Wow. Temple's Al Golden to coach The U?!?!

[Condem]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5912786 My first reaction to the hires of some of the most prominent programs in the country (UF and Miami(Fla) is a bit underwhelmed. This is the best they could do?

[JonLP24]

1. Last year Temple got their first winning record since the 70's

He worked miracles over there. I think it is a good hire.

[Condem]

2. Waiting on the big Cane fans here for a reaction, Jon.

I think they could have done better. Lads?

[trumad]

3. With who?

Anyone is better than the last two coaches.

[Condem]

4. Man, Tru. This is what it has come to?

I say you guys remain irrelevant for years. Sorry, man.

[trumad]

5. Don't get carried away there Condem....

We have more talent on that team that just about any team in America.

Problem is we had legacy coaches --Coker and Shannon that simply couldn't coach.

The one thing I will hand to Shannon is he is a very good recruiter.

We get a good coach and we will win and win big time.

[Condem]

6. Not getting carried away, Tru.

But Miami settling for a untested coach from the MAC is a long way from the days of Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson. The Canes shoud have the top shelf of coaches knocking at the door. Al Golden? Rail Scotch.

[trumad]

7. Not true...

Groden will be just fine.

[Condem]

8. Grulden, Tru.

Grulden.

[trumad]

9. Well in post 6 it's Golden...

I'll get it right someday.

[Condem]

10. It's Golden.

The last post was a play on words.

[trumad]

11. I kow it is...

:-)

[PRETZEL]

12. Wondering just how the alum of Miami see this,

aside from being a great coach, which he is, btw, but Golden played for JoePa, spent a year coaching there, and has admitted that he modeled the Temple program after the Penn State program?

(just kidding)

Miami is getting a great coach as well as a great community guy in Golden.

Wish him the best of luck.

[trumad]

13. I've been reading up on him big time.

Funny how the Big East kicked Temple out of their league for not being competitive enough---- before Golden became coach, and just a few short years later, Temple beats their champ, UConn.

They say the guy is one of the best recruiters in college football---- and now he will be in recruiting heaven.

This is what Miami needs--- a smart young new talent who can get them winning again.

[PRETZEL]

14. I think you guys will be really happy with him,

if he isn't using this as a resume padder for a pro job then I think you're right.

[trumad]

15. You never know...

Jimmy came to Miami and had great success and then jumped to the Cowboys and had even more success.

Davis and Erickson went on to the NFL and sucked.

[PRETZEL]

16. But from the university's perspective,

imagine what the program would have looked like if any of those guys decided to stay.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. Golden was my top choice among the finalists

He'll inject toughness, which the Canes have lacked for years. The Canes are exactly the opposite of the Dolphins, who are admirably rugged and intense but lack premier talent, particularly on offense.

I didn't know anything about Golden until 3 years ago, when my frequent anti-Temple wagers started losing every week. They had been a dependable staple for more than 20 years. Suddenly Temple was playing defense. At that point I stopped betting against them and started watching the obscure games on sportsbook TVs.

Golden is wonderfully intense, sometimes overboard in criticism of the referees. Temple always seemed to be the better prepared team but the talent level sometimes was exposed in the second half, leading to frustrating defeats, notably the bowl against UCLA last year.

He's extremely animated and articulate and savvy with the media, which is the greatest and most welcome departure of all from Shannon. Golden has already emphasized that practices will once again be open to fans and media, and former players are welcome back into the fold. Gino Torretta and others were miffed than Shannon cold shouldered them. Torretta was told to stay away because he's part of the Miami media. Yeah, he does a late morning Canes-friendly talk show.

Here is a good summary from Wednesday's Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/15/1973744/jj-jankovich-say-golden-a-smart.html

"...Hocutt trusted his instincts, resisting at least two prominent trustees (including Bernie Kosar) who wanted him to hire Marc Trestman."

<snip>

"• A high-level trustee fully aware of how the search was done said, ``We were not going to get a star, and it wasn't a money thing. Why would marquee coaches leave any of their great programs'' to take another college job? ``Florida didn't get one either. We hired the best person that wasn't in the top 20.''

The trustee said UM inquired about Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, who wasn't interested, and said Jon Gruden never seemed serious about taking the job. Chris Peterson gave UM no indication he wanted to leave Boise State. UM thought Nebraska's Bo Pelini had some interest, but he changed his mind. And UM was turned off by Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen's big ego, with one trustee saying he acts like he invented the game.

• One trustee said Connecticut's Randy Edsall was impressive but ``we were more comfortable with Al. And he beat Connecticut.'' Another trustee said it helped that Golden, 41, is 11 years younger than Edsall."

[trumad]

18. I'm excited because it cleans the slate...

Shannon was a hold over from the Coker/Davis days.... and Coker in my mind did what Wannstedt did with the Phins--- deplete the talent and coach them to obscurity.

Too Randy's credit, he recruited some terrific talent--- but ultimately couldn't coach it.

When Randy was let go so was the entire staff. I've said for some time that it was time Miami head in a new direction with a new coaching staff.

Well---- here is the time.

Thanks for your always great write up and GO CANES.

[Awsi Dooger]

19. I'd like Whipple to return

I realize that goes against consensus but I love his schemes, other than this year he didn't adjust to a lack of a reliable TE. We were too pass oriented and shotgun prone in the red zone. Last year Graham and Epps combined for 8 TD catches and we got two from a third TE, Tevarris Johnson. This year our TE position was worth 1 TD total.

A switch in OC is typically a learning period. I severely doubt a replacement would know as much about offense as he does. Besides, Whipple would look markedly better with more mature and dependable QBing, not a Sponge Bob kid who still wants it to be Northwestern High all over again, 50 points more talent than your opponent every week, enabling wins despite little preparation and errors galore.