I’ve seen several strange things in my years but I’m not sure anything could top what happened Friday night as Miami was losing to Boston College.
Miami is down ten in the 4th quarter, to a team they should have beat the you-know-what out of ,and all of a sudden my email box clicked.
I looked down and sure enough, Al Golden had signed on the dotted line and gotten a contract extension. Obviously, the original intention could not have been to release this information in the middle of the game, however, with the game in doubt, and the Penn State rumors heating up, the Miami PR machine did their own conga and got that release out.
It was like they were saying,” please pay no attention to the game in which our team is losing to an inferior opponent. Al is signed. Al is signed. Al is signed.” This was the same PR machine that allowed several players to address the media after the game with out prepping them by telling them coach had signed a contract and we might ask about it.
After the game, a few of us grabbed dinner, unable to determine if The U did the right thing or not. The next day, I sat on the couch all day watching college football, and I still couldn’t come to a conclusion. Sunday? More of the same. Monday? I still have no idea.
Like you, I’m clinging to Golden’s “Process.”
Yes, Jacory Harris got a lot better. Yes, the turnovers were cut in half. Yes, the penalties were down. I saw all that.
But I also saw a tight end position that didn’t develop at all. I saw offensive linemen continue to make the same mistakes, game after game after game. I saw a defense that looked lost at times, and dominant at others.
I know there were extreme circumstances going on, but the bottom line is the team was 6-6 and in many cases a 6-6 record gets you fired. In other cases, especially where it’s your first year as a coach, 6-6 gets you put on notice that next year better be a hell of a lot better.