DKW 86 7,437 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/15449101.htm Coker chants understandableBY GREG COTE gcote@miamiherald.com University of Miami football fans wanting coach Larry Coker fired have become a marauding, hungry beast. They are not small, not in number or in passion. Do not try to hold up Coker's 53-10 UM record as an answer to the heat; the beast will breathe fire and melt the shield. If there has been -- anywhere, in any sport -- a coach with an .841 winning percentage and a championship ring less popular than Coker is here and now, we would accept nominations. The anti-Coker sentiment is hysterical, reactionary, overwrought with vitriol and premature. But it is something else, too. It is, slowly, by degrees, becoming more understandable. The doubting Coker, the wondering, is beginning to sound less and less flagrantly unreasonable and more and more like simply giving honest vent to an increasingly fair question: Is this job too big for this man? It has become acceptable to ask. Not to conclude the answer is an irreparable ''yes.'' But to ask. Get this clear. Coker does not today deserve to be fired. He didn't after last season ended with that 40-3 Peach Bowl embarrassment, and he doesn't now because this one began Monday night with that 13-10 home loss to Florida State. SENSE OF URGENCY Coker needs to coach this season like the devil is chasing him, though. He needs to coach, and to hire, and to recruit, like he's fighting to save his job. The issue is diminishing returns, the sense of a program stagnant or slipping. The move from the Big East to the tougher ACC underlines the imperative for the Canes to reverse field. Five years of diminishing returns were enough to separate Dave Wannstedt from the Dolphins despite his overall winning record, and justifiably. Another year in reverse for UM, in Coker's sixth season steering, could be enough to call his future into legitimate question. Give Coker credit for his moral compass and the sense of discipline that led to his suspending receiver Ryan Moore and others, and not bending and taking back linebacker Willie Williams. It is that credit earned that partly makes us advocate no administrative thought of a coaching change should even be considered unless this season unmistakably continues the recent downturn. The Teflon is off Coker, though. He is on his own now. His early success -- the 2001 national championship, then a title-game loss the next year -- was achieved primarily with the recruits of predecessor Butch Davis, who left the cupboard full. As Davis' recruits gradually have been replaced by those from Coker's watch, the results have slipped, including back-to-back 9-3 records entering this season. Most cities, 9-3 gets you a parade. Coral Gables is not one of them. Most college programs don't have the history, or the cojones, to consider every season championship-or-bust. But they do at The U. The standards are brutally high. Coker knew it going in. That's why the trend on final Hurricanes Associated Press poll rankings in Coker's five seasons -- from 1 to 2 to 5 to 11 to 18 -- has slowly sapped the goodwill earned by that debut-season championship. Coker has grown so unpopular with many that even his sideline demeanor and appearance perturbs some fans. He appears visually at odds with the macho maelstrom of the sideline, as if a certified public accountant or the team priest has somehow purloined the headsets. Monday's defeat meant UM has lost three of its past four games going back to last season, and everywhere you looked on the field, you were struck by what you didn't see. No Michael Irvins. No Ray Lewises. No Bryant McKinnies. No Clinton Portises. Not as much evidence as you'd like, especially on offense, that Team Coker is consistently getting it done recruiting. Otherwise, where are the missing weapons surrounding Kyle Wright? The onus also remains on Coker to demonstrate on the bottom line that his major coaching staff shake-up after last season, replacing six assistants, most on the offensive side, was not knee-jerk but necessary. Not scapegoating but smart. That remains to be seen, although Monday night encouraged little immediate confidence that the offense is in better hands. STILL WATCHING Don Soldinger, one of the long-serving offensive coaches Coker abruptly fired in January, watched Monday's game at a friend's house. ''It was very tough,'' Soldinger said Tuesday. ``I went in trying to root against Miami, but I couldn't.'' Some bitterness lingers -- ''Bobby Bowden went 8-5 but he didn't put heads on the chopping block. There was no need for what happened'' -- yet Soldinger does not count himself in the anti-Coker wing occupied by so many. If anything, he defends his former boss. ''This guy's won a lot of games,'' he said. ``I feel this guy's done a pretty good job. I think they're recruiting some great athletes. On defense, I think they're right there. I don't think Miami's ready to fold.'' There is your irony for the day, then. That Larry Coker should only feel as much support today from most fans as from the man he fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOne 1,151 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 he reminds me of a muppet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aucanucktiger 1,796 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 There is no more successful program in college football w/ more football-ignorant fanns than UM. First game of the season following a 5 td bowl loss, w/ a completely new coaching staff against the in-state top 20 rival and he loses by 3. We've seen this w/ Bama fans for 20 years now and it's called unrealistic expectations. p.s. have some fun w/ a UM fan sometiime: ask thhem aything about any program outside the city of miami, then sit back and enjoy their stuttering and subject changing. At least bammers know something about some other programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one 2 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Coker is one of the classiest guys in college football. He is bringing a type of discipline to UM that they have never seen before. THe guy deserves more than one close game before judgement is cast. The staff on defense is the same as it has been and the d is great this year. The staff on offense was the same last year as it was under Davis and under Coker the years they won or played for MNCs. Recruiting is usually a staff issue not a head coach issue (unless the staff wants to go after a certain kind of player and the HC doesn't). Who out there has a better six year tenure than Coker? USC? Maybe but it is close. Texas? Almost. Compare the numbers. Miami is still the top program over the last six years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Miami has the best winning % since 2000 http://football.stassen.com/cgi-bin/record...&by=Win+Pct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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