Temple's Golden the Right Coach for U of Miami

THE U still has more grads in the NFL than the next university by at least ten players, according to a piece on ESPN recently, and its movie on THE U's salad days from 1985 to 2001 when it won five national championships and sent QBs like Testaverde, Buffalo's Kelly, Kosar, Dorsey, and other good players like Ed Reed & Ray Lewis to Baltimore and Houston's Andre Johnson, etc, etc. Every week in the NFL since 2002 a UMiami grad has scored a TD for an NFL team, like Indianapolis Tavaris James did recently and the Texans' Andre does almost every week. How to keep the great players coming to UMiami when Shannon has led them to four mediocre seasons without a finish in the top ten, even though they make it to bowl games each year? Shannon was a good recruiter, but it seems with Golden, The U might have hit the jackpot. Here's Luginbill of ESPN recruiting on Golden:

He might not have been the biggest name in the coaching search, but Al Golden might just be the best one for Miami. The former Temple coach, who was named Hurricanes coach on Sunday night, will face some obstacles but he is the right coach at the right time for Miami for many reasons.

Golden was able to win, and win consistently -- he is 17-6 in his last 23 regular season games at Temple -- so think of what he can do with the athletes he'll be able to recruit at Miami. His teams were built on speed and athleticism and built from the inside-out, meaning the offensive and defensive fronts were the strength of the team. The cupboard is stocked there for the Canes, and he'll be able to recruit those kind of athletes easier now that he's at Miami. He is not only about football. He understands the balance between recruiting great players and holding them accountable for their conduct on the field, off the field and in the classroom. His academic progress rate (APR) was abysmal when he arrived at Temple but is off the charts now. As much as Miami's administrators will love that, it's another strong selling point to parents when recruiting.
He is a tireless recruiter, and he'll now have fertile recruiting ground in his backyard. Golden must focus on landing and cultivating top prospects from South Florida and around the rest of the state where "The U" still carries the most weight. He has spent much of his coaching career in the Northeast, but he can't fall in the trap of trying to recruit Pennsylvania, the Midwest and the Northeast as much. He needs to focus on South Florida, the state of Florida and the South as a whole more than anywhere else now. Yes, he can spot recruit other areas, but there is too much talent all around him now.

Another trap to watch for is to avoid reaching too much with the under-the-radar and overachiever prospects who helped him at Temple. At times, coaches will strick with a formula that worked at their previous job but might not necessarily be the best philosophy for their new job. But watching Golden's teams and seeing how much he loves speed and athleticism, here's guessing he'll be like a kid on Christmas morning with so many athletes scattered around in South Florida and throughout the state.

He had one player from Florida on the Temple roster this year, but a good recruiter is a good recruiter and it should not be too hard for him to create relationships. But there will be obstacles. He'll have to deal with the lack of ideal facilities and that the Hurricanes play at SunLife Stadium, the Miami Dolphins' stadium, as opposed to an on-campus stadium. But he dealt with similar issues at Temple, so it shouldn't catch him off guard.

His name isn't the most familiar to college fans or recruits. While he has worked with some of the nation's best coaches and at some of the top programs (he was an assistant with Joe Paterno and Penn State, Al Groh at Virginia and Tom O'Brien at Boston College), he'll need to educate recruits, parents and coaches on what he's all about.

Miami had a top 25 class working when Randy Shannon was fired, but that class has since crumbled and Golden has a lot of work to do now. The thing is he can't be judged on this year's class. While many recruits might not know who he is right now, he is energetic, enthusiastic and good at building relationships. He is polished and effective on the home visit. He will create stability with the few committed prospects remaining and will work on salvaging a good class. In fact, it would be more surprising if he didn't finish with a respectable class. Another good thing is the Hurricanes are only expected to sign about 15 players, so while he's starting from close to scratch he doesn't have as much ground to make up.

He is inheriting a talented roster, which will not only help on the field but will help as he recruits for the Class of 2012. Still, he's going to be battling Florida State and Florida on a daily basis for the best players in the state. FSU is red-hot on the recruiting trail right now, and Florida has a five-year run of top-five classes so the landscape is tough in the Sunshine State.

The bottom line is while Golden, a defensive-minded guy, might not be the flashy pick, he has a strong coaching foundation and a keen understanding of what it takes to win and run a strong program, both on and off the field. He is an excellent recruiter, and this was a safe pick who can build Miami the right way.

Tom Luginbill is ESPN's national director of football recruiting. ESPN recruiting coordinators Craig Haubert and Billy Tucker contributed to this report.

It's always hard to keep skittish youngsters around especially if a few of the top recruits hit it off with Shannon, an amiable guy who knew the Miami area inside out. However, Golden was working with zero facilities and a 1-11 first season, yet still managed to recruit some All-America prospects, including a running back who was one of the top in the country.