A huge part of the problem with Miami is the power vacuum in athletics. The lack of a respected, confident, autonomous AD is damaging the program. I always like to find a bad guy to blame, so let's go back in time to find one (or many).
It is a fact that the Randy was hired with less than overwhelming support. Many on the BOT, such as Paul DiMare, were staunchly opposed. But at that time, UM's AD was Paul Dee, who was loyal to the longtime Cane Shannon, and was going on his 13th year as AD. He was respected. Shalala was also an big Shannon supporter. Having not gotten to select a HC previously, coupled with her extremely high support overall on the board, and the blessing of Paul Dee, Shannon was hired despite a large contingency who were opposed.
This resulted in 3 things:
#1) Randy was on thin ice from the beginning. I'd be the first to say Randy deserved to be fired, but the reality of the matter is he was never going to coach here for very long unless he won titles quickly, b/c the anti-Randy contingent was simply waiting for any excuse to can him. Rich, powerful, old men don't like to be told they can't have what they want, particularly when their convictions are strong.
#2) As Randy began to fail, that very vocal anti-Randy crowd not only began to push for his firing, but puffed their chests that they were right in the first place. Partly out of appeasement, part out of thinking Dimare and co. had better foresight, their opinions were weighed more heavily on who the next coach would be.
#3) The BOT, and specifically Paul DiMare, essentially picked the next Head Coach, Al Golden. Not Donna, not Kirby, not the ex players. An old, spoiled, filthy rich tomato farmer. Now what we are seeing is this very proud man DiMare, having to come to terms with the fact that his selection is garbage. And proud old men don't like to concede that they are wrong, and will hold onto a bad idea just to avoid admitting as much. So the BOT is faced with split feelings not only on Al Golden but also with split feelings on who should make the decisions going forward.
Blake James might be a nice guy, but he commands zero respect as a leader. Now I understand the BOT has all final say. But the way companies work is they hire executives to run things and make decisions, and then he/she answers to them. What they are not supposed to do is run the day to day activities. Why hire an AD if he does nothing?
You want a bad guy in all this? Start with Paul DiMare and the power struggle of the BOT, b/c them tomatoes is rotten......
It is a fact that the Randy was hired with less than overwhelming support. Many on the BOT, such as Paul DiMare, were staunchly opposed. But at that time, UM's AD was Paul Dee, who was loyal to the longtime Cane Shannon, and was going on his 13th year as AD. He was respected. Shalala was also an big Shannon supporter. Having not gotten to select a HC previously, coupled with her extremely high support overall on the board, and the blessing of Paul Dee, Shannon was hired despite a large contingency who were opposed.
This resulted in 3 things:
#1) Randy was on thin ice from the beginning. I'd be the first to say Randy deserved to be fired, but the reality of the matter is he was never going to coach here for very long unless he won titles quickly, b/c the anti-Randy contingent was simply waiting for any excuse to can him. Rich, powerful, old men don't like to be told they can't have what they want, particularly when their convictions are strong.
#2) As Randy began to fail, that very vocal anti-Randy crowd not only began to push for his firing, but puffed their chests that they were right in the first place. Partly out of appeasement, part out of thinking Dimare and co. had better foresight, their opinions were weighed more heavily on who the next coach would be.
#3) The BOT, and specifically Paul DiMare, essentially picked the next Head Coach, Al Golden. Not Donna, not Kirby, not the ex players. An old, spoiled, filthy rich tomato farmer. Now what we are seeing is this very proud man DiMare, having to come to terms with the fact that his selection is garbage. And proud old men don't like to concede that they are wrong, and will hold onto a bad idea just to avoid admitting as much. So the BOT is faced with split feelings not only on Al Golden but also with split feelings on who should make the decisions going forward.
Blake James might be a nice guy, but he commands zero respect as a leader. Now I understand the BOT has all final say. But the way companies work is they hire executives to run things and make decisions, and then he/she answers to them. What they are not supposed to do is run the day to day activities. Why hire an AD if he does nothing?
You want a bad guy in all this? Start with Paul DiMare and the power struggle of the BOT, b/c them tomatoes is rotten......
