Blake James on CaneSport Live: Diaz has my support, goal is national title
Athletic Director Blake James was a special guest on Tuesday night’s CaneSport Live show. He addressed a number of questions provided by the fans at CaneSport.com, ranging from his hiring of Manny Diaz and the state of that hire to the football program's future, recruiting and more.
James began by discussing what happened prior to hiring Diaz.
“We were looking at a very tough end to the season with an embarrassing loss in the Pinstripe Bowl,” James said. “Mark (Richt) and I had met for a number of hours, I don’t remember how many, on Saturday just talked about what we needed to do to fix the program. As I made very clear after the loss in the bowl game: I wanted to do everything I could to support Mark and that’s what we talked about. I thought the conversation was good, Mark identified a lot of things that needed to change. The next day he notified me he was not going to continue on."
After that James quickly turned to Diaz, who had already left UM to take over the Temple program.
“Manny had been with us for three years - you have to go with what you know and what the reality has been," James said. "Manny turned our defense into one of the best in the country, Manny was given the opportunity under Mark’s leadership to really coach one side of the ball from post-game locker room talk to how they operate on the practice field - Mark was running offense and Manny defense. It gave me the opportunity to see Manny run a unit, how he handled that. What he did in his three years from the development of the young men in the program to who he was bringing into the program said a lot to me.
“We felt Manny was the best fit for the program.”
James said of the initial job interview with Diaz that “Manny was the best interview that I’ve had for a head coach period going back to the group we interviewed when we had Mark there.
“We wanted to find the perfect person for the job and I’m as confident today as I was (when he was hired) - that’s Manny. His goal is to win the ACC and ultimately a national championship. He’s got a vision to do that, and that’s the direction we’re going.”
James also addressed why he didn’t have a national search when he wound up hiring Diaz, paying Temple a $4 million buyout.
“When you look at this business - Manny was clearly the best person for the job,” James said. “You don’t sit around and wait when you have the best person for the job. That person’s going to be gone - you have to make decisions.”
Does he wish he’d moved slower?
“You’re asking do you second guess; to be successful in business, in my business you have to make decisions and you have to move,” James said. “This was a well thought out decision. I was not on an island, it was in conversation with President (Julio) Frenk, members of the board of trustees to other colleagues. All were in support and in agreement. At the end of the day this was my decision and I’ll stand by it to the very end. If I end up being wrong I’ll admit I was wrong. When Mark Richt left, (the program) was in a better spot … I’d like to see us win and build on what we did (after going to the Coastal title game). That didn’t happen. The best spot for me is winning national championships. We have to win the Coastal, win the ACC. We’re seeing it play out with Clemson, we’re going to do it. I’m going to give Manny the resources to be in the best position. As athletic director I have to make sure we’re competitive.”
Coaches that were passed over in the hiring process included names like Butch Davis, Mike Leach, Dan Mullen and Mario Cristobal.
Did James consider hiring a coach with a more extensive resume?
“Would you say any of those coaches had a more developed resume than when Dabo Swinney was hired by Clemson?” James responded. “You don’t want to look for a resume and say `this is the perfect fit here.' Manny knew this program, knew this program from 2015 on, knew what the challenges were in the recruiting world, all those different things."
Former Cane and current Oregon coach Cristobal is in particular a fan favorite on message boards. Why hasn’t he been able to get in the picture as a potential coach at Miami? Could he be considered in the future?
“Mario’s in the middle of a run in the Pac-12 championship, I know he hopes to get a shot (to win a title),” James said. “It’s not fair to have any comments on Mario other than once you put the U on it never comes off. I’ll always cheer for him to win unless he’s playing against us.”
James went on to say if he has a future coaching search “I’m going to consider all parties, will find whoever is the best fit for the job.”
Could Urban Meyer get Miami interest down the road if Diaz doesn’t get things straightened out? After all Ohio State was in a somewhat similar situation before it hired Meyer and won a championship.
“Again, I can’t speak to the Ohio State situation - Manny Diaz is the best person for the job, he’s got my support,” James responded when asked about Meyer.
James was also asked if he’s concerned about recruiting and how UM doesn’t seem to be bringing in elite prospects. Can recruiting improve?
“One, wins are wins - you look back at some of the great Miami teams, we found ways to come back and win games that most teams would think the game was over and they were done. Whatever amount you win by, it’s getting a win,” James said. “At the end of the day it’s about winning; recruiting is a lifeline and we have to continue to put resources into recruiting whether that’s facilities, private planes, through the experience that the NCAA allows us to have when we have kids on campus. We have to make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders in those areas.
“There’s nothing better than having players from South Florida staying home. We’ve had a lot of great kids come to this program that didn’t grow up in Dade County - they came from other places around the state, around this country. And we have to make sure our coaches are everywhere to bring the next great one in whether that’s from Immokalee like Edgerrin James, or the northern part of the state like Ray Lewis, or Louisiana or California.”
What is an acceptable standard for Miami football nowadays?
