You are welcome in advance Gary.....
My Manifesto. Don't read it if you don't care. I get it. A long parting statement.
I only recently started posting with any frequency but I have been in the shadows for quite some time. I am going to bow out again at this point and go back into the shadows. I wish everyone the best in dealing with this part of their lives. I know some carry it closer to their heart than others. I live in the real world and evaluate where to spend my time based on actions and not rhetoric. We all have choices and I respect each of yours individually.
I am a pretty successful guy, I played the game, played baseball at a high level, and have seen a thing or two in my business life that are consistent with sustainable success. Sustainable structure will win every time over hiring qualified individuals...someone individually will inevitably fail you. So this is my informed vision of some of the issues we are dealing with.
I also know no one really cares what I have to say likely, but I do wish to share some thoughts and observations on the off chance someone may consider the thoughts.
These are not some smoke up the ass revelations or any sort of "put downs" to anyone here. I value the passion here from the true fans and those that go after the trolls have particular fondness to me. This is just my view of reality after seeing a lot in my years and I hope it provides perspective for anyone that cares to read all this.
I have been to hundreds of college football games and always been a Cane Fan. This fan base and site is different. It can be called passion, but it can also be seen as I see it, which is unrealistic and lacking perception. It reality it is both. This fan base is as delusional as I have ever seen. It is also as passionate as I have ever seen. That part I love. But, Coach this or Coach that are not going to "fix" the problems in a sustainable manner, even if some "coaches" would be great bandaids.
I spent time writing this because you and this site are also more passionate than any I have ever seen. You and Miami athletics are worth it
The grand fact of the matter is that through their actions or lack thereof, the BOT and Blake James have told us that we do not matter. Our opinions do not, nor do our dollars. They pail in contrast to buy outs, TV contracts, Shoe deals or educational contributions....we do not matter. Perception however does. They have likely done a cost loss analysis and recognized that our lost apparel and ticket sales dollars do not have the effect of buy out money or reappropriating educational dollars.
They are so disrespectful of our intellect that they believe we actually buy into BJ's "building champions" tweets and firing an OC really are actionable changes. The BOT, CMD, and Blake James truly believe they are fooling people. And to some degree they are.
The seeds of "bad apple talk", "Herb is the problem", etc are starting to be bought into by some...even here.It is as transparent as a leaked firing before a Bowl Game. The issues are systemic and much larger than a locker room full of Ganga smoking knuckleheads that could be cleaned up in 6 months by any Alpha with big balls and authority.
There are a million threads about Blake James and a hatred of the man. I am sure he cares about this school. He is likely a great neighbor. Unfortunately he cares more about Blake James. His loyalty and micro-vision limit his ability to see reality. Gary Ferman has said that Blake James is good at his job in other areas....I totally disagree...as does Dewan Hernandez, Al Golden's lawyers, any coach that may have wanted to come here in the 30 minuets prior to Manny Diaz being hired, James Gatto, and a hundred other issues. James is seen as "cool under pressure" when in fact others have described him to me as "disengaged" and there is no one choosing to hold him accountable for bad decisions.
Regarding kids, Reality is this is a changing/changed world, with a different way of communicating and a different view of loyalty and mobility....................however this institution has not had the vision or breadth of involvement to change with the world, and is instead relying on a brand value that is perceptual and no longer relevant. Simply put these kids/recruits worlds have become more mobile, their values have changed and we have not identified how to connect and we no longer have the brand value to overcome those changes in our world. Worse we have no structural plan other than an arbitrary CMD "we will identify kids who want to be Hurricanes"........i.e....this is going to get worse.
Structurally the institution has relied on too few inputs (people) to effectively make good decisions and worse they do not hold the people entrusted to make good decisions accountable when they make bad ones. The organizational structure is behind the times not due to the availability of money but rather those in power do not see, understand or care that the brand value created by athletics supports the brand value of the institution. Instead they see this separately and not as a synergy. It is a fundamental divide that has been left unmanaged or "set aside" to Blake James or Kibry Hocutt or Shawn Eichorst. They rely on people and not structure for sustainability.
The Stouffer Indoor facility while acceptable happened 10 years behind the times. The locker room is horrendous, an off site stadium, a lack of oversight and any sort of recruiting structure, a horribly disjointed communications department with no message, no clear objectives, a lack of controls and procedures....it is far more than "just a coach". The fact that this is either not seen or not addressed is a failure of those limited few in charge...i.e. Blake James.
