A word on infrastructure

[PBJFanatic]

Plenty of folks myself included been talking about we lack infrastructure and Alabama’s got it, also Clemson and OSU.

I thought it merits clarification and discussion.

When I say that, I am not talking about locker rooms or weight rooms or practice facilities or stadiums. I am not talking about capex almost at all.

To me, infrastructure is Alabama’s investment in people, processes and systems to support recruiting evaluations, player development, data analytics, quality control and game planning. These areas change the game for their coaches. Combined with the right coaches, culture and talent, the results are impressive.

This type of infrastructure is doable for UM. It’s not cheap and systems cost something but in this cloud world not a lot. Coaches aside, we probably need to spend $4-5 mm more on infrastructure to be serious. A serious staff is probably another 3-4 mm. If we spent that, we should be able to have a top 5 team.

100%

 

[OriginalCanesCanesCanes]

You’re still missing the point. Please ask if you want me to clarify. Also your “source” may not be informed of the problem. Not saying your “source” isn’t legit, I am just saying they may be incorrect about the problem.

Go ahead. Clarify.

 

[TruCane81]

U need the people upt top who want to win and I have to have a saban like recruiter. Saban as an evaluator closer is second to none.....Davis was the only guy like this that I know of. Bama doesn't have to out scheme they out talent.....we can do it we just have to find a HC with similar traits and we have to want it as bad as they do. Really sucks watching bama they pretty much took everything from us.

Bama and Clemson don’t have to outcsheme, but they do. The systems and playcalling they have are creative like a team trying to compensate for talent deficiencies.

Give us 85% of that with better evaluations and we dominate the division.

 

[Dwinstitles]

Bama and Clemson don’t have to outcsheme, but they do. The systems and playcalling they have are creative like a team trying to compensate for talent deficiencies.

Give us 85% of that with better evaluations and we dominate the division.

Yea but before bama had adapted to a modern offense they were still getting savages and winning titles. The scheme helps them score more points but an old school offense they would dominate regardless.

 

[TruCane81]

You know who else came to Miami with a terrible record against ranked opponents...Jimmy Johnson. But sure, let's keep doing it your way. Let's keep paying headhunters to hire guys from failed regimes with no head coaching experience (Shannon & Diaz), or a guy with a crappy 27-34 record at His previous stop (Golden). Let's keep doing that, that's the ticket.

This is a HUGE POINT not a lot of people understand.

Most coaches can’t win any and everywhere. They have to find the right fit.

When Miami has strong athletic directors, they understood the importance of finding the RIGHT guy. There are coaches with average overall records that would win a lot of games at Miami. We need a guy with the right personality and philosophy.he may be a diamond in the rough p5 guy, but could just as easily come from g5 or eve fcs.

Our process of identifying candidates has been flawed for a long time. A Golden type hire with the RIGHT PHILOSOPHY could win a lot of games in the coastal.

Yea but before bama had adapted to a modern offense they were still getting savages and winning titles. The scheme helps them score more points but an old school offense they would dominate regardless.

Not against other elite programs.

The quarterback play at OSU and Clemson , along with losses to Johnny Football and a few other hot handed qbs, FORCED Saban to reluctantly change his offensive philosophy. If he could have stayed the same, he would have.

What makes Saban special is his ego is attached to actually his winning instead of being right. No doubt they could dominate most other teams with bro style they used to run.

 

[Ethnicsands]

We need a fix I agree.
But throwing money on more analysis would not do a **** thing UNLESS the results are used by the Coaches and Staff.

Ed Reed sits there with a drawerful of data and plays.................. and No one on D even asks his opinion (supposedly Banda because he disagrees), but Banda wears the mantle of Coach, and Ed does not, soooooooooooo nothing is done, and it is NEVER used or applied.

That is B/S and we know it.

The only positive result we can wish or even hope for, is that everyone from Manny down, is ON the same **** page and not playing territorial protection.
The Tide has so many GA's and analysts that Saban may walk by them in the hallways and not even know their names or what the **** they do.
He just wants analysis that he can use and apply.
Apply to WIN because everyone is Laser focused on W's.

There's two different discussions going on here.

Obviously all money can be wasted, and all effort can be. So obviously no infrastructure guarantees results. I agree, I just don't find there to be much interesting to say on that topic. Get a new AD? Ok. Get a new HC? Ok.

To me, the interesting question is what then? What does it take to run a competitive program in this era, given what we have, and what we compete with? What would help us compete?

It's just a thought discussion because the money isn't ours, it's the university's. But from my view, there's some basic tools and techniques that would obviously help the program be competitive. This isn't rocket science stuff. All businesses today take advantage of technology to improve their operations. Just because big businesses do it doesn't mean small ones shouldn't. Any business today that thinks the 'internet' is some futuristic thing is headed towards extinction. Not different in college sports. Table stakes for data analytics and player development have changed.

Anyhow, what we've been doing clearly hasn't worked at all.

 

[Tampabaycane]

Plenty of folks myself included been talking about we lack infrastructure and Alabama’s got it, also Clemson and OSU.

