CanesNation55
Thunderdome
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- Dec 7, 2014
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Athletic director Blake James spoke today in advance of UM's upcoming Independence Bowl vs. South Carolina.
Only a few of the questions regarded the bowl game; several involved the state of the program coming off a 6-6 season.
James made it clear that head coach Al Golden won't be going anywhere regardless of the team's performance in the bowl game.
"Al is our coach and will be our coach next year," James said. "He's our coach, is going to continue to be our coach. With that that said he knows we have to get better, I know we have to get better. So I need to talk to him about how we can get better, what I can do to support his efforts at getting better."
So will James step in after he evaluates the bowl game and takes in the full season to make suggestions regarding any assistant coaching changes?
"I'll talk with Al on what my thoughts are and give him some feedback and get some perspective from him on where things are at," James said. "I'll talk with him on all different things from student-athletes, facilities, coaches, will find out from him what are the things we're missing, what are the areas we need to address. And through either cost-cutting and reinvesting or just through some additional resources we have - fundraising, the playoffs, TV money - making those business decisions that put us in the best spot. It's working with him on those fronts. I'm not going to get into telling him who our defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, running backs, wide receivers, defensive line, offensive line, linebackers, defensive backs (coach should be), whatever the position is. I'm not going to tell him that. I'm going to give him my thoughts, my feedback. At the end of the day those are his decisions. My decision is who is going to be our head coach, and as I said earlier it's going to be Al Golden."
Asked if he feels any differently about this coaching staff now than he did a year ago, James repeated the question and then said, "No, again, this time a year ago we were just coming off what was a very interesting season, one we had the NCAA sanctions handed down, the sixth or seventh game in. We started out 7-0 and then hit a few bumps down the road there and finished up with the bowl game, had a disappointing performance against Louisville. Right now, after I get a chance to look at the entire season including the bowl game I can probably answer that question better because you can go out and play an incredibly great game against South Carolina and I'll feel one way. We can go out and not come out on the end we want to and I'll feel a different way. It's important to keep it in perspective. So no, I don't feel any different, but it's important to evaluate things holistically and after the bowl game I'll reflect back on the season and talk to Al about it."
James says he is reading all the e-mails he receives and listening to voicemails from fans upset with the way the season went.
"We have to get better," James said. "6-6 isn't acceptable at the University of Miami. We have to get better as a program. I'm confident we have the guy to do that. I'll continue to support Al. What areas those mean, it really is holistic in terms of our approach from the student-athlete experience to investing in the resources for the staff to the facilities. And we'll do all that, continue to do all those things to help us get better. Everyone is trying to win."
With the criticism from fans and the questions about the direction of the program, how much does that weigh on him?
"At the end of the day we have a very passionate (fan base)," James said. "While we may not have the size of some of the bigger schools we're compared to, I put our energy and passion up against anyone.
"If you don't have success they're going to be upset and voice their frustration. No one wants to see us win more than I do and Al. Again, we have to get better. They want us to get better. They're not happy with 6-6, I'm not happy with 6-6. With that said everyone has different ideas as to how you fix it. I'm going to leave it up to Al because I believe he will get it fixed."
The state of the program as of now, in his opinion?
"We were 6-6 this year," James said. "Anytime you go into a season you want to win all your games. The reality is that doesn't always happen. ... you look at every week as a new season. I know Al will have our guys ready to go for this one.
"Overall I think there are some positives, some disappointments. I don't think anyone was happy with the result in any one of the losses. End of the year, the losses to Virginia and Pittsburgh - we're disappointed. As disappointing as the loss was to Florida State there was some progress made in that game. ... it's important we keep things in perspective - everyone's trying to out there and win."
Does he think the FSU game impacted the performance in the last two games?
