AD Blake James defends Miami, doesn’t touch on Manny Diaz job security in radio interview
While the Miami Hurricanes try to fix their football team and yank their way out of a season-opening tailspin, Kirk Herbstreit’s pointed critiques of the program last month on ESPN’s “College GameDay” still cast a shadow over Miami.
It came less than two weeks ago — only five days before the Hurricanes lost a third game the Virginia Cavaliers — and prompted responses from Manny Diaz two days later and even Julio Frenk last Thursday.
Blake James, however, stayed quiet, turning down multiple interview requests from the Miami Herald across multiple weeks. On Thursday, the athletic director finally broke his silence with an appearance on the ACC Network’s “Packer and Durham,” making his own defense of the program.
“It wasn’t well received because it’s inaccurate,” James told co-hosts Wes Durham and Mark Packer. “When you look at what our program has done, and the investments we’ve made under Dr. Frenk in football and athletics overall, it’s been significant.
“What was most frustrating, I think for all of us here that really have an understanding of where things are at, is the statement was just inaccurate and was something that caught us by surprise. It’s frustrating to have something like that out there. Obviously, you heard Manny address it. President Frenk’s addressed it. I’ve talked to a number and obviously addressed it here today. We have great alignment.”
James stuck to the same message as Diaz and Frenk, even using the word “alignment,” just like Frenk did, when arguing in defense of the program’s cohesion.
This particular critique originated from the Herald, which reported extensively last month about the structural issues plaguing the Hurricanes, including a relative lack of interest in athletics from the school’s administration. One former assistant coach even said, “There’s an acceptance of mediocrity there now.”
Miami (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) is currently headed to another mediocre season, on pace to finish worse than .500 for the second time in Diaz’s three seasons, and James said things need to improve, although he didn’t make any comment on — and wasn’t asked about — Diaz’s job security.
“Do we need to do things at a higher level? Without a doubt,” he said. “Do we need to win more football games? There’s no doubt about that. That’s something Manny knows well, I know it, Dr. Frenk knows it. Obviously, it’s what our fans expect and those are expectations that we’re focused on meeting.
“We’re at 2-3 right now. It’s not the way anyone drew this up. With that said, we’ve got seven games to go. As you touched on, we’re on a bye week right now for football. I know Coach Diaz has got the team focused for a big, big game in [North Carolina] next Saturday.”
James also echoed Diaz in his insistence to look toward the future. Last week, Diaz touted his last two recruiting classes as a reason for long-term optimism in Coral Gables and several players from those classes — including freshmen Romello Brinson, Brashard Smith, Leonard Taylor, James Williams and Kamren Kinchens — were among the best on the field last Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium.
It didn’t translate into a win, though. The Hurricanes lost 30-28 as a favorite in Miami Gardens for their fifth straight loss against Power 5 Conference opponents.
The present is bleak, but no one on the inside is sounding a panicked alarm.
“You won’t find a coach that’ll come on that isn’t going to say it’s all about the players,” James said. “You saw a lot of freshmen out there against Virginia. I think we’ve seen that a lot of our young guys are finding a way onto the field and really fighting to get that starting spot, and that’s something that you want to see. You want to see continued growth. Obviously, recruiting is a key lifeline to the program. We want to see the quality of the young people coming in continue to elevate. That’s what every program is focused on. I know that’s what Coach Diaz and our coaching staff is focused on — coaching up the guys we have to get the most out of what we can and then obviously going out and finding those that continue to grow our program.”
