Grading Coach Golden

Gi0logy

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Just looking to have an honest conversation during the slow time of the college football year. I've been following Coach Golden since his first year at Temple and watched just about every game he coached there (I'm a temple alum and went to school there from 07-11 but grew up in miami so my allegiance lies with the canes). I'm by no means an expert but here's just my assessment on him (mind you I'm one of his biggest fans). There is one department where I've always had some concerns in but I feel he grades very well in just about every other area.

Recruiting: B+
This is a bit of a harsh grade from me but its only because of the upside he has. I think he has already become one of the top recruiters in the nation especially with the NCAA royally ****ing us since he's been here. But the reason for the B+ is because I think he can become a top 3 recruiter when the NCAA investigation falls apart and there is nothing for schools to trash when it comes to miami. Upside of A+ in a matter of a year or two.

Staff hires: A
Something that I believe has been underrated. He's done an amazing job of hiring both top notch coaching talent and footballs rising coaches. Yeah there still might be a few question marks in Coach D and Jethro but I certainly don't blame him for sticking with them. They were key factors in his success at temple and I have faith they prove it this year as they did at Temple.

Player Development: A-
Another one of his strengths. He seems to always get the best out of most players and there always seems to be a few sleepers that come out of nowhere every season. He finds diamonds in the rough and molds them into high draft picks (Mohammed Wilkerson, bernard pierce, tahir whitehead, Dominique Wilkins). I can't wait to see the improvement this year.

Motivation: A+
To me probably his strongest quality. Even at Temple, you could sense how motivated these players were. They all believed they were participating in something special and you can see it in the miami players as well. He finds these seemingly cheesy quotes and catchphrases but the players believe and live by them.

Game day coaching: C
This is where I've always cast my doubts on him as a coach. Maybe it's a bit too harsh but I've always felt there are 2-3 games a year where he is out coached. At Temple by his third year he about on the same talent level as the rest of the Mac. By the end of his time there he had far ecplised them in talent yet he was never able to win the Mac. I know every coach will stumble in a few games but I feel it happens too often.

Again just trying to stir up a conversation. By no means do I claim to be an expert here just giving a fans perspective. I know there are probably some other categories to judge So feel free to include other areas. What do you guys think? Sorry for typos I'm typing this before work and haven't had coffee.
 
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The defensive coaching staff needs to do a better job. Golden, Jethro, Dorito, Barrow, and Williams haven't exactly made the most out of what they've had.
 
I give Golden a B at this point. This is the year to make a move with his 3rd recruiting class. Shannon left the cupboard bare with entitled babies. The defense is where most of the improvement needs to be made, and a 9-10 win season in 2013 will help with 2014 recruiting.
 
I think Golden has mostly done a fantastic job. He's done wonders with off the field stuff, recruited good talent at most positions, and instilled the attitude and work ethic that a winning program needs. As rok said, though, I believe he still has much to prove re: the defense.
 
Game day coaching: C
This is where I've always cast my doubts on him as a coach. Maybe it's a bit too harsh but I've always felt there are 2-3 games a year where he is out coached. At Temple by his third year he about on the same talent level as the rest of the Mac. By the end of his time there he had far ecplised them in talent yet he was never able to win the Mac. I know every coach will stumble in a few games but I feel it happens too often.
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How do you figure that Temple "far eclipsed" the rest of the MAC in talent? If you go by recruiting rankings as a guide (rivals rankings), they never finished with the highest rated class in the MAC during Golden's 4 years there. They finished 2nd in his last year (2010), but that was still only good enough for #75 overall, only a few spots better than several other MAC teams. So it's not like he was pulling in 3- and 4-star talent while the rest of the conference was pulling in a steady diet of 1- or 2-star guys.
 
Fair assessment, though I would disagree on game day coaching, I would give it a B- to a B, due to the fact that many times under him we have been the better team in the second half. But all in all agree. And in college football, if you grade out like that, you will be a title contender consistently. Too much is made of the head coach being an X's & O's guy, Jimmy was average X & O guy (still haven't forgiven him for fiesta bowl mother fricker), Butch was an average game day coach, but they excelled in every other facet of running a football program. Especially if you have the ability to bring in the right assistants. For now, it does appear to e the case, in 2 years he's had assistants move on for better positions.
 
beat FSU/BEAT UF BEAT UNC BEAT UVA....I will give him a magical gold star and A+++++....
 
What was Golden's % on challenges last year? Had to be between 0-25%, I don't know how many TO's he wasted with useless challenges.
 
Yeah while he might not have pulled the #1 recruiting class every year (he arguably had the #1 class a few years) he was definitely pulling in a top 3 class consistently towards the end. I think most MAC followers would agree that he had some REALLY good MAC teams his last few seasons and probably should have won a title.

Fair assessment though. Maybe "far eclipsed" is a stretch but he built a really good team and his last few years there were expectations (which doesn't happen at Temple) for him to win the MAC. I believe they lost a few games they should have won, which I know happens to every team, but I remember watching some of the bigger games and feeling like the opposing coach got the better of him that game. MAC title game against Ohio in '09 and a few games in '10 where we were a favorite to win the MAC.

