Coker..Shannon..Golden

[Vanquish9]

We would have been better off shutting down the program for a decade.

yup. recruits would be jumping on board once they returned football to miami after 10 years

 

[canesman]

Next head coach must be an offensive play caller.

Urban Meyer, Mark Helfrich, Jimbo Fisher, etc.

Otherwise you are worrying about replacing your OC every two years. Ask Saban how that feels.

Rob Chudsinski is best candidate by far. Surrounded by one or two great recruiters and he would be a grand slam home run.

 

[RickyDaKing]

Shannon saved us from the Death Penalty...besides that he was a good defensive coach but he was way in over his head from jump. Coker benefited from having Butch's team once they all graduated Coker got exposed for the fraud that he was...Al Golden No comment.

 

[Torocane]

IiIi

For me the killer was hiring Shannon. Shannon was simply not qualified and was a mistake. It set the program back tremendously, and Golden was just a continuation of that mediocrity. UM was coming off a monster run when Coker was let go. He obviously was not up to the task of maintaining an elite program. But instead of going out and hiring a top gun coach, at a time when UM was paying pretty well, someone like Gary Patterson, who would have been a MONSTER at Miami, and could have been had back then, they went with the cheap and easy pick. Yes he was a former Cane, and had the heart warming "hard knock life" story and all that, but there was NOTHING Shannon had ever exhibited to suggest he was HC material. Even as a DC, he was reclusive, weird with the media, his recruiting was questionable, he had no real strong pedigree beyond bouncing around a few places as a position coach. Wasn't like he had been Jimmy Johnson's right hand man, or learned at the right hand of a top coach.

They gambled on Shannon, hoping that it was all a matter of a local/Miami former Cane who could keep the local recruits home and it would all work out. Instead Shannon had no ability to recruit quality assistants, was lost as an HC, his recruiting beyond his one big class was uneven and got progressively worse, and it just dug us deeper and deeper into the hole. By the time he was canned, UM had been out of the "Elite Spotlight" for so long, that getting a big fish to bite on the job was probably a long shot, so they had to go with the "up and coming young HC" route.

All told Golden seemed on paper to be a decent choice. Obviously he has failed miserably. But not having replaced Coker with a top notch HC to keep the program running strong is what really dug the hole. Golden has been a total continuation of the Shannon mess. I mean its been almost identical in terms of results. Only difference is Golden is better with the media, in public and speaking, and the Shapiro mess got him a deeper extension that has obviously made it harder to can him.

Funny you mentioned Gary Patterson. Gary was scheduled to interview for the job the week they decided to hire Shannon.
It highlights the incompetence of the administration that they did such a half *** search and didn't follow through the interviews they had set up.
Maybe doesn't take the job...maybe he does but how is the admin so lazy that they don't bother to go through an interview that was all ready scheduled. Nope just gave it to Randy.

 

[azcanesfan]

When Golden gets canned, I mean its inevitable at this point I would hope. Do you guys feel he's leaving the cupboard in decent shape for the next coach or are we looking at a similar situation to the dumpster fire Shannon left behind?

Golden does a lot of things well. He runs a pretty good program, develops players and recruits hard. Really, about the only thing al doesnt do is...... well, ..... win. Its very strange to see a guy who is sooooo good at the process and is horrible in generating results. Yet his entire career proves this out. (he's entering year 10 as a head coach)

But to answer your question - the program will be better off when golden is let go after the 2015 season than it was after Coker or Randy departed.

Well said. I think his problem with winning stems from his coordinator hires. He really needs to work on hiring competent play callers on both O and D. And not being afraid to make changes to the coaching staff.

 

[ssj4cane]

Hiring Coker was a good decision. It netted a national title and one BS call away from a second. They should have canned him after year 4 when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't maintain the program. As others said hiring Shannon was the giant mistake. Golden on the surface seemed like a guy that should win but obviously UM didn't do there homework. Hes been an awful fit. I guess they were mesmorized by his binder.

Our next hire is gonna be crucial. Go out and pay for a legit coach or do the smart thing and hire Butch.

