The first shot in this ugly Civil War? It wasn't former Miami star Philip Buchanon calling coach Al Golden "Al Folden'' on Twitter. It wasn't former lineman Joaquin Gonzalez tweeting, "I think it's time for a new (defensive) coordinator."

The first shot came, face to face, behind closed doors. Golden invited former players to watch video of the spring game with current players. It started pleasantly enough. Dozens of alumni stood up, introduced themselves. Ted Hendricks. Brett Romberg.

"I'm Edgerrin James, and this is my room,'' the great running back said in the meeting room he donated money to build.

Everyone laughed. That's how the day began. As the video began, Golden told any alum with a question to ask it.

Julio Cortes, a captain of the 1983 championship team, remembers raising a hand after a few plays.

"I was looking at No. 51, the linebacker, which is what I played, and he's not reading his keys,'' Cortes said. "I'm watching the guard pull. The linebacker doesn't read him. He gets smoked. If you follow your keys, that doesn't happen.

A look at UM's past 13 non-interim head football coaches.

"So I said, 'What is that guy coached to read?' And then I said, 'And why is he not hustling when the ball's on the other side of the field?' It upset me. I didn't know No. 51 was Denzel Perryman, their best player. They didn't have names on their jersey.

"I just wanted to know what they were being coached. And I didn't get a good answer. They said, 'It's different now.' OK, I said, 'What's the linebacker taught? What's his keys?' "

Someone else jumped in with a question. And another former player. It began growing loud that day and has grown louder right through Saturday's loss at Georgia Tech to the point it's open season on Golden.

And now some former Miami players say they are being threatened with not being welcome in the building they once ruled if this continues.

Not if the losing continues.

The 'Cane-on-'Cane hating.

It's sad to watch if you've been around Miami at its best, its strongest, when the link between football generations set this program apart. Michael Irvin would call the phone in his old dorm room and talk up the freshman answering. Old quarterbacks counseled new ones. NFL stars worked out beside UM players.

Now they might not be welcome?

It's not a rosy time for anyone around Coral Gables, starting with Golden. He's actually one of the more sensitive men in that job. How many coaches cry after a tough loss (at Virginia Tech) or careen around the stadium after tight wins (Florida, at Georgia Tech).

It can't be easy being the target of so much anger from the very people from whom you expect support. But that's the state of this program. And these players who built it, win by win, see their proud tower being dismantled.

Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta told 790 The Ticket that on a scale of 1 to 10 his confidence in Golden is a "five." Allen Bailey tweeted that "major changes" need to come. Clinton Portis. Warren Sapp. Randal Hill. They've had their say.

You never dismiss passion. That's what made this program great. And it's no surprise these players won't sit quietly on the sideline if you followed their careers.

"I don't listen to it,'' Golden said this week of the criticism.

That's hard to believe. Sure, listening would make his ears bleed. But it's one thing to dismiss my column wondering why Miami didn't adjust to Georgia Tech's power running game.

It's another thing to dismiss generations of past Hurricanes, from Buchanon to Torretta all the way back to Cortes, the captain of the first national title team.

"I'm watching the TV wondering why that middle linebacker is lining up nine yards downfield," Cortes said. "That center for Georgia Tech didn't have a nose guard on him, and so he came out and immediately goes after the middle linebacker — Perryman.

"Cover the center so the linebacker can run more freely or move him up to five yards to have a chance. I screamed at the TV. I turned it off. I couldn't take any more."

For the past decade, Miami hasn't been Miami. It hasn't won in double digits. It hasn't been to a major bowl. This 3-3 start underlines that fact. It's been ugly at times. But what's turning uglier than that is this unholy Civil War.