Near the end of an unprecedented year rife with trauma and unpredictability caused by a coronavirus pandemic that still hasn't abated, University of Miami athletic director Blake James is clear about his impressions of coach Manny Diaz and UM's football program.
Win or lose Tuesday against No. 21 Oklahoma State (7-3, 6-3 Big 12) in the Cheez-It Bowl, the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes (8-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) will have had a successful 2020 season with the right man leading the team, James told the Miami Herald.
In a phone conversation late last week with the Herald, James acknowledged that despite the 62-26 loss to North Carolina and regardless of what happens Tuesday, the Hurricanes "took a great step forward" this season.
Miami Herald: What are your impressions of the regular season?
James: "I think we took a great step forward. We're at 8-2. When you look at the schedule we played, we played nine ACC games and won seven of those. We played the champion of Conference USA — UAB — and beat them in our non-conference game. When you look at where we were in December of 2019 to December of 2020, my assessment of this season regardless of what happens Tuesday is that this year has been a success.
"I mean, we were 6-7 at the end of last year. This year it's going to be a marked improvement regardless of what happens on Tuesday. But I know our guys are going to be ready to go and I'm hoping we bring home a victory.
"We also took another step forward with signing day in identifying a great group of young men who can help us build the foundation that we all want to have in place to have our team competing for ACC and ultimately national championships."
Herald: What was your reaction after losing to North Carolina?
James: "Was it disappointing to lose to North Carolina? Yeah, but it was disappointing to lose to Clemson. So, if we were to play North Carolina in September it wouldn't have made that loss any more disappointing to me. We would have still finished 8-2.
"For me it's disappointing any time we lose to anyone. Obviously, North Carolina has got a great team this year. They ended up ranked 13th. They're in the Orange Bowl. Clemson has a great team. They're ranked second in the playoffs. We lost to two teams who had really good years. With that said I'm disappointed any time we lose.
"At the same time we won eight games and I'm very happy with the success that we had on the field and the success we had overall. I want to win all our games. I guess what I'm saying is I'm not any more disappointed in the loss to North Carolina coming on Dec. 12th than I would have been had we lost to them on Oct. 9.
"We had 10 game this year we lost two of them to two pretty good teams. We're trying to win every game. We're not looking at some and saying, 'It's OK to lose this one or not lose that one.'"
Herald: What are you most pleased with this year about Manny Diaz and the football program?
James: "The continued progress we're making and what Manny did when making adjustments. When you look at where our team was in the past, one of the great things Manny has done is continue to make adjustments and bring in coaches and players that can really help elevate an area that we need to address.
"No better example than our kicking game. Last year we struggled with the kicking game, both the field goals and extra points. We have an All-American kicker on our team now. That's what we have to continue to do — look at the different areas and figure out how we get better in each area. Just because there are some areas we might think are strengths right now, doesn't mean we can stay status quo.
"I guess what I'm most happy with is Manny does a really good job of evaluating the areas that aren't operating at the highest level, and addressing those, and at the same time pushing all areas to be better."
Herald: How different do you envision next season to be with COVID-19 and are there any plans in place for players to all get vaccinated?
James: "What next season is going to look like will depend on the availability of vaccinations, what happens with COVID, all those things.
"If we turn the clock back to December of 2019, we had no idea what 2020 was going to look like. So to try to give you an idea of what 2021 is going to look like, I would be making things up. What I do know is we have great leadership in our league among our presidents and athletic directors. That's part of the reason why you saw the ACC play more football games as a conference and more on average as a team than any other conference and that's a credit to the young people in our program, the coaches, the athletic directors, the presidents and our league leadership.
"What I do know about 2021 is we'll take the same approach to whatever the situation is in terms of how we create the best experience possible for the young men and women in our program."
Herald: I know some of the coaches and football assistants have had bad cases of COVID-19. Is everyone OK now? Also, how are the players in that regard?
James: "To the best of my knowledge everyone is OK right now, but it's not a surprise to anyone that we were shut down for close to three weeks. Our program faced some of the very same challenges we're seeing in our community and our state with COVID and that impacts different people differently. But yes, it definitely impacted our football program and our athletic program and those are things I guess I'd say we've come through the best that we can but it's the reality of living in a pandemic and living with this virus.
"As far as I know as you and I are on the phone on December 24, we do not have any major COVID issues in our athletic program that would cause me to have concern."
Herald: How much money has the UM athletic department lost this year? How bad has it been?
James: "We don't know yet. Has it been a financial hit? Without a doubt. Anyone who went to a game and saw the amount of tickets that went unsold clearly understands that there were challenges we faced financially as a program.
"We've taken a number of steps as a department to cut expenses and put us in the best position possible. But, yes, this has had a significant financial impact on us and I'm sure at the end of the fiscal year it will be something that has created definitely a financial hardship. But we've taken a lot of great steps and we have great leadership in support of the institution and we'll come out of this and be ready to go for 2021."
