By Josh Baumgard

Maybe Al Golden’s seat isn’t as scorching as we thought since excreting a 6-7 record despite having five players who would be among the first 77 picks of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Many assume Golden has one season to show significant improvement to new University of Miami President Julio Frenk. But according to the Miami Herald, we learn AD Blake James would likely be the one making the call regarding Al’s future if the team were to underperform again.

A high-ranking UM official who has spent time with new UM president Julio Frenk said he doubts Frenk will inject himself into decisions regarding the future of Al Golden if next season is disappointing and Frenk likely will defer to what athletic director Blake James believes is best.

This might be concerning for Canes fans. Many consider James as one of Golden’s biggest allies because of the simple fact Golden has a job after a six-win season ensured him of the same record as Randy Shannon before he was fired. The 2014 season is Miami’s losingest since 1977 when they went 3-8 under Lou Saban, a few years before Howard Schnellenberger birthed the first Canes dynasty of the 1980s.

There’s a reason CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli named Golden as the owner of the hottest seat in the country back in January, writing “if the Canes don’t pose a legitimate threat to the Coastal Division and Florida State in 2015, Golden just might be canned.”

So now the question is this: If the Canes were to throw down another stinker in 2015 and win 6-7 games — not exactly an implausible scenario considering the team’s lacking performance even before the NFL drained them of five of their best players — would the decision makers of Canes football continue to ignore the screams?

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