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Now That Miami's Living On Borrowed Time, What's Next?

By Peter Gray Updated
Former Temple University football coach Al Golden sits with his wife Kelly Golden before being introduced as the new head coach at the University of Miami on December 13, 2010 in Coral Gables Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Former Temple University football coach Al Golden sits with his wife Kelly Golden before being introduced as the new head coach at the University of Miami on December 13, 2010 in Coral Gables Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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For the few of you that haven't yet read Charles Robinson's masterpiece, here's a quick rundown of what rogue booster Nevin Shapiro was dabbling in at Miami over the past ten years or so:

  • Cash
  • Jewelry/Clothes/Miscellaneous gifts including RIMS
  • Hotels and travel
  • Housing
  • Prostitutes - scads upon scads of prostitutes
  • Access to a yacht and mansions for parties
  • Funneling players to a representation firm that he co-owned with the current UFL commissioner with cash and gifts
  • Routine VIP nights at South Beach clubs and strip clubs
  • Coaches either on the take or aware of what was happening
  • $500 for a stripper to get an abortion after a football player got her pregnant
I think that should cover it. Mind you, all of this was funded through a nearly billion dollar ponzi scheme that landed Shapiro a 20-year stint in federal prison. The claims are backed by thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of hours of interviews. Also, keep in mind that the money trail left behind by Shapiro only includes credit card charges. The vast amount of cash that was used can only be estimated at this point.

Now that the initial shock of the report has worn off a bit, the focus begins to shift to what will Miami do now. The Hurricanes currently have 12 players on their roster that are implicated in the Yahoo! report, and it seems that UM administration failed to alert Al Golden of the trouble on the horizon when he took the job. If that isn't a troubling start to Golden's tenure in Coral Gables, I don't know what is.

I realize there's a lot of speculation here, but this story is venturing into uncharted waters. This situation is extremely fluid and could change drastically at any moment.

First thing's first: If I were Al Golden, any holdover staff members that may be involved in this are immediately fired. And I mean immediately. Now that the spotlight is on UM, they really can't afford to even have the image of impropriety right now (For a list of staff members mentioned in the report and what they're doing now, click here). As of this morning, the current players mentioned in the report are still practicing, but don't be surprised if they're preemptively sit down when the season starts to avoid fielding ineligible players. These players include notable starters Jacory Harris, Travis Benjamin and Sean Spence.

The more pertinent question, especially to Penn State fans, is what happens to Al Golden moving forward. He will not be in trouble because of the Yahoo! report since he took over after Shapiro went to prison. However, he just took over at a program now besieged by the biggest college football scandal since SMU, and the administration let him walk into a buzzsaw without alerting him of it. Does that sound like the kind of bosses you would want to work for? Personally, if I were him I would've been on the phone with my lawyer last night to see if I could get out of my contract, but at the very least you would have to think that Golden would be willing to jump ship at the first decent opportunity.

I don't think he's going to quit without another option lined up, but I highly doubt that Golden will have any kind of long-term future at Miami. His next move is anyone's guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if it came sooner rather than later.

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