Although there are seemingly an endless amount of ways in which to criticize Golden, and as much as I want the man fired at the drop of a dime, I do think that from time to time it is important to take a STEP BACK and try to analyze where we are with the BIGGER PICTURE as it concerns the program. We can certainly (and justifiably) spend all day and night debating whether or not Golden will in fact win enough games in 2015 to save his job- frankly there are only but a few "Golden loyalists" who BLINDLY support this guy against all reasonable criticism and all odds that he will be fired as soon as the final whistle of the 12th game is blown... Nevertheless, I do think that there are a FEW POSITIVE THINGS in which most, if not all, Canes fan can agree.
(1) Brad Kaaya- whether fair or not, Kaaya really is the face of this program for the next three years, provided he is here for the remainder of his eligibility. I believe that he has the physical skill sets, the cerebral ability to analyze defenses, and the natural leadership skills to make him the best quarterback in the ACC, and a top-10 quarterback in the country. Simply stated, the success of our program moving forward, REGARDLESS of who is coach, will depend a lot on the development and overall play of Kaaya. I suppose this opinion is nothing groundbreaking given the fact that the quarterback position is arguably the most important position in all of sports, but with that said it simply reiterates the importance of what Kaaya can do here moving forward.
(2) New University President- From the bits and pieces of information I have been reading and hearing, I think that the University will make a SINCERE COMMITMENT to hiring someone who will have a stronger desire to see our football program elite again. President Shalala was a GREAT University President in my opinion, and Lord knows how many times I have supported her and what she has done for the University over the years. Yet, an honest reflection about her attitude towards football leaves a sour taste in most of the mouths of Cane fans with whom I spoke. Simply stated, I think that Shalala was more concerned about wanting to have a "Yes Man" i.e. a Shannon or Golden who would try to keep the entire program away from NCAA scrutiny and be content with 8-9 wins, rather than bringing in an Erickson or Jimmy type coach who could turn the program around within 3 years but perhaps "push the envelope" when it came to recruiting or bringing in certain character issue players. Ironically, the Shapiro scandal happened under Shalala's watch, and she shares her blame in that whole mess. The NEW PRESIDENT will hopefully BRING A BREEZE OF FRESH AIR into this program and help BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO IT... We'll see, but we won't have a dominant football program again until we have a University President who has a BONA FIDE interest in seeing us great again.
(3) South Florida Talent- It isn't going anywhere. lol. If anything, South Florida Talent is only going to get better. I think that some of you are putting too much emotion and concern into who we have, and who we haven't recruited/offered in next year's 2016 recruiting class. As I've stated several times, it is March 2015- I'll worry about our 2016 Recruiting Class when we are actually in 2016, and here is why... Either Golden will in fact (albeit highly unlikely) turn this program around by winning a bunch of games which will in turn bring in better overall talent on both sides of the ball; OR, Golden is fired, and with a new University President AND NEW HEAD COACH who has the PEDIGREE, we are able to land better overall talent on both sides of the ball because those recruits will see the potential in what we can do moving forward under a new regime from top to bottom. So, we don't have to travel far to land elite talent- as Howard famously stated, The U needs to REBUILD the "State of Miami" when it comes to recruiting, and there is no better way to do that than either winning with Golden for firing a below average Golden and hiring a proven winner. Either way, we have always had, and always WILL have the talent in our backyard- it is up to us to go and get it!
(4) Skill Positions- We have some excellent talent on BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL. I understand that a lot of Canes fans have concerns about our offensive and defensive lines, and whether we can be "physical" in the trenches and all of that. LEGITIMATE CONCERNS, and that is an absolute unfortunate reality of the situation right now. That said, we still have a great opportunity to at least be competitive in games this year and even next year because of the type of talent we have at Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Safety. I also think that our cornerbacks can be better than what some people believe, but maybe I'm just being a bit too optimistic. Overall, I still see a lot of team speed across the roster. I think that these guys sometimes look "slow" or "out of rhythm" because of poor coaching and schemes, but the RAW TALENT and SKILL SETS is still there- maybe NOT at a top-10 in the country level, but GOOD ENOUGH to win the Coastal and compete in the ACC Championship Game.
(5) Soft Conference- I don't like having to hang my hat on the fact that the ACC is an average conference right now, but truth be told, it is a WIDE OPEN CONFERENCE in my honest opinion. Is there really a top-10 team anywhere in there? Florida State is without Jameis- they'll probably take a slight step backwards... How long can Duke sustain 9-10 wins...? They're better disciplined and coached but certainly not more talented. Slightly better coaching can beat Duke. Virginia Tech has really taken one or two steps back in the Conference- hell we beat them ON THE ROAD last year and we were average. Georgia Tech and that one-trick pony Flexbone Triple Option Offense can't be representing the Coastal division on a yearly basis, can they? Clemson is relatively stable but not elite and in the Atlantic Division. So really, this is a Conference which we should be representing in the ACC Championship Game, and the fact that we haven't done it since we've joined the ACC is frustrating to say the least- but the fact that the ACC remains an average conference AT BEST is what gives me some hope that we can someday soon DOMINATE IT, because hell I don't see any real team stepping up and taking complete command of the Coastal Division on a yearly basis...
So, just a few thoughts to consider- long term outlook. I think that this season will be frustrating, mostly more of the same s**t under Golden. I suppose I could be wrong about Golden and obviously he could turn this whole thing around much to most people's surprise. But, realistically, this season we have to RIDE IT OUT with Golden, but in doing so, REMEMBER that there are positives upon which we can build, so that when Golden is in fact fired, we will likely have several quality pieces in place.