Further structurally the BOT does not care about or identify with winning athletic programs. They identify with perceptual institutional value of the education at the U. There is nothing wrong with this fact. Where it goes south is that the BOT and Blake James have sold us a brill of goods that they do care.....their actions or lack thereof, say they don't.
From a coaching standpoint, a series of bad hires from Larry Coker to CMD wrapped in the tradition of being a stepping stone job instead of a destination job have contributed to a significantly deteriorating brand. Fact is brand value is what we are passionate about, not any recent results to be proud of. The tradition, the memories, and the things old farts from our youth used to talk about is what we identify with. We are (institutionally speaking) the old ****ers that can't walk but used to be more bad ass than todays kids and we tell great stories about how things used to be, all while blindly and delusionally hoping to re-live better days.
The fact this BOT, Blake James, and the institution has players as engaged and caring as much as they do is amazing considering that their commitment and building of brand is largely not appreciated by virtue of having any sort of input into the direction of the program. Other than a token Jonathan Vilma. That type disrespect on the field would have led to downright mutiny.
In getting to Coach Manny Diaz, IMHO you. cannot fault a man for wanting to move up in his lot in life, a coach for wanting to be a HC, or a man raised in the community to want to be a "savior". CMD IMO really believes he can solve this problem and he wants to. The reality is and should be obvious. Wanting to do something, and having the ability and experience at the right time to accomplish your goals are two separate issues. Manny Diaz has good intentions, his goals are admirable and he lacks the ability, experience to get it done at this point in time.
My reality is this is a perfect storm of bad decisions, lack of structure, lack of experience and oversight brought on by misappropriated trust and a dash of apathy that have led this Football program to life support. These are not bad people doing bad things on purpose, and they do not deserve (IMHO) the hatred that goes with those type acts. That does not however release them from the accountability of their actions in a very harsh and direct way.
I am not "leaving" due to lack of wins. I am choosing to spend less of my time caring until someone else cares as much as I do.
People must be fired (lots of people) and a structure put in place that is sustainable before I engage my time in this program. Until that happens, I wish you all the best.
My Manifesto. Don't read it if you don't care. I get it. A long parting statement.
I only recently started posting with any frequency but I have been in the shadows for quite some time. I am going to bow out again at this point and go back into the shadows. I wish everyone the best in dealing with this part of their lives. I know some carry it closer to their heart than others. I live in the real world and evaluate where to spend my time based on actions and not rhetoric. We all have choices and I respect each of yours individually.
I am a pretty successful guy, I played the game, played baseball at a high level, and have seen a thing or two in my business life that are consistent with sustainable success. Sustainable structure will win every time over hiring qualified individuals...someone individually will inevitably fail you. So this is my informed vision of some of the issues we are dealing with.
I also know no one really cares what I have to say likely, but I do wish to share some thoughts and observations on the off chance someone may consider the thoughts.
These are not some smoke up the ass revelations or any sort of "put downs" to anyone here. I value the passion here from the true fans and those that go after the trolls have particular fondness to me. This is just my view of reality after seeing a lot in my years and I hope it provides perspective for anyone that cares to read all this.
I have been to hundreds of college football games and always been a Cane Fan. This fan base and site is different. It can be called passion, but it can also be seen as I see it, which is unrealistic and lacking perception. It reality it is both. This fan base is as delusional as I have ever seen. It is also as passionate as I have ever seen. That part I love. But, Coach this or Coach that are not going to "fix" the problems in a sustainable manner, even if some "coaches" would be great bandaids.
I spent time writing this because you and this site are also more passionate than any I have ever seen. You and Miami athletics are worth it
The grand fact of the matter is that through their actions or lack thereof, the BOT and Blake James have told us that we do not matter. Our opinions do not, nor do our dollars. They pail in contrast to buy outs, TV contracts, Shoe deals or educational contributions....we do not matter. Perception however does. They have likely done a cost loss analysis and recognized that our lost apparel and ticket sales dollars do not have the effect of buy out money or reappropriating educational dollars.
They are so disrespectful of our intellect that they believe we actually buy into BJ's "building champions" tweets and firing an OC really are actionable changes. The BOT, CMD, and Blake James truly believe they are fooling people. And to some degree they are.
