Miami Football: Reality-Check Time for Al Golden, Hurricanes Program

The Miami Hurricanes football program is a disaster. Following a 6-7 season that ended with a four-game losing streak, the unhappiness surrounding the program has reached a new peak.

"Fire Al Golden!" rings out from the masses on social media.

After all, the fourth-year coach matched Randy Shannon's tenure in Coral Gables. Both were 28-22 at this point and dropped a pair of bowl games. Golden's two saving graces were the NCAA investigation and a shared Coastal Division championship, but those don't matter much.

Per Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post, Golden believed the team was better this year though he admitted Miami is indeed what its record shows.

But finishing 6-7 isn't acceptable, and everyone involved knows it. Consequently, "fire everyone!" isn't a rare exclamation, either.

Morally, calling for a coach to be fired is not an easy thing. This is someone's livelihood. Another school might not come calling, and a man will be without a job. That's not something to ignore because an athletic team was disappointing.

No, that doesn't mean to never make changes because a coach might get his feelings hurt. But the animosity grown men directed toward other grown men in hopes of that person losing his job can be sickening.

With that being said, the cynical definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If Golden ultimately brings back the entire crew, Miami shouldn't expect anything other than a six-win season that includes a few completely uninspired performances.

Christopher Stock of InsideTheU (subscription required) said changes are coming to the Hurricanes staff, so perhaps something will develop soon, though that's not guaranteed.

Photo Credit: 247Sports

Miami ripped off a 46-4 record during a four-year stretch from 2001 to 2004, and fans want to relive those days. The 'Canes won three BCS bowl games, one national championship and fell one overtime short of another. Some supporters wish for it so much, they are clamoring for Butch Davis—the engineer of that run—to return.

But it's time to wake up; 2001 was a long, long time ago. Comparing any team to the last title-winning team from Miami, frankly, is stupid. That was arguably the greatest roster in college football history. The Hurricanes will never have that team again. Heck, no program in the nation may organize a similar squad. The sooner that's accepted, the easier this process gets.

Speaking of the process, it was a legitimate thing heading into the 2014 season. Golden inherited a wasteland, fought through two years of an NCAA investigation, lifted Miami to a 9-4 record during his third campaign and buzzworded his way toward relevance.

But it's time to wake up. After serious regression in year four, changes need to be made on the coaching staff. The most notable shortcomings were on the defensive line and in the secondary, and the receiving corps wasn't a shining example of excellence.

According to Susan Miller Degnan of The Miami Herald, athletic director Blake James said that responsibility falls on Golden's shoulders.

"

I'm not going to get into telling him who our defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, running backs, wide receivers, defensive line, offensive line, linebackers, DBs—whatever the [coaching] position is [should be]. I'll give him my thoughts. We'll share perspective. At the end of the day, those are his decisions.

"

At this point, the much-discussed NCAA cloud is completely irrelevant, and the process took a few massive steps backwards. Golden is out of excuses, and he must address obvious issues as his fifth year approaches.

The most glaring problem, of course, is the Hurricanes have consistently signed heralded players, yet year-to-year development is lacking. The struggles are a direct result of the coaching staff. Either Miami isn't targeting the right prospects or the athletes aren't being progressed properly.

"It's got to be the talent level," Davis said, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. "Somebody is not evaluating the talent. Name the time they weren't ranked in the top 13 or 14 recruiting classes. And 29 of these guys are gone in the last four years, and [some of those still at UM] are not good players."

Miami is primed to sign another new group of promising players, such as Jordan Scarlett and Jaquan Johnson, who can provide an immediate impact. And so, once again, the 'Canes undeniably have a roster built to succeed.

Plus, with sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya at the helm, there should be little reason for Miami to lose seven contests, let alone four or five. The players must start putting it together on the field for 60 minutes, something only achieved opposite Virginia Tech and North Carolina in 2014.

But while coaching and on-field execution are obviously major parts of the Hurricanes' problem, they're not the only negatives surrounding the team.

Sometimes, the same people who are adamant about a head coaching change are busy negatively recruiting against their own program. Few things are more counterintuitive than complaining about how disappointing a school is, bashing it and then wondering why it won't get better.

Many prospects have said "[School X] is showing me lots of love. The fans are hitting me up on Twitter." Similarly, the negative-toned, 140-character messages aren't falling on deaf ears, so it's not exactly helping.

That, and rule No. 1 of tweeting at recruits is "Don't Do It."

So what is Miami? Is it Alabama in the late 1990s and early 2000s, where the teams bounced around from six to 10 wins with little explanation before a resurgence? Is Miami turning into Iowa, where mustering bowl eligibility with a good-but-not-elite coach is commonly accepted?

Is a conference title the objective? Is winning the Coastal Division the ultimate goal? Or is Miami a premier academic school that happens to have a football team that used to be dominant?

The Hurricanes haven't won an outright conference title since 2002. They haven't managed 10 victories in a season since 2003. They haven't brought home a bowl trophy since 2006. They haven't defeated rival Florida State since 2009.

The media, whether national scribes, beat writers or bloggers, want to provide more reasons to explain what's happening. But right now, the University of Miami needs to answer those questions.

One year ago, we thought we knew what the Hurricanes were. They were on the rise. They were favored to win the Coastal. They were ready to establish themselves as an ACC power.

Entering 2015, Miami is a perennially underachieving team considering the roster's depth of talent. It's time to realize the current personnel isn't getting it done, lest it follow the definition of insanity.

If Golden and his superiors aren't willing to make the changes necessary to rebuild a winning program, it's time to stop expecting Miami to win.

Follow Bleacher Report college football writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.