I thought it merits clarification and discussion.

When I say that, I am not talking about locker rooms or weight rooms or practice facilities or stadiums. I am not talking about capex almost at all.

To me, infrastructure is Alabama’s investment in people, processes and systems to support recruiting evaluations, player development, data analytics, quality control and game planning. These areas change the game for their coaches. Combined with the right coaches, culture and talent, the results are impressive.

This type of infrastructure is doable for UM. It’s not cheap and systems cost something but in this cloud world not a lot. Coaches aside, we probably need to spend $4-5 mm more on infrastructure to be serious. A serious staff is probably another 3-4 mm. If we spent that, we should be able to have a top 5 team.

Marcus Lemonis is that you with the people process and systems line?

 

[Ethnicsands]

Bama and Clemson don’t have to outcsheme, but they do. The systems and playcalling they have are creative like a team trying to compensate for talent deficiencies.

Give us 85% of that with better evaluations and we dominate the division.

We can't even get our guys to run basic assignments with precision and consistency. Our issue isn't just evaluations (and I've been harping on evals as long as anyone here). Our issue includes roster management, development, game planning, S&C. A lot of areas that leverage data and planning capabilities. We're clearly not doing it right.

 

[Canedude08]

If we hired the Admiral, instead of our current POS President, I have a feeling he would have installed accountability in athletics.

You keep making the erroneous assumption that the University President at a major research institution gives a **** about the athletic department. The Athletic Department is left to their own devices, the people who provide the funding that makes the department go are given carte blanche. Keep in mind, the Admiral has spent most of his academic career at places like Tufts and the Naval Academy, where they don't give a rats *** about major college sports. I know this is difficult for our fanbase to grasp, but no school worth a **** has a President that pays as much attention to the athletic department as you people think.

Until someone steps up on the BOT and takes a true interest in the AD, and also finds a way to obtain the funding to hire a top end AD, nothing is going to change on that end. Should it change? YES. I would love to see Jon Vilma team with someone like Lemonis and force Blake James out, and hire a Danny White type as AD. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and I think it's because of the fact that there are more pressing concerns. Frankly, it's more likely that we are looking for a new University President in the next year or two, because Frenk has been an unmitigated failure coming off of the successes of the Shalala era.

 

[Canedude08]

I am not sure this holds true anymore ? we have 95M from Adidas + ACC money. do we have Bama , Clemson LSU cash NO
but we can invest to the tune he is speaking about and make it happen. everyone says E before W but take a look at schools who have Athletic success , rising tide lifts all ships.....

Where are you getting the 95 million figure from? It isn't even close to the figure provided to the Department of Education in regards to revenue for the program. Maybe you are looking at the total revenue for the athletic department, which has to be split among all the sports. I included the figures in an earlier post, Alabama, which isn't even top 5 in football revenue is outspending us by at least a 2-1 rate, and it's probably closer to 3-1 when you include dark money.

Why does our fanbase believe that having a great football program will raise all ships? IT'S NEVER HAPPENED. A great athletic department is valuable as a marketing tool(It does stimulate alumni giving), it's great in regards to having something flashy to put on a brochure, but the things that make for a great athletic department and a great academic institution are polar opposites. Once again, tell me why schools that can easily afford to be competitive in major college athletics(Ivy League) don't even try. Explain to me why historically, the AP Top 25 and the WSJ Top 50 look nothing alike? If Miami gets this thing turned around, the University will not see the boon of funding that our fans believe, because the athletic department will take those funds and invest it right back into the program. That's how it works. Very few athletic departments put money back into the school.

I want to win, but I also realize that we are at a significant disadvantage. That's why it's incredibly important to be efficient stewards of the funds that do come in. IE, don't spend money on Manny Diaz without reaching out to far superior and similarly priced candidates(Bill Clark) first. Don't allow an unqualified coach to build a staff of his buddies without asking questions, or at the least, making sure the deals offered are very incentive heavy.

 

[Canedude08]

So if you’re going to change the process, you have to address it correctly, and talking about the BOT as a monolith, doesn’t address the problem. You have to get to the small number (around 5 or so) of BOT members who have pull and can influence decisions,. Some of whom, quite frankly, are very unhappy right now. From what I’ve been told.

This is like where a committee makes product purchase or formulary decisions, and you’re an outside vendor. You have to find who are the decision-makers on that committee, and focus on them. They carry everybody else with them. These are the kinds of specifics that need to be talked about.

Otherwise it’s just academic general discussions that don’t lead anywhere.

EXACTLY. This is something our fanbase must grasp. There are 5-7 people on the BOT that can force change in the athletic department, everyone else doesn't give a ****, because it's not really their concern. Until those people step up and demand accountability, it won't change. What's funny is that they've done this before. They hired Hocutt, who is a **** good AD(Texas Tech is solid in multiple revenue sports), and when he left, they tried to do the same thing by hiring Eichorst, who was a disaster(Not prepared to fundraise at a private school). When Eichorst left, it's almost like those BOT members gave up, and went back to the safe hire, someone they knew would never leave, who they were comfortable with. That's how we ended up with Blake James.

