Look, seriously I'm really tired of the excuses AND passes Golden continues to get. I don't care if he's well spoken and he uses fluff phrases and terms to evade questions. Let's talk facts and stop giving this guy undue credit.
Fact: He dealt with a tricky situation; he took over a team a that was in shambles and the Nevin Shapiro scandal was not a good look for the University.
Fiction: The cloud is the reason behind Golden's continued failure here.
Here's why:
In 2011, he took over a defense that, in the previous year, had allowed approx. 4.81 ypp (yards per play) and 323.3 ypg under an embattled Randy Shannon. Most of the players from that defense was still on the team and were not suspended due to the Shapiro Scandal. As soon as Golden and his staff took over the defense, the avg. increased to 5.48 ypp and 359.9 ypg. The excuse: players adjusting to a new scheme.
In 2012, Golden had his best recruiting class DESPITE the proverbial cloud. As a matter of fact, most of that class came from our own back yard. It was one of the best classes in the nation (top 10). Yet that same year, the defense gave up 6.11 ypp and 486.4 ypg (worst in program history). The excuse: team too young, not having enough depth.
In 2013, Golden pulled in another solid class, top 15 in the nation. Again, the cloud did not hinder a top flight class. The defense again gave up an abysmal 5.75 ypp and 426.4 ypg (this after starting the season 7-0 and finishing 2-4 down the stretch) The excuse: depth (although Golden said this was his deepest team thus far)
In 2014, again Golden pulled in a decent class...top 20 (as you can see, there's a trend that's now been developed regarding our class rankings. Each year, the further we get away from the cloud, the worst the classes have become...I wonder why).
The defense improved tremendously by allowing only 4.79ypp and 329.6ypg. HOWEVER, most of their numbers were based against a pedestrian schedule.
*The true numbers showed that we actually gave up 5.71 ypp and 376.6 ypg against the tougher part of our schedule while only giving up 3.81ypp and 274.8 ypg against FCS and lower tier FBS schools. Hence that is why our "total defense" looked good on paper.* The excuse: Wind, Night Games, Cliques
The fact of the matter is Golden's recruiting appears to have been better under the cloud. Maybe it's b/c kids were still hopeful and they bought into Golden's ideas...but the on-field production has been his biggest detriment. To compare us to Mizzou and USCe is laughable at best...shame on the author of that article for even mentioning them as a comparison.
You take Nick Saban, Urban Meyers, Gus Malzhan, Jimbo Fisher, Les Miles and you give them the rosters that Golden has had since 2011 w/ or w/o the cloud, and I guarantee we would see at least one title game appearance and a handful of BCS bowl game appearances.
The fact is Golden has been out coached since his days at Temple. He beat teams who were classified as FCS schools and lower tier FBS schools, but whenever he's faced teams with good records or who began and finished in the top 25, he's a sub .400 coach. That's just his moniker. So no, we may not be as talented as the 2001-2003 Canes, but we dang sure have the talent to win at least 10 games w/ our scheduling.
He's just not a good coach, no matter how he and the media try to spin his problem. We're 4 years removed from the cloud yet it's still hovering over the program. The cloud is Golden, and the moment that everyone realizes this, the better off we will be. The only progress we've made is that he's that much closer to being fired.