 

[SFbayCane]

When Golden gets canned, I mean its inevitable at this point I would hope. Do you guys feel he's leaving the cupboard in decent shape for the next coach or are we looking at a similar situation to the dumpster fire Shannon left behind?

Golden does a lot of things well. He runs a pretty good program, develops players and recruits hard. Really, about the only thing al doesnt do is...... well, ..... win. Its very strange to see a guy who is sooooo good at the process and is horrible in generating results. Yet his entire career proves this out. (he's entering year 10 as a head coach)

But to answer your question - the program will be better off when golden is let go after the 2015 season than it was after Coker or Randy departed.

Well said. I think his problem with winning stems from his coordinator hires. He really needs to work on hiring competent play callers on both O and D. And not being afraid to make changes to the coaching staff.

I do not share that opinion nor do the facts support that. Golden's failures stem from one thing and one thing only - He is a stupidly stubborn man. He values his process over results. That's why he is successful at micro level stuff but is an abject failure in the macro sense.

There have been enough examples for everyone to see. My favorite example is Luther Robinson. When Luther Robinson broke ranks by disobeying golden and playing aggressively, golden not only benched him but tried to force him out of the program, tried to force Luther to move to O line (when the O line depth chart was solid and we were begging for D tackles). At one point I remember having a discussion with Mike Bakas (scout.com Canes guy) where we both noted that Luther Robinson looked like our best DT yet golden benched him.

Luther Robinson made an NFL playoff roster in one year out of UM after starting only 3 games under al golden. Again, golden doesnt give a **** about winning, he only knows HIS process, HIS way. Results are ancillary to that.

 

[JimmyJohnsonsHair]

Hiring Coker was a good decision. It netted a national title and one BS call away from a second. They should have canned him after year 4 when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't maintain the program. As others said hiring Shannon was the giant mistake. Golden on the surface seemed like a guy that should win but obviously UM didn't do there homework. Hes been an awful fit. I guess they were mesmorized by his binder.

Our next hire is gonna be crucial. Go out and pay for a legit coach or do the smart thing and hire Butch.

I disagree on Coker. It was not a good decision. He was in the right place at the right time to win the National Championship thanks to the talent he inherited from Butch but the administration should have shown leadership and hired a coach with more of a track record. Instead they caved to a bunch of 20 year old kids. The Coker hire started the downward spiral that led to the Shannon disaster which was an even worse hiring decision than Coker, and then ultimately the Golden fiasco.

 

[SFbayCane]

Hiring Coker was a good decision. It netted a national title and one BS call away from a second. They should have canned him after year 4 when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't maintain the program. As others said hiring Shannon was the giant mistake. Golden on the surface seemed like a guy that should win but obviously UM didn't do there homework. Hes been an awful fit. I guess they were mesmorized by his binder.

Our next hire is gonna be crucial. Go out and pay for a legit coach or do the smart thing and hire Butch.

I disagree on Coker. It was not a good decision. He was in the right place at the right time to win the National Championship thanks to the talent he inherited from Butch but the administration should have shown leadership and hired a coach with more of a track record. Instead they caved to a bunch of 20 year old kids. The Coker hire started the downward spiral that led to the Shannon disaster which was an even worse hiring decision than Coker, and then ultimately the Golden fiasco.

Im on the other side of that opinion, JJ. Hiring Coker was exactly the right thing to do. The proof is in the puddin'. Coker won 20 something in a row, including a national title. Continuity was the most important thing at that time. The greatness of Larry Coker was that he was smart enough not to try to fix something that was not broken.

Any new coach would have likely changed a lot of things that might have cost us early. As well, some of the draft able underclassmen might have left early. Again, proof is in the pudding. Cannot say it was a bad hire if he won a title.

The extension of Larry Coker, what that's a whole nutter issue.

 

[CANE4LIFE]

IiIi

For me the killer was hiring Shannon. Shannon was simply not qualified and was a mistake. It set the program back tremendously, and Golden was just a continuation of that mediocrity. UM was coming off a monster run when Coker was let go. He obviously was not up to the task of maintaining an elite program. But instead of going out and hiring a top gun coach, at a time when UM was paying pretty well, someone like Gary Patterson, who would have been a MONSTER at Miami, and could have been had back then, they went with the cheap and easy pick. Yes he was a former Cane, and had the heart warming "hard knock life" story and all that, but there was NOTHING Shannon had ever exhibited to suggest he was HC material. Even as a DC, he was reclusive, weird with the media, his recruiting was questionable, he had no real strong pedigree beyond bouncing around a few places as a position coach. Wasn't like he had been Jimmy Johnson's right hand man, or learned at the right hand of a top coach.