Just my honest opinion.
Go Canes...!!!
Prost! (Cheers!)
This post was edited on 3/31 12:16 PM by advarkas
(1) Brad Kaaya- whether fair or not, Kaaya really is the face of this program for the next three years, provided he is here for the remainder of his eligibility. I believe that he has the physical skill sets, the cerebral ability to analyze defenses, and the natural leadership skills to make him the best quarterback in the ACC, and a top-10 quarterback in the country. Simply stated, the success of our program moving forward, REGARDLESS of who is coach, will depend a lot on the development and overall play of Kaaya. I suppose this opinion is nothing groundbreaking given the fact that the quarterback position is arguably the most important position in all of sports, but with that said it simply reiterates the importance of what Kaaya can do here moving forward.
(2) New University President- From the bits and pieces of information I have been reading and hearing, I think that the University will make a SINCERE COMMITMENT to hiring someone who will have a stronger desire to see our football program elite again. President Shalala was a GREAT University President in my opinion, and Lord knows how many times I have supported her and what she has done for the University over the years. Yet, an honest reflection about her attitude towards football leaves a sour taste in most of the mouths of Cane fans with whom I spoke. Simply stated, I think that Shalala was more concerned about wanting to have a "Yes Man" i.e. a Shannon or Golden who would try to keep the entire program away from NCAA scrutiny and be content with 8-9 wins, rather than bringing in an Erickson or Jimmy type coach who could turn the program around within 3 years but perhaps "push the envelope" when it came to recruiting or bringing in certain character issue players. Ironically, the Shapiro scandal happened under Shalala's watch, and she shares her blame in that whole mess. The NEW PRESIDENT will hopefully BRING A BREEZE OF FRESH AIR into this program and help BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO IT... We'll see, but we won't have a dominant football program again until we have a University President who has a BONA FIDE interest in seeing us great again.
(3) South Florida Talent- It isn't going anywhere. lol. If anything, South Florida Talent is only going to get better. I think that some of you are putting too much emotion and concern into who we have, and who we haven't recruited/offered in next year's 2016 recruiting class. As I've stated several times, it is March 2015- I'll worry about our 2016 Recruiting Class when we are actually in 2016, and here is why... Either Golden will in fact (albeit highly unlikely) turn this program around by winning a bunch of games which will in turn bring in better overall talent on both sides of the ball; OR, Golden is fired, and with a new University President AND NEW HEAD COACH who has the PEDIGREE, we are able to land better overall talent on both sides of the ball because those recruits will see the potential in what we can do moving forward under a new regime from top to bottom. So, we don't have to travel far to land elite talent- as Howard famously stated, The U needs to REBUILD the "State of Miami" when it comes to recruiting, and there is no better way to do that than either winning with Golden for firing a below average Golden and hiring a proven winner. Either way, we have always had, and always WILL have the talent in our backyard- it is up to us to go and get it!
(4) Skill Positions- We have some excellent talent on BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL. I understand that a lot of Canes fans have concerns about our offensive and defensive lines, and whether we can be "physical" in the trenches and all of that. LEGITIMATE CONCERNS, and that is an absolute unfortunate reality of the situation right now. That said, we still have a great opportunity to at least be competitive in games this year and even next year because of the type of talent we have at Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Safety. I also think that our cornerbacks can be better than what some people believe, but maybe I'm just being a bit too optimistic. Overall, I still see a lot of team speed across the roster. I think that these guys sometimes look "slow" or "out of rhythm" because of poor coaching and schemes, but the RAW TALENT and SKILL SETS is still there- maybe NOT at a top-10 in the country level, but GOOD ENOUGH to win the Coastal and compete in the ACC Championship Game.
(5) Soft Conference- I don't like having to hang my hat on the fact that the ACC is an average conference right now, but truth be told, it is a WIDE OPEN CONFERENCE in my honest opinion. Is there really a top-10 team anywhere in there? Florida State is without Jameis- they'll probably take a slight step backwards... How long can Duke sustain 9-10 wins...? They're better disciplined and coached but certainly not more talented. Slightly better coaching can beat Duke. Virginia Tech has really taken one or two steps back in the Conference- hell we beat them ON THE ROAD last year and we were average. Georgia Tech and that one-trick pony Flexbone Triple Option Offense can't be representing the Coastal division on a yearly basis, can they? Clemson is relatively stable but not elite and in the Atlantic Division. So really, this is a Conference which we should be representing in the ACC Championship Game, and the fact that we haven't done it since we've joined the ACC is frustrating to say the least- but the fact that the ACC remains an average conference AT BEST is what gives me some hope that we can someday soon DOMINATE IT, because hell I don't see any real team stepping up and taking complete command of the Coastal Division on a yearly basis...
So, just a few thoughts to consider- long term outlook. I think that this season will be frustrating, mostly more of the same s**t under Golden. I suppose I could be wrong about Golden and obviously he could turn this whole thing around much to most people's surprise. But, realistically, this season we have to RIDE IT OUT with Golden, but in doing so, REMEMBER that there are positives upon which we can build, so that when Golden is in fact fired, we will likely have several quality pieces in place.
Just my honest opinion.
Go Canes...!!!
Prost! (Cheers!)
This post was edited on 3/31 12:16 PM by advarkas
