Post by mikeytbuckeyes on Dec 14, 2014 2:17:58 GMT -5
Watched the ESPN 30 for 30 about the Hurricanes tonight. Here are a few things I took from it:
1) That 2001 team had an embarrassing amount of talent. Completely insane how good they were individually and as a team.
2) They were great in 2000 and 2001 because of their senior leadership. Those guys laid the ground work for those who came after them to follow for similar success.
3) Butch Davis's departure marked the beginning of the end for the Miami legacy. He was the real architect of the Miami resurgence.
4) The lack of vision by the Miami athletic department heads caused Miami to dwindle to what they are (and were at their lowest). They went with a guy the players liked instead of a guy the team needed. What would have happened to Miami if Barry Alvarez had been named head coach? Larry Coker just went along for the ride. His first 2 years didn't require any actual coaching from him. When he needed to actually be a coach, he was unable to fill that role. That set Miami back because by the time it was clear he was just a spectator w/ a sideline seat on gameday he had already lost control of that team. Randy Shannon had to spend a considerable amount of time reeling that program back to some shred of respectability.
5) The segment about the National Title game against Ohio State had some...creative editing shall we say...which took away from the overall story to me. I like hearing the players perspective of that game and expect them to be salty about how that game played out. I would imagine a lot was left out by ESPN when interviewing the players because they came off very mentally fragile. If I bought 100% of what I heard in the context it was presented I'd believe key players (Jonathan Vilma) checked out of the game w/ 11 minutes left to play and still trailing simply because Willis was injured. Additionally, I would also then believe that because of that ONE penalty they were unable to refocus and THAT is why they couldn't answer with a TD of their own. If that were true then I would lose a ton of respect for them as athletes. Guys as good as them don't simply check out in the national title game because one thing happens or a friend gets injured. I simply don't buy that.
6) Miami caught a HUGE break when the NCAA totally botched its investigation. They were on their way to being slammed. Once it came to light that the enforcement department was a bunch of clowns the NCAA couldn't exactly punish Miami. At that point people hated the NCAA more than they hated Miami.
7) Lastly, quite a few of those players sound like good guys. Jonathan Vilma is very well spoken and seems like a good guy. There's quite a few other ones that I felt the same way about (Ed Reed as well). They don't give off that "Thug U" vibe like the Miami team from the 80's/early 90's.
Because of the short sightedness of the university's athletic department, however, I don't know if/when the Hurricanes will get back to resembling their former selves. I don't think they currently have the staff in place to get there. Their lack of monetary support of their athletic department doesn't make it easy to get the right staff in place either.
1) That 2001 team had an embarrassing amount of talent. Completely insane how good they were individually and as a team.
2) They were great in 2000 and 2001 because of their senior leadership. Those guys laid the ground work for those who came after them to follow for similar success.
3) Butch Davis's departure marked the beginning of the end for the Miami legacy. He was the real architect of the Miami resurgence.
4) The lack of vision by the Miami athletic department heads caused Miami to dwindle to what they are (and were at their lowest). They went with a guy the players liked instead of a guy the team needed. What would have happened to Miami if Barry Alvarez had been named head coach? Larry Coker just went along for the ride. His first 2 years didn't require any actual coaching from him. When he needed to actually be a coach, he was unable to fill that role. That set Miami back because by the time it was clear he was just a spectator w/ a sideline seat on gameday he had already lost control of that team. Randy Shannon had to spend a considerable amount of time reeling that program back to some shred of respectability.
5) The segment about the National Title game against Ohio State had some...creative editing shall we say...which took away from the overall story to me. I like hearing the players perspective of that game and expect them to be salty about how that game played out. I would imagine a lot was left out by ESPN when interviewing the players because they came off very mentally fragile. If I bought 100% of what I heard in the context it was presented I'd believe key players (Jonathan Vilma) checked out of the game w/ 11 minutes left to play and still trailing simply because Willis was injured. Additionally, I would also then believe that because of that ONE penalty they were unable to refocus and THAT is why they couldn't answer with a TD of their own. If that were true then I would lose a ton of respect for them as athletes. Guys as good as them don't simply check out in the national title game because one thing happens or a friend gets injured. I simply don't buy that.
6) Miami caught a HUGE break when the NCAA totally botched its investigation. They were on their way to being slammed. Once it came to light that the enforcement department was a bunch of clowns the NCAA couldn't exactly punish Miami. At that point people hated the NCAA more than they hated Miami.
7) Lastly, quite a few of those players sound like good guys. Jonathan Vilma is very well spoken and seems like a good guy. There's quite a few other ones that I felt the same way about (Ed Reed as well). They don't give off that "Thug U" vibe like the Miami team from the 80's/early 90's.
Because of the short sightedness of the university's athletic department, however, I don't know if/when the Hurricanes will get back to resembling their former selves. I don't think they currently have the staff in place to get there. Their lack of monetary support of their athletic department doesn't make it easy to get the right staff in place either.
