolled in from Oklahoma State. Dennis Erickson did time at Idaho, Montana and Washington State before getting a shot at UM.

It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish and all of depends on the character, work ethic and drive of the individual in question.

Golden is a winner and that’s why Kirby Hocutt had the fifth-year Temple coach so high on his list. Hocutt was hiring in his own image and was looking for someone on the ascending side of their career curve.

To the layperson, it sounds like corporate mumbo-jumbo but I’ve heard these phrases my whole life as I grew up the son of a headhunter.

If you simply take those two comments at face value, you see why Mike Leach and his advances were ignored (hardly a man in Hocutt’s own image) and why Tommy Tuberville, Marc Trestman and even Randy Edsall were passed over (coaches on the decline, not on the rise).

A career curve is like a mountain and early on, you’re climbing, in time you hit your peak and from there you’re cruising down the other side.

Hocutt himself is a young, dynamic, barely-forty, on the rise, ascending side of his career curve athletic director. He’s yet to peak, is still proving himself and each big decision makes him stronger, earns him more confidence and his best days are still ahead.

People hire in their own image, so you’re going to hire someone similar to you. Someone on the rise. Someone hungry. Someone with that fire in the belly and drive to succeed. A safe bet that Hocutt saw a tremendously talented group of potential coaches, but in the end chose Golden because he saw a ton of himself sitting across the table when the two met and shared their vision.

Both men are on a mission to prove their worth in their respective fields and that common bond is a big reason Golden is Miami’s coach today. There was a shared bond and a chemistry that was unable to be orchestrated or mandated it simply *happened*.

There was an intangible between Hocutt and Golden – something that told Kirby that this was ‘his’ guy – to the point that even when a Bernie Kosar backed a Trestman or Board of Trustees members were leaning another way, Hocutt stood his ground, knowing to his core that this was the guy.

To that same point, look at how Golden has handled the hiring of assistants – his first call being to Temple defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, a friend, former teammate, colleague and forty-something who is in Golden’s image as a fiery, driven, passionate up and comer with something to prove.

Former PSU teammate and Miami Dolphins tight end Troy Drayton was asked about D’Onofrio to The U and said the following:

“You’re talking about the epitome of intensity. You’re talking about the epitome of nastiness. You’re talking about somebody who is the epitome of in-your-face attitude and is probably one of the meanest sons of a bitch on a football field ever.”

No disrespect to current defensive coordinator John Lovett, but I doubt those words have ever been spoken about him and when it comes to finding the right guy to kick this program’s defense in the ass, who doesn’t want a D’Onofrio-type?

If you compare and contrast Hocutt and Shannon, you have a completely different dynamic as Randy wasn’t a motivator, wasn’t the type to picture-paint his vision and wasn’t a visionary ready to inspire, lead and to get everyone on the same page. Instead, the essence of a “my way or the highway” mentality and the feeling that Shannon would rather fail alone than win with assistance. (How else can you explain the shunning of former players and ‘one voice’ attitude, where assistants and many players were off limits to the media.)

In Hocutt’s hire of Golden, it’s obvious that Miami’s young athletic director wanted a head coach who could see the mountain top, would convince everyone how they’d get to the top, got them excited to be a part of it, made them realize how great it’d be when they got there, but was also honest regarding the amount of work it’d take to succeed.

Had Shannon gotten it done on the field his way, a safe bet Hocutt could’ve lived with it, focusing more on the end result than the process. When Shannon failed, Hocutt understood that he needed ‘his’ guy in there. Someone with his personality, who would go after the challenge the same way he would and Golden fit that to a ‘T’.

Anyone judging this hire based on the Temple portion of Golden’s resume is missing the bigger picture. Look at the individual, the attitude, drive, persona and game plan. Golden is a winner and a tireless worker – as proven his first four days on the job – and he’s a man on a mission, sights set on winning championships and obviously calculated in the process.

With all that said, it’s sit-back-and-watch time. Those in favor of Golden shouldn’t waste time trying to sell the unconverted. Not when it’s all based on theory and gut feelings and not when game one is two-thirds a year away. Converts will be made over time. Some bought in after the first press conference. For others, it’s the pace at which week one was attacked.

Next up, the hiring of new assistants versus who is retained from the old staff. From there, Signing Day can be another step in the process, should Golden close strong.

How will spring ball play out and how intense will practice and competition be? How will Golden motivate kids to lead – especially going into summer where it’s on the players as coaches are hands off? Each step in the journey is as important as the first.

Less than one week in, but the sleeves are already rolled up and it appears UM has a well-oiled machine at the helm. Over time, Golden’s tenacity will expose the incompetence that’s surrounded the football program the past few years, providing answers as to why players weren’t developed, why they lacked toughness and focus and why the Canes dropped five games in a year when growth was expected and Miami arguably had the most in-conference talent.

Coach Golden has my support and the more this hire sinks in, the more I see why this was Hocutt’s guy. Beyond that, Golden proved he wanted this job and while some candidates need to be pitched, this was a guy selling the University of Miami on why his services were needed – proven by his 300-page notebook.

Al Golden did his homework regarding the history of this program, he understands the ‘U Family’ – proven when he opened the door for former players to return – and obviously holds UM’s powerful brand in high regard.

This is undoubtedly the right guy at the right time and after years of appearing snakebitten, it finally feels as if the stars are re-aligning in Coral Gables. Get on board or get out of the way as this is again a program on a mission.

Comments

comments