CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It had to be done.
You rarely see college coaches fired during the season unless they're found guilty of some sort of NCAA violation. But the Hurricanes' historic, embarrassing 58-0 loss to Clemson left Athletic Director Blake James with no choice: Al Golden had to be fired now.
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So what went wrong? Simply put: Golden wasn't the right fit. Former Canes have blasted him for ignoring their input and making them feel unwelcome. Whether he meant to lock them out or not, the fact players felt that way was a huge red flag. That would be a problem anywhere, but it's especially egregious for a program like Miami, which was built on the pride of the "U" family and an "us against the world" mentality.
Which brings us to the next problem: Golden's refusal to adapt his scheme to his players' strengths. Look, I've never coached football in my life. I'm very passionate about the sport, but also know enough *not* to assume I know what coaches are doing. But far too many analysts have questioned Golden (and defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio) for running a passive, "read and react" style of defense. That may have worked at Temple, where you didn't have ACC-level competition every week, or, more importantly, a recruiting base overflowing with fast players.
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But here in South Florida, that's what you've got: speed. A lot of it. So use it. Jimmy Johnson figured that out very quickly and turned the program into a juggernaut by turning his fast players loose on defense. Attack, attack, attack. Golden, on the other hand, refused to adapt his scheme to the talent around him. That may have been his ultimate downfall.
None of that would have mattered, of course, if Golden had won. But he didn't. His record was an unimpressive 32-25 and he never beat rival Florida State in five tries. His team consistently fell flat in big games against top competition (as we saw during Golden's final rodeo against No. 6 Clemson). Those results are why he's gone, of course, but it's easy to see how the "other issues" contributed to that.
Golden does deserve credit for helping lead Miami through a dark time in light of the Nevin Shapiro scandal. But fans grew tired of hearing him referring to "the cloud" that hung over the program. Fans, and even local radio hosts, called Golden out for always having an excuse about why things were going wrong.
But there was no excuse for what happened Saturday: an embarrassing loss on national television. Not many expected the Canes to win, but losing 58-0 and committing silly penalty after silly penalty was a bad look for a man on the hot seat.
Yes, it's unusual to see a college coach fired during the season. But Golden's tenure was anything but "usual."
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