They gambled on Shannon, hoping that it was all a matter of a local/Miami former Cane who could keep the local recruits home and it would all work out. Instead Shannon had no ability to recruit quality assistants, was lost as an HC, his recruiting beyond his one big class was uneven and got progressively worse, and it just dug us deeper and deeper into the hole. By the time he was canned, UM had been out of the "Elite Spotlight" for so long, that getting a big fish to bite on the job was probably a long shot, so they had to go with the "up and coming young HC" route.

All told Golden seemed on paper to be a decent choice. Obviously he has failed miserably. But not having replaced Coker with a top notch HC to keep the program running strong is what really dug the hole. Golden has been a total continuation of the Shannon mess. I mean its been almost identical in terms of results. Only difference is Golden is better with the media, in public and speaking, and the Shapiro mess got him a deeper extension that has obviously made it harder to can him.

Funny you mentioned Gary Patterson. Gary was scheduled to interview for the job the week they decided to hire Shannon.
It highlights the incompetence of the administration that they did such a half *** search and didn't follow through the interviews they had set up.
Maybe doesn't take the job...maybe he does but how is the admin so lazy that they don't bother to go through an interview that was all ready scheduled. Nope just gave it to Randy.

Im not sure that is confirmed, but there was definitely talk that Patterson was interested, or that there had been some contact there. He was my absolute #1 choice and dream candidate for the gig when we canned Coker. Patterson was absolutely PERFECT. Another reason why the Shannon hire was really the dagger in the heart that sent us into this spiral. Golden was just an extension of that.

 

[CANE4LIFE]

Hiring Coker was a good decision. It netted a national title and one BS call away from a second. They should have canned him after year 4 when it was obvious to everyone that he couldn't maintain the program. As others said hiring Shannon was the giant mistake. Golden on the surface seemed like a guy that should win but obviously UM didn't do there homework. Hes been an awful fit. I guess they were mesmorized by his binder.

Our next hire is gonna be crucial. Go out and pay for a legit coach or do the smart thing and hire Butch.

I disagree on Coker. It was not a good decision. He was in the right place at the right time to win the National Championship thanks to the talent he inherited from Butch but the administration should have shown leadership and hired a coach with more of a track record. Instead they caved to a bunch of 20 year old kids. The Coker hire started the downward spiral that led to the Shannon disaster which was an even worse hiring decision than Coker, and then ultimately the Golden fiasco.

Im on the other side of that opinion, JJ. Hiring Coker was exactly the right thing to do. The proof is in the puddin'. Coker won 20 something in a row, including a national title. Continuity was the most important thing at that time. The greatness of Larry Coker was that he was smart enough not to try to fix something that was not broken.

Any new coach would have likely changed a lot of things that might have cost us early. As well, some of the draft able underclassmen might have left early. Again, proof is in the pudding. Cannot say it was a bad hire if he won a title.

The extension of Larry Coker, what that's a whole nutter issue.

I agree with this. Hindsight is 20/20, but the reality is that Coker basically led us to TWO back to back undefeated seasons and 2 NCs, one of which we were robbed of. He had some monster recruiting classes, ON PAPER, but he let the program spiral out of control and he lost control of his staff, and recruited poorly. But at the time, he was the right call. A new HC could have come in, tried to put in a new system, brought in new coordinators and coaches, could have totally thrown everything out of balance, and wrecked what was inevitable. Coker was a steady hand that guided that team to its destiny. Once it was clear he was going down hill, THAT's when they should have had the foresight to say "ok, we need a competent HC to come in here and get things back on track". Not take a gamble on a guy with a few years as a coordinator, no HC experience, no real track record of learning under top coaches, etc. Gary Patterson would have taken all that talent and built a juggernaut in So Fla. Instead we sunk the program further into irrelevance and mediocrity.