"Al is probably the best one to answer that question, the guys on the team," James said. "From my perspective, did it look like maybe there wasn't' the same energy as we had going into that game? Yeah. But I don't know all the ins and outs of everything going on, what coverage were we supposed to be in and who was supposed to pick up which guy and all those things. ... I'm disappointed anytime we lose. It probably stung a little bit more in those last two because we had seen such great progress through Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and the North Carolina game, even that Florida State game. I felt coming out of there that we would be able to go out and perform at a high level and I didn't see it from my vantage point those final two weeks."
How do coaches get the team up now for this bowl game?
"The thing I would say is different people look at different games differently," James said. "I think it looks like a great game. Anytime you can go against an SEC opponent, Steve Spurrier, one of the best coaches in college football history - you're going against the SEC, Steve Spurrier. I'm confident Al and our guys will be ready to go, play a great game up there in Shreveport, one of the best bowls as far back as I can remember.
"There's a lot for our guys to get excited about."
* Commenting on a report that the ACC pool this year is $90-95 million, where in the past it wasn't half that, James said, "It's a huge win for our institution and for our program. It's the guarantee of knowing that revenue is going to come every year. You look out for the next 10 years and know what revenues are going to be coming in from the agreements we have in place."
He said the team can use the money in various ways, including "remaining competitive in the salary structure, not just in the head coaching but you want to be competitive with assistant coaches. Those are areas we have addressed and will continue to address."
James also said the revenue can help finance private planes for recruiting trips for coaches, such as one to Orlando for the state championships coaches took recently.
* James' thoughts on Alonzo Highsmith's comment to raise $25 million to help on facilities?
"Alonzo is great," James said. "If it was something where there's a situation where there's $25 million to help us invest in the program, in a lot of ways that's what you do with any specific donor. Many times they're giving, they want to give to a specific area. So if there was something where there were a number of former football players that put together $25 million and wanted to talk to me about what they thought was best for our program in terms of investing that money - as long as it made sense to Al and me and was a good financial decision for the institution, that's $25 million, I'm sure that would be a box that would be easy to check, we'd put that in place.
"At the end of the day Alonzo wants to see this program back at the top just like all of us."
* James says he's seen some Duck Dynasty episodes thank to his son. That's the sponsor of the bowl game.
Only a few of the questions regarded the bowl game; several involved the state of the program coming off a 6-6 season.
James made it clear that head coach Al Golden won't be going anywhere regardless of the team's performance in the bowl game.
"Al is our coach and will be our coach next year," James said. "He's our coach, is going to continue to be our coach. With that that said he knows we have to get better, I know we have to get better. So I need to talk to him about how we can get better, what I can do to support his efforts at getting better."
So will James step in after he evaluates the bowl game and takes in the full season to make suggestions regarding any assistant coaching changes?
"I'll talk with Al on what my thoughts are and give him some feedback and get some perspective from him on where things are at," James said. "I'll talk with him on all different things from student-athletes, facilities, coaches, will find out from him what are the things we're missing, what are the areas we need to address. And through either cost-cutting and reinvesting or just through some additional resources we have - fundraising, the playoffs, TV money - making those business decisions that put us in the best spot. It's working with him on those fronts. I'm not going to get into telling him who our defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, running backs, wide receivers, defensive line, offensive line, linebackers, defensive backs (coach should be), whatever the position is. I'm not going to tell him that. I'm going to give him my thoughts, my feedback. At the end of the day those are his decisions. My decision is who is going to be our head coach, and as I said earlier it's going to be Al Golden."
Asked if he feels any differently about this coaching staff now than he did a year ago, James repeated the question and then said, "No, again, this time a year ago we were just coming off what was a very interesting season, one we had the NCAA sanctions handed down, the sixth or seventh game in. We started out 7-0 and then hit a few bumps down the road there and finished up with the bowl game, had a disappointing performance against Louisville. Right now, after I get a chance to look at the entire season including the bowl game I can probably answer that question better because you can go out and play an incredibly great game against South Carolina and I'll feel one way. We can go out and not come out on the end we want to and I'll feel a different way. It's important to keep it in perspective. So no, I don't feel any different, but it's important to evaluate things holistically and after the bowl game I'll reflect back on the season and talk to Al about it."