 

[Ethnicsands]

Marcus Lemonis is that you with the people process and systems line?

lol. it’s a pretty common phrasing.

 

[Consigliere]

Go ahead. Clarify.

At UM, our process is we have a puppet at AD with BOTs micromanaging. Instead of bringing the best person to run the whole department and allowing them to make decisions (e.g. hiring an HC, firing an HC etc.), we have people like David Epstein, who is a total simp, destroying the process. They love this control. This control problem occurred way before David Epstien was a BOT too. These BOTs should NOT be involved in this process of picking coaches...that is why you have a competent AD. They handle it.

1. You are correct in that MOST BOTs don't care about sports. I don't mean that they don't care whether we win or lose, I mean they don't care whether we play sports.

2. You are correct that there are a few BOTs who "care" about sports. The problem is a bunch of this group is insistent on control. They prefer to run athletics through a puppet rather then bringing in the right guy (e.g. Danny White) and allowing them to run the whole department. It doesn't matter if they "care" if they only make atrocious, illogical and irrational decisions.

3. Over the last 10 years, there has been one BOT who has helped in the process of finding the right HC. His name is Jose Mas and he was only added to the BOTs in 2020. He wasn't even a BOT when this event occurred. Keep in mind it was still Coach L who came to Miami because but for Coach L doing this, our BOTs and AD would have never even made a phone call. In fact, they didn't even know who he was (i.e. please send us a resume).

 

[Go Canes!!]

BOT and AD talk.

Scintillating.

 

[Consigliere]

You keep making the erroneous assumption that the University President at a major research institution gives a **** about the athletic department.

I stopped here. Giving a **** isn't the same has having total apathy, zero accountability and hiring the unemployable. Is that what your saying? Why do better academic schools (e.g. Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin) seem to manage just fine?

So according to you, our President should not be expected to care AT ALL about athletics. Does this mean they shouldn't want to hire the best person to run the department? You would think if they didn't give a **** they wouldn't want anyone to bother them. You would think they would want to hire someone ONCE and let them run the department so the President can be left alone.

 

[hoops156]

I stopped here. Giving a **** isn't the same has having total apathy, zero accountability and hiring the unemployable. Is that what your saying? Why do better academic schools (e.g. Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin) seem to manage just fine?

So according to you, our President should not be expected to care AT ALL about athletics. Does this mean they shouldn't want to hire the best person to run the department? You would think if they didn't give a **** they wouldn't want anyone to bother them. You would think they would want to hire someone ONCE and let them run the department so the President can be left alone.

i get his point and yours and i think he meant that theyre not overly concerned w the ins and outs as they shouldn't be. for michigans sake, they've been absolute trash even tho they spend at a crazy rate

 

[OriginalCanesCanesCanes]

EXACTLY. This is something our fanbase must grasp. There are 5-7 people on the BOT that can force change in the athletic department, everyone else doesn't give a ****, because it's not really their concern. Until those people step up and demand accountability, it won't change. What's funny is that they've done this before. They hired Hocutt, who is a **** good AD(Texas Tech is solid in multiple revenue sports), and when he left, they tried to do the same thing by hiring Eichorst, who was a disaster(Not prepared to fundraise at a private school). When Eichorst left, it's almost like those BOT members gave up, and went back to the safe hire, someone they knew would never leave, who they were comfortable with. That's how we ended up with Blake James.

A good post regarding the history of hiring this position. Some people just don’t get , or aren’t good at analyzing, what’s going on.

 

[Ethnicsands]

Our process of identifying candidates has been flawed for a long time. A Golden type hire with the RIGHT PHILOSOPHY could win a lot of games in the coastal.

Why do people keep saying isht like this?

What is a ‘Golden type hire’?

Golden was awful. The only thing I can figure out is people liked how he looked. His background was overrated, his approach was a fail, he’s not a leader. If he were a real HC he’d have found an opportunity already. He isn’t.

 

[Consigliere]

i get his point and yours and i think he meant that theyre not overly concerned w the ins and outs as they shouldn't be. for michigans sake, they've been absolute trash even tho they spend at a crazy rate

I believe they had an elite, if not top 3 basketball coach, not too long ago. I also think that everyone, short of 3-5 programs, would have hired Harbaugh after he left SF or traded their HC for him. He had offers in the NFL at that point but not the point.

The point is academics and athletics are not mutually exclusive and our academics are nothing close to those schools.

Also, why does being a “major research institution” prevent us from hiring a competent AD? I think that at UM we just are more apathetic and inferior to those schools.

 

[hoops156]

I believe they had an elite, if not top 3 basketball coach, not too long ago. I also think that everyone, short of 3-5 programs, would have hired Harbaugh after he left SF or traded their HC for him. He had offers in the NFL at that point but not the point.

The point is academics and athletics are not mutually exclusive and our academics are nothing close to those schools.

Also, why does being a “major research institution” prevent us from hiring a competent AD? I think that at UM we just are more apathetic and inferior to those schools.

it docent but our BOT doesnt want to. they want to feel like theyre in power and make awful decisions