AllAboutDaU
Freshman
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2013
- Messages
- 1,058
As the UM administration stands publicly behind coach Al Golden and his staff, frustration and calls for change grow, behind the scenes, among some Board of Trustee members and donors, some of whom have started to express those views to high-ranking UM officials.
Some feedback from four prominent trustees, who asked that their names not be used:
### All four said Golden is expected to keep his job beyond this season.
Among the reasons: He’s signed through Feb. 1, 2020, and a multi-million dollar buyout would be a major obstacle; athletic director Blake James believes in Golden; there’s a sense of loyalty to Golden for steering UM through the NCAA investigation; and there’s a strong belief that president Donna Shalala would not fire her most visible coach before her May retirement.
“She doesn’t want to leave on a sour note like that,” one of the trustees said. “She’s not going to fire the coach and walk away,” another said. “She’s not going to leave that financial burden on a new president,” another said.
### How much anger is percolating among trustees and donors? “Everybody is very, very upset,” said one trustee. “We would like to see changes.”
Another respected trustee, who advocates defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio’s dismissal, said: “There’s a lot of frustration [among trustees]. And it’s not just with D’Onofrio. There’s also criticism of the defensive backs coach [Paul Williams]. And the criticism is starting to lap over to Golden.”
One trustee said “the donors are unhappy. They’re making noise and the pressure is starting to build on [athletic director] Blake James” to force Golden to make staff changes.
One trustee said he could not envision D’Onofrio being replaced during the season and said James has given no indication whether he would ask Golden to make staff changes after the season. One associate of Golden said that even though they are friends, people should not automatically conclude that Golden would not part ways with D’Onofrio if the problems worsen or persist.
### Could donor and booster pressure force the administration to fire coaches? Two of the trustees said they doubt it.
“One or two donors don’t make a difference, but when you have a lot of them, it’s a problem,” the trustee said, adding he has no indication that it has reached a point of many donors withholding contributions.
### Among the criticisms raised by one trustee: “You expect to see halftime adjustments and the coaches don’t make them. And you don’t see enough development and improvement from enough of our players.”
### Golden still has some trustee supporters.
“The reality is he got handed a bad deal,” said one influential trustee. “I wish people would settle down. He stayed here when he found out we were being investigated. Every coach was recruiting against him during the investigation, and as a result, we don’t have the caliber players we used to. You have to give him a couple more years to fill holes created during probation.”
If a change is eventually made, one trustee said do not look for Butch Davis to get the job. (Former UM player Joaquin Gonzalez said Davis, now with ESPN2, “would take the job in a heartbeat.”)
The trustee said Davis not only angered people with the way he left UM for the Cleveland Browns, but there are serious concerns about his departure from North Carolina under the cloud of an academic misconduct scandal. (Davis wasn’t implicated by the NCAA.)
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...phins-heat-marlins-chatter.html#storylink=cpy
Article from Barry Jackson. Not looking good for us
Some feedback from four prominent trustees, who asked that their names not be used:
### All four said Golden is expected to keep his job beyond this season.
Among the reasons: He’s signed through Feb. 1, 2020, and a multi-million dollar buyout would be a major obstacle; athletic director Blake James believes in Golden; there’s a sense of loyalty to Golden for steering UM through the NCAA investigation; and there’s a strong belief that president Donna Shalala would not fire her most visible coach before her May retirement.
“She doesn’t want to leave on a sour note like that,” one of the trustees said. “She’s not going to fire the coach and walk away,” another said. “She’s not going to leave that financial burden on a new president,” another said.
### How much anger is percolating among trustees and donors? “Everybody is very, very upset,” said one trustee. “We would like to see changes.”
Another respected trustee, who advocates defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio’s dismissal, said: “There’s a lot of frustration [among trustees]. And it’s not just with D’Onofrio. There’s also criticism of the defensive backs coach [Paul Williams]. And the criticism is starting to lap over to Golden.”
One trustee said “the donors are unhappy. They’re making noise and the pressure is starting to build on [athletic director] Blake James” to force Golden to make staff changes.
One trustee said he could not envision D’Onofrio being replaced during the season and said James has given no indication whether he would ask Golden to make staff changes after the season. One associate of Golden said that even though they are friends, people should not automatically conclude that Golden would not part ways with D’Onofrio if the problems worsen or persist.
### Could donor and booster pressure force the administration to fire coaches? Two of the trustees said they doubt it.
“One or two donors don’t make a difference, but when you have a lot of them, it’s a problem,” the trustee said, adding he has no indication that it has reached a point of many donors withholding contributions.
### Among the criticisms raised by one trustee: “You expect to see halftime adjustments and the coaches don’t make them. And you don’t see enough development and improvement from enough of our players.”
### Golden still has some trustee supporters.
“The reality is he got handed a bad deal,” said one influential trustee. “I wish people would settle down. He stayed here when he found out we were being investigated. Every coach was recruiting against him during the investigation, and as a result, we don’t have the caliber players we used to. You have to give him a couple more years to fill holes created during probation.”
If a change is eventually made, one trustee said do not look for Butch Davis to get the job. (Former UM player Joaquin Gonzalez said Davis, now with ESPN2, “would take the job in a heartbeat.”)
The trustee said Davis not only angered people with the way he left UM for the Cleveland Browns, but there are serious concerns about his departure from North Carolina under the cloud of an academic misconduct scandal. (Davis wasn’t implicated by the NCAA.)
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...phins-heat-marlins-chatter.html#storylink=cpy
Article from Barry Jackson. Not looking good for us