James says he still goes into every season planning to win every game.
“No one has fun with losing,” James said. “With that said you have to be realistic. Where was this program when Manny took it over? Our performance many times last season was unacceptable, not reflective of who we are as Miami Hurricanes. We have to recognize Manny is building something, building from a higher place than we were, building something. We need to continue to do what we can to get the right kids in here, build them up, coach them up and get the execution out on the field.
“The reality is we’re 4-4 and that’s what we live with, where we’re at right now. We have to be ready to go to Tallahassee and hopefully 5-4 and looking forward to Louisville. We have five more games left this year and I’ll do everything I can from my position to make sure we’re ready to go.”
James also says he sees Diaz creating an atmosphere where the team continually fights hard in games and goes 100 percent.
“That’s one thing I’ve been very pleased with, guys never give up,” James said.
* James said Frenk and the board of trustees “have been nothing but great.”
He also said new housing on campus will open soon that “will help in the recruiting process.”
And he indicated UM has been in touch with the Super Bowl Committee and that the NFL might have a team practice at UM that week.
“The bar has been raised, we have to keep pushing our game to keep it going,” James said.
* Has all the money coming in from the ACC in revenue sharing lessened the sense of urgency in the athletic department?
“The dynamics are a little bit different,” James said when asked about that. “You’re going back to when we were an independent. In the Big East days it was different how the distributions (were). The TV deals even before the ACC network, with ESPN through the revenue sharing as a conference, it’s a significant piece. But football is the main driver. Our budget, we’re still 85, 90 percent driven by football. There’s no less urgency on what we need to do in terms of generating revenue. Adidas was a huge win for us (too). Being in the ACC conference, the ACC network will help too.”
James went on to say that there might even be more urgency in the athletic department to win nowadays than in the pre-ACC days.
* James said all the investments UM has put into facilities, training table, nutrition, etc., has more leveled the playing field with other programs vs. getting ahead of them.
“We hadn’t been there up until recently,” James said. “That (prior inequality in facilities etc. compared to other programs) created some real challenges for us that hopefully have been alleviated.”
* Did “The New Miami” branding backfire?
James said it was “a recruiting thing Manny was doing to signify a changeover … I don’t think it was a mistake. Again, it is The New Miami. Manny’s not the same Miami that Mark’s Miami was. It signifies a change. It’s a new head coach with a new approach. It’s a new Miami.”
* Might James consider bringing in an associate AD like Alonzo Highsmith to help oversee the football program?
“The thing I’m going to say is Alonzo is a Cane, has a tremendous passion for the institution,” James said. “He and I talk on a regular basis. I have a ton of respect for Alonzo and if at some point there was something that made sense that he was interested in - he has a very good job with the Cleveland Browns. I’m not sure where Alonzo would even be at, but I know he bleeds orange and green.”
* How will the University of Miami adjust to the new NCAA ruling about players profiting off their likeness?
“One, obviously this is going to happen,” James said. “We need to have a system that allows kids to legitimately capitalize on (that). Right now it’s still too early in the process for me to answer, I do have some concerns. There are some real consequences and loopholes that could further expand some recruiting improprieties that happen, would make them within the law. I think it’s too early to tell you how this will impact us.”
James stressed that he’s in support of it but that “we have to tighten some things up, put some protections in place for the kids because if someone can monetize their name and likeness we have to make sure they [the student-athletes] capitalize and it doesn’t go to some third party.”
* The final line of questioning for James?
With players missing practice, transferring from the program, a midseason suspension of Jeff Thomas and UM losing 13 of the last 19 against Power Five competition, what if James is wrong? What if he made a massive mistake in the decision to hire Diaz?
Will James step up, admit that, own it and take that hit in figuring out what to do about it? And does he have the money to do that if things don’t get better?
“As I said before, Manny’s our guy,” James responded. “I’m as (confident) in that today as I was when we made that hire. I own that. I stand behind Manny, continue to stand behind Manny and own every decision I made in all seven years as athletic director.”
How long will James wait to see if Diaz is the right guy?
“We want to see (the team) continue to get better,” James said. “Some said we should have given Al (Golden) more time. I own that, made the change when we did. I own hiring Mark Richt. I’m 100 percent confident in Manny. In today’s day and age there’s kids leaving programs. We see it across the country from the elite programs on down the line. We have a situation with kids transferring in college football, the portal has made it a bigger issue than what he transfer portal really is. There is an issue with kids transferring and that’s not Miami, that’s across this country. The numbers this season will be beyond what anyone on this call can believe because it’ll be well into the hundreds of kids transferring in Division I football."
James went on to say that UM can avoid a lot of outgoing transfers down the road with "changing the culture," saying "that’s what Manny is doing. I’m confident that’s where he’s going with this.”
James' parting words?
"No one's happy when we lose," he said. "I'm committed to make sure this program is in position to compete for the Coastal, ACC and ultimately a national championship.
"Go Canes!"