The seeds of "bad apple talk", "Herb is the problem", etc are starting to be bought into by some...even here.It is as transparent as a leaked firing before a Bowl Game. The issues are systemic and much larger than a locker room full of Ganga smoking knuckleheads that could be cleaned up in 6 months by any Alpha with big balls and authority.
There are a million threads about Blake James and a hatred of the man. I am sure he cares about this school. He is likely a great neighbor. Unfortunately he cares more about Blake James. His loyalty and micro-vision limit his ability to see reality. Gary Ferman has said that Blake James is good at his job in other areas....I totally disagree...as does Dewan Hernandez, Al Golden's lawyers, any coach that may have wanted to come here in the 30 minuets prior to Manny Diaz being hired, James Gatto, and a hundred other issues. James is seen as "cool under pressure" when in fact others have described him to me as "disengaged" and there is no one choosing to hold him accountable for bad decisions.
Regarding kids, Reality is this is a changing/changed world, with a different way of communicating and a different view of loyalty and mobility....................however this institution has not had the vision or breadth of involvement to change with the world, and is instead relying on a brand value that is perceptual and no longer relevant. Simply put these kids/recruits worlds have become more mobile, their values have changed and we have not identified how to connect and we no longer have the brand value to overcome those changes in our world. Worse we have no structural plan other than an arbitrary CMD "we will identify kids who want to be Hurricanes"........i.e....this is going to get worse.
Structurally the institution has relied on too few inputs (people) to effectively make good decisions and worse they do not hold the people entrusted to make good decisions accountable when they make bad ones. The organizational structure is behind the times not due to the availability of money but rather those in power do not see, understand or care that the brand value created by athletics supports the brand value of the institution. Instead they see this separately and not as a synergy. It is a fundamental divide that has been left unmanaged or "set aside" to Blake James or Kibry Hocutt or Shawn Eichorst. They rely on people and not structure for sustainability.
The Stouffer Indoor facility while acceptable happened 10 years behind the times. The locker room is horrendous, an off site stadium, a lack of oversight and any sort of recruiting structure, a horribly disjointed communications department with no message, no clear objectives, a lack of controls and procedures....it is far more than "just a coach". The fact that this is either not seen or not addressed is a failure of those limited few in charge...i.e. Blake James.
Further structurally the BOT does not care about or identify with winning athletic programs. They identify with perceptual institutional value of the education at the U. There is nothing wrong with this fact. Where it goes south is that the BOT and Blake James have sold us a brill of goods that they do care.....their actions or lack thereof, say they don't.
From a coaching standpoint, a series of bad hires from Larry Coker to CMD wrapped in the tradition of being a stepping stone job instead of a destination job have contributed to a significantly deteriorating brand. Fact is brand value is what we are passionate about, not any recent results to be proud of. The tradition, the memories, and the things old farts from our youth used to talk about is what we identify with. We are (institutionally speaking) the old ****ers that can't walk but used to be more bad ass than todays kids and we tell great stories about how things used to be, all while blindly and delusionally hoping to re-live better days.
The fact this BOT, Blake James, and the institution has players as engaged and caring as much as they do is amazing considering that their commitment and building of brand is largely not appreciated by virtue of having any sort of input into the direction of the program. Other than a token Jonathan Vilma. That type disrespect on the field would have led to downright mutiny.
In getting to Coach Manny Diaz, IMHO you. cannot fault a man for wanting to move up in his lot in life, a coach for wanting to be a HC, or a man raised in the community to want to be a "savior". CMD IMO really believes he can solve this problem and he wants to. The reality is and should be obvious. Wanting to do something, and having the ability and experience at the right time to accomplish your goals are two separate issues. Manny Diaz has good intentions, his goals are admirable and he lacks the ability, experience to get it done at this point in time.
My reality is this is a perfect storm of bad decisions, lack of structure, lack of experience and oversight brought on by misappropriated trust and a dash of apathy that have led this Football program to life support. These are not bad people doing bad things on purpose, and they do not deserve (IMHO) the hatred that goes with those type acts. That does not however release them from the accountability of their actions in a very harsh and direct way.
I am not "leaving" due to lack of wins. I am choosing to spend less of my time caring until someone else cares as much as I do.
People must be fired (lots of people) and a structure put in place that is sustainable before I engage my time in this program. Until that happens, I wish you all the best.