Game day coaching: C
This is where I've always cast my doubts on him as a coach. Maybe it's a bit too harsh but I've always felt there are 2-3 games a year where he is out coached. At Temple by his third year he about on the same talent level as the rest of the Mac. By the end of his time there he had far ecplised them in talent yet he was never able to win the Mac. I know every coach will stumble in a few games but I feel it happens too often.
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How do you figure that Temple "far eclipsed" the rest of the MAC in talent? If you go by recruiting rankings as a guide (rivals rankings), they never finished with the highest rated class in the MAC during Golden's 4 years there. They finished 2nd in his last year (2010), but that was still only good enough for #75 overall, only a few spots better than several other MAC teams. So it's not like he was pulling in 3- and 4-star talent while the rest of the conference was pulling in a steady diet of 1- or 2-star guys.
 
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the fact that he had that loser of a program called Temple in a position to even have top 3 classes within the conference speaks volumes of how fast he built that program.
 
he gets a B so far at Miami based on performance. the guy gets an A in the "upside class". but you can only grade on results. he hasn't won ish. 6-6 and 7-5 is terrible (yes, I know the circumstances, but still.) he gets the B because of how well he has driven this bus through the storm of the NCAA, his very good recruiting and all he has done to change the culture of the program.

so Alfred gets a B in my book.
 
The defensive coaching staff needs to do a better job. Golden, Jethro, Dorito, Barrow, and Williams haven't exactly made the most out of what they've had.

I think Golden has mostly done a fantastic job. He's done wonders with off the field stuff, recruited good talent at most positions, and instilled the attitude and work ethic that a winning program needs. As rok said, though, I believe he still has much to prove re: the defense.

its not as fun when you guys aren't on team nites like in the wez.
those responses were way too tame.
 
It's pointless to grade a coach after only two years, especially with all the crap that's been going down.

This is the year we'll see what this coaching staff is made of.
 
It's pointless to grade a coach after only two years, especially with all the crap that's been going down.

This is the year we'll see what this coaching staff is made of.

No, it's not pointless. This is a football forum, where Miami football is discussed. It also so happens to be the off-season, where there is often a lack of discussion for obvious reasons.
 
The defensive coaching staff needs to do a better job. Golden, Jethro, Dorito, Barrow, and Williams haven't exactly made the most out of what they've had.

I don't think Williams gets enough credit around here.

I think he's done a good job given the "talent" he's been given to work with thus far. ****, by the end of last season he had Rodgers looking half-way not ******.
 
Dorito and Jethro are the main culprits IMO. I agree that Williams seems to be doing a good job. I'm excited about our DBs.
 
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Golden has done a great job building the "Brand" of Miami. Now he needs to build the winning part. 10 wins is a must this year. Frankly that is very attainable. He needs to get us to 10 wins min and in a BCS game. This team is ready for the next step.
 
Yeah while he might not have pulled the #1 recruiting class every year (he arguably had the #1 class a few years) he was definitely pulling in a top 3 class consistently towards the end. I think most MAC followers would agree that he had some REALLY good MAC teams his last few seasons and probably should have won a title.

Fair assessment though. Maybe "far eclipsed" is a stretch but he built a really good team and his last few years there were expectations (which doesn't happen at Temple) for him to win the MAC. I believe they lost a few games they should have won, which I know happens to every team, but I remember watching some of the bigger games and feeling like the opposing coach got the better of him that game. MAC title game against Ohio in '09 and a few games in '10 where we were a favorite to win the MAC.

Game day coaching: C
This is where I've always cast my doubts on him as a coach. Maybe it's a bit too harsh but I've always felt there are 2-3 games a year where he is out coached. At Temple by his third year he about on the same talent level as the rest of the Mac. By the end of his time there he had far ecplised them in talent yet he was never able to win the Mac. I know every coach will stumble in a few games but I feel it happens too often.
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How do you figure that Temple "far eclipsed" the rest of the MAC in talent? If you go by recruiting rankings as a guide (rivals rankings), they never finished with the highest rated class in the MAC during Golden's 4 years there. They finished 2nd in his last year (2010), but that was still only good enough for #75 overall, only a few spots better than several other MAC teams. So it's not like he was pulling in 3- and 4-star talent while the rest of the conference was pulling in a steady diet of 1- or 2-star guys.


I hate to harp on it, but I still think you're overstating the amount of talent he had at Temple.

In 2007, Temple's class ranked 89th overall, behind 2/3rd of the MAC.

In 2008, they ranked 82nd overall, 5th in the MAC, behind WMU, Toledo, Kent State, and Akron.

In 2009, they ranked 112tb overall, pretty much dead last in the MAC.

In 2010, they ranked 75th, good enough for 2nd in the MAC.

So only one year--his last--were they even in the top 3 in the MAC.
 
If Golden loses to Larry Fedora or Mike London this season, there should be questions about his game-day coaching. Plenty of talent on this team to beat UVa and UNC.

But this season won't make or break him, either way. He's still a "young" coach. Plenty of time to build a legit dynasty. He's not an elite coach, yet ... But that doesn't mean he won't ever be elite. Just might take a few more seasons ...
 
But this season won't make or break him, either way. He's still a "young" coach. Plenty of time to build a legit dynasty. He's not an elite coach, yet ... But that doesn't mean he won't ever be elite. Just might take a few more seasons ...


This is something that is easily overlooked. Guys like Meyers, Sweatervest, Kelly, Saban, Miles all enjoyed a good amount of success at their previous stops before playing for titles at big-time powerhouses. Goldens has all the makings of a great one if he can make a few adjustments to his defense. He definitely gets it.
 
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