Just a little piece of advice for Al Golden: If you hear a plane motoring over the stadium, don't look up.
Miami has never exactly specialized in subtlety. So it seemed appropriate that when Al Golden looked at the sky before Miami’s game at Florida Atlantic, he saw an airplane tugging a banner.
“Make Miami Great Again — Butch Davis 2016”
Unfortunately for Golden, the moneyman behind the banner wasn’t thinking of presidential candidates.
If you thought Bo Pelini absorbed too much criticism in Lincoln the past few years, check out Golden’s life these days. During the first half at FAU, Clinton Portis unleashed these tweets:
"I been dodging this reality all year!
#FAU GIVING the almighty
#U trouble! Our defensive play calling is horrible!! We have become SOFT!"
"WE COMPETING W FIU, FAU ,MIAMI DADE, JOHNSON & WELLS, BCC, FAMU, UCF, USF! FSU & UF out our league as this point! Football gods please help"
Miami rallied after halftime, beating Howard Schnellenberger’s Owls by 24 points. But “the doubters are certainly waiting to pounce,” Miami booster Sandy Nusbaum told me Tuesday.
Golden, by all accounts, is a nice man who runs a tight ship. His players go to class. They stay out of trouble. They do not, however, win enough games.
When the Canes dropped the final four of 2014 to finish 6-7, Miami fans split into two camps: those who want Golden to win in 2015; and those who want him to lose to guarantee a new coach.
According to long-time UM fan Harry Rothwell, scrutiny is off the charts these days.
“Everybody lives in the past. Everybody wants to relive the great moments and they think that college football has been locked in this box and that nothing has changed in the last 10-20 years. You and I know that there’s more parity than ever. Kids want to play right away; they don’t care if they’re playing at Jacksonville State or Nebraska or Miami."
When it comes to understanding the new era of college football, Rothwell said, “Miami fans are as bad as any fans in this country.”
(Boy, if that doesn’t sound like a rant from a Nebraska fan).
Nusbaum put it like this: “It’s just been a lot of years since 2001 and 2002.”
After the failed Randy Shannon era, Miami fans thought Golden, who rebuilt Temple, was the right guy. But there’s a big difference between Temple and Miami, where every coach in the country is trying to poach prospects from your backyard.
Golden is in year five. Probation is no longer an excuse. Neither are facilities, which are much better than in the glory years. Miami isn’t playing on campus, but renovated Sun Life Stadium will host Super Bowls again. If you win there, Nusbaum said, you’ll get 60,000. If you don’t, you’ll get 25,000 — “There’s a lot of stuff to do down here.”
Right now, it’s closer to 25,000. Old-time boosters are disinterested. They’re not going to games or contributing money. Meanwhile, the air waves are full of critics.
Rothwell, the general manager of an apparel store, describes the environment as “self-defeating.” If Golden has a bad year, Miami will make a move. But “moaning and groaning” as an undefeated team sucks the fun out of the game.
Into this storm, coincidentally, walks Nebraska. The Canes have won five national championships. Three times they beat NU in the bowl game. “You guys put us on the mountain,” Nusbaum said. Now a loss to the Huskers would likely precipitate Golden’s demise.
“Playing Nebraska this week will be a barometer to see if this team is going in the right direction or if there needs to be a change,” Rothwell said.
Over the past 13 years, think of how many times Nebraska's soap operas made it vulnerable on Saturdays. Now it looks like the Huskers could take advantage of Miami's distractions.
Just a little piece of advice for Al Golden: If you hear a plane motoring over the stadium, don't look up.
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Miami has never exactly specialized in subtlety. So it seemed appropriate that when Al Golden looked at the sky before Miami’s game at Florida Atlantic, he saw an airplane tugging a banner.
“Make Miami Great Again — Butch Davis 2016”
Unfortunately for Golden, the moneyman behind the banner wasn’t thinking of presidential candidates.
If you thought Bo Pelini absorbed too much criticism in Lincoln the past few years, check out Golden’s life these days. During the first half at FAU, Clinton Portis unleashed these tweets:
"I been dodging this reality all year!
#FAU GIVING the almighty
#U trouble! Our defensive play calling is horrible!! We have become SOFT!"
"WE COMPETING W FIU, FAU ,MIAMI DADE, JOHNSON & WELLS, BCC, FAMU, UCF, USF! FSU & UF out our league as this point! Football gods please help"
Miami rallied after halftime, beating Howard Schnellenberger’s Owls by 24 points. But “the doubters are certainly waiting to pounce,” Miami booster Sandy Nusbaum told me Tuesday.
Golden, by all accounts, is a nice man who runs a tight ship. His players go to class. They stay out of trouble. They do not, however, win enough games.
When the Canes dropped the final four of 2014 to finish 6-7, Miami fans split into two camps: those who want Golden to win in 2015; and those who want him to lose to guarantee a new coach.
According to long-time UM fan Harry Rothwell, scrutiny is off the charts these days.
“Everybody lives in the past. Everybody wants to relive the great moments and they think that college football has been locked in this box and that nothing has changed in the last 10-20 years. You and I know that there’s more parity than ever. Kids want to play right away; they don’t care if they’re playing at Jacksonville State or Nebraska or Miami."
When it comes to understanding the new era of college football, Rothwell said, “Miami fans are as bad as any fans in this country.”
(Boy, if that doesn’t sound like a rant from a Nebraska fan).
Nusbaum put it like this: “It’s just been a lot of years since 2001 and 2002.”
After the failed Randy Shannon era, Miami fans thought Golden, who rebuilt Temple, was the right guy. But there’s a big difference between Temple and Miami, where every coach in the country is trying to poach prospects from your backyard.
Golden is in year five. Probation is no longer an excuse. Neither are facilities, which are much better than in the glory years. Miami isn’t playing on campus, but renovated Sun Life Stadium will host Super Bowls again. If you win there, Nusbaum said, you’ll get 60,000. If you don’t, you’ll get 25,000 — “There’s a lot of stuff to do down here.”
Right now, it’s closer to 25,000. Old-time boosters are disinterested. They’re not going to games or contributing money. Meanwhile, the air waves are full of critics.
Rothwell, the general manager of an apparel store, describes the environment as “self-defeating.” If Golden has a bad year, Miami will make a move. But “moaning and groaning” as an undefeated team sucks the fun out of the game.
Into this storm, coincidentally, walks Nebraska. The Canes have won five national championships. Three times they beat NU in the bowl game. “You guys put us on the mountain,” Nusbaum said. Now a loss to the Huskers would likely precipitate Golden’s demise.
“Playing Nebraska this week will be a barometer to see if this team is going in the right direction or if there needs to be a change,” Rothwell said.
Over the past 13 years, think of how many times Nebraska's soap operas made it vulnerable on Saturdays. Now it looks like the Huskers could take advantage of Miami's distractions.