James says he is reading all the e-mails he receives and listening to voicemails from fans upset with the way the season went.
"We have to get better," James said. "6-6 isn't acceptable at the University of Miami. We have to get better as a program. I'm confident we have the guy to do that. I'll continue to support Al. What areas those mean, it really is holistic in terms of our approach from the student-athlete experience to investing in the resources for the staff to the facilities. And we'll do all that, continue to do all those things to help us get better. Everyone is trying to win."
With the criticism from fans and the questions about the direction of the program, how much does that weigh on him?
"At the end of the day we have a very passionate (fan base)," James said. "While we may not have the size of some of the bigger schools we're compared to, I put our energy and passion up against anyone.
"If you don't have success they're going to be upset and voice their frustration. No one wants to see us win more than I do and Al. Again, we have to get better. They want us to get better. They're not happy with 6-6, I'm not happy with 6-6. With that said everyone has different ideas as to how you fix it. I'm going to leave it up to Al because I believe he will get it fixed."
The state of the program as of now, in his opinion?
"We were 6-6 this year," James said. "Anytime you go into a season you want to win all your games. The reality is that doesn't always happen. ... you look at every week as a new season. I know Al will have our guys ready to go for this one.
"Overall I think there are some positives, some disappointments. I don't think anyone was happy with the result in any one of the losses. End of the year, the losses to Virginia and Pittsburgh - we're disappointed. As disappointing as the loss was to Florida State there was some progress made in that game. ... it's important we keep things in perspective - everyone's trying to out there and win."
Does he think the FSU game impacted the performance in the last two games?
"Al is probably the best one to answer that question, the guys on the team," James said. "From my perspective, did it look like maybe there wasn't' the same energy as we had going into that game? Yeah. But I don't know all the ins and outs of everything going on, what coverage were we supposed to be in and who was supposed to pick up which guy and all those things. ... I'm disappointed anytime we lose. It probably stung a little bit more in those last two because we had seen such great progress through Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and the North Carolina game, even that Florida State game. I felt coming out of there that we would be able to go out and perform at a high level and I didn't see it from my vantage point those final two weeks."
How do coaches get the team up now for this bowl game?
"The thing I would say is different people look at different games differently," James said. "I think it looks like a great game. Anytime you can go against an SEC opponent, Steve Spurrier, one of the best coaches in college football history - you're going against the SEC, Steve Spurrier. I'm confident Al and our guys will be ready to go, play a great game up there in Shreveport, one of the best bowls as far back as I can remember.
"There's a lot for our guys to get excited about."
* Commenting on a report that the ACC pool this year is $90-95 million, where in the past it wasn't half that, James said, "It's a huge win for our institution and for our program. It's the guarantee of knowing that revenue is going to come every year. You look out for the next 10 years and know what revenues are going to be coming in from the agreements we have in place."
He said the team can use the money in various ways, including "remaining competitive in the salary structure, not just in the head coaching but you want to be competitive with assistant coaches. Those are areas we have addressed and will continue to address."
James also said the revenue can help finance private planes for recruiting trips for coaches, such as one to Orlando for the state championships coaches took recently.
* James' thoughts on Alonzo Highsmith's comment to raise $25 million to help on facilities?
"Alonzo is great," James said. "If it was something where there's a situation where there's $25 million to help us invest in the program, in a lot of ways that's what you do with any specific donor. Many times they're giving, they want to give to a specific area. So if there was something where there were a number of former football players that put together $25 million and wanted to talk to me about what they thought was best for our program in terms of investing that money - as long as it made sense to Al and me and was a good financial decision for the institution, that's $25 million, I'm sure that would be a box that would be easy to check, we'd put that in place.
"At the end of the day Alonzo wants to see this program back at the top just like all of us."
* James says he's seen some Duck Dynasty episodes thank to his son. That's the sponsor of the bowl game.
