Miami Hurricanes fire Al Golden

Hurricanes make change at head coach after worst loss in program history

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ā€“ The Miami Hurricanes have fired head coach Al Golden.

Athletic director Blake James announced Sunday that assistant coach Larry Scott will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015 season.

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"Coach Golden has led our program through some very difficult times and has done so with class, integrity and a true desire to see our students succeed on the field, in the classroom and in the community," James said in a statement.

Golden was 32-25 in his five seasons at Miami. He led the 'Canes to bowl games in 2013 and 2014.

The final straw for Golden was a 58-0 loss to Clemson, the worst in school history. After the game, several prominent Miami alumni and former players publicly called for his ouster on social media.

Golden's best season was in 2013, when the Hurricanes were 7-0 and ranked seventh in the country before their fall from grace after a 41-14 loss to Florida State. Miami finished 2-4 in its last six games, losing to Duke for the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division crown. The Hurricanes, who were once the envy of college football recruiting, have yet to even reach the ACC title game.

Miami ended last season on a four-game losing streak. The Hurricanes (4-3, 1-2 ACC) got off to a 3-0 start this season but have since lost three of the past four games.

"On behalf of my family, I want to thank the University of Miami for a tremendous opportunity," Golden said in a statement. "I believe in what we are doing and how we are doing it, and we have some outstanding young men in our football program. Though this moment is difficult, we wish the 'Canes the best of luck going forward."

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Golden came to Miami from Temple prior to the 2011 season. He guided the Owls to a 27-34 record, orchestrating an impressive turnaround from 1-11 in his first year at the helm in 2006 to consecutive winning seasons in 2009 and 2010.

Prior to Temple, Golden served as defensive coordinator at Virginia from 2001-05. He was also an assistant coach at Penn State (2000) and Boston College (1997-99).

Golden was a three-year letterwinner at tight end for Penn State under the late Joe Paterno.

Scott has served as the tight ends coach and run game coordinator for the past three seasons. He came to Miami in 2013 after spending eight seasons at South Florida, where he was an offensive tackle for the Bulls and a member of the inaugural recruiting class in 1996.

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About the Author:

David Lang is executive producer of the Local 10 sports department.