You hire Zo because the state of our program being what it is at the highest levels. I'm not talking Manny or Strawley or the next offensive coordinator and O-line coach, those players come and go. The top of the top of this program need a man who has a proven track record at the highest levels of the sport to change the dynamic and urgency in which they do things.
People keep saying they don't care about winning. That is such a ridiculous notion. The reality is they don't know what to do to win and are never challenged by people who do.
I believe Zo can do that.
It really depends on who "they" are, and what time frame you are talking about. For example, I can't be convinced that Dan Enos, as a lame duck OC, really cared about winning the Walkon Independence Bowl. I also don't think a significant portion of the players really cared about winning that game. Many of them seemed preoccupied with thinking about next year, or going pro, or transferring to some other team... anything but focus on the game and winning. Clearly there were players who didn't care about beating FIU or Duke, either. The team was completely listless (I put a lot of that on the corches, but that's a different discussion). And not all the players, obviously, but enough to lose those games.
I also don't believe Blake James cares about winning any more than it being incidental to profitability and certain performance metrics for his job (or bonuses). I have to imagine he has some financial incentive in UM fielding a "winning" program. So sure, he'd like to win, but I don't believe he's ultimately willing to do the things required of him to win. He's more concerned about saving face and keeping the BOT happy. Speaking of the BOT, I know many members of the BOT only have a passing interest in athletics, let alone the football program. For the overwhelming majority of the BOT, fielding a championship caliber football team does not make their top 10 list of priorities for UM as an institution. Their main interest in UM football is marketing and branding the university as a whole. They see the football team as a means to an end.
I do (mostly) believe Manny Diaz wants to win and is putting in time in an attempt to win. But he clearly has no clue what he's doing or how to efficiently utilize his time to maximize wins. For instance, clowning F$U's staff for a corching clinic seemed like a lot of fun at the time (and I admit I thought it was a "savage" move at the moment), but looking back, what did that accomplish? In retrospect, maybe that time would have been better spent with his fellow corches preparing the game plan for UiF, or evaluating our OL's strengths and (mostly) weaknesses?
And then there is pride and self-preservation to contend with. Manny doesn't care enough about winning to allow someone to come in and take some degree of power over the football program from Manny. And Blake doesn't care enough about winning to take a strong stance against Manny on this and risk looking bad with the BOT. And the BOT doesn't care one way or another, so long as UM football is just good enough not to lose a lot of money and continue being a marketing tool for the University.
I believe adding Zo (or someone with similar passion and credentials) in a meaningful position of power over football operations would be a blessing for the program. I just don't think it'll happen with the current individuals in place. Hopefully I'm wrong.
