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There were nights when Al Golden wondered if he had made a horrible mistake.
He was hired as Miami's football coach last December by an athletic director who left a couple months later. He had to scramble for recruits. A top linebacker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, a good running back asked for his release and another player was dismissed after being accused of attacking a female student.
By now, all those events have been largely forgotten, which is understandable.
Golden's first season at Miami ends on Friday when the Hurricanes play host to Boston College. Regardless of what happens in that game, his 2011 season will be remembered by scandals - the one at Miami after a former booster went public with a massive list of shocking allegations, and the one at his alma mater Penn State, where shocking child sexual abuse allegations ultimately led to the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno, Golden's mentor.
Golden has a 300-page binder on his desk, a users' manual of sorts for coaching.
Suffice to say, there's no chapters to guide him through what popped up this year.
''First of all, Al's a quality individual, human being, great character, great football coach,'' said Boston College coach Frank Spaziani, who has known Golden since the mid-1980s. ''I think he's handled it marvelous. I think he's done a tremendous job, really, with all the distractions and all the problems that he's had to navigate through. It's a tribute to his skills.''
Every day this season, it seemed like there was a new problem for Golden to deal with.
Suspensions of eight players for their role in the Nevin Shapiro scandal to begin the year. A slew of injuries, mainly at defensive line. A player punching a North Carolina opponent in the groin. Another player investigated for having dinner with the owner of a public-relations firm. Golden's longtime agent stirred up news at one point, suggesting his client would have options to leave Miami if NCAA penalties handcuff the program for years. And then the Penn State story broke, bringing new speculation Golden may want to return there. Finally, the university self-imposed a bowl ban for this season, a move announced Sunday.
So the season ends Friday. The news cycle will not.
''I believe I'm going to be the head coach of Miami in 2012,'' Golden said.
Hardly a guarantee, but given how many coaches say one thing and do another - remember the clip of Nick Saban standing in the Miami Dolphins' press room and vowing not to be the Alabama coach before he became the Alabama coach? - it's likely best taken with a grain of salt.
Golden asks to be judged by actions, such as spending a three-hour bus ride to a game last weekend on the phone with every playoff-bound high school coach he could reach.
The meaning was simple. Golden seems to be looking ahead to better days at Miami, not looking around for a better job.
''I truly believe in my heart that we have one of the best football coaches in America,'' Miami athletic director Shawn Eichorst said. ''And I plan on working side-by-side with him for a long, long time.''
Golden plans to bring 30 new players into Miami early next year. Cornerbacks and wide receivers are needed desperately, as are linebackers and quarterbacks. If certain draft-eligible players from this year's team like running back Lamar Miller, offensive lineman Brandon Washington (who says he's returning), and defensive linemen Olivier Vernon and Marcus Forston decide to leave early, that'll considerably change the recruiting priorities.
It's a sure bet that some underclassmen will leave, since that happens annually at almost every school.
But in Golden they trust at Miami, and players say they will be shocked if the scandal pushes him out the door.
''I know he's going to stay ... just because I trust him,'' Miami linebacker Sean Spence said. ''I believe in him as a coach. I know he came and took this job for a reason.''
That reason, of course, was championships. As soon as Golden used that word in the news conference to announce his hiring late last year, a roomful of people largely dressed in jackets and ties started screaming like schoolkids. They are title-starved at Miami, and regardless of whether this season ends with a record of 7-5 or 6-6, many Hurricanes say the future will be better, because of Golden.
What they all leave unsaid is this: If he stays.
''I'm not worried about it at all,'' Miami quarterback Jacory Harris said. ''Coach Golden is a fighter. To me, quitters never prosper. At the end of the day, if you quit, you're not going to get what you want. Golden is like me. I didn't quit on this team. I'm sure he's not going to quit on this team. So that's what I believe. His program and everything he has going on here, he has it in the right direction.''
Still, there are those moments - fleeting as they may be - when Golden can't help but wonder.
He's trained to be a sports psychologist, so Golden surely knows how to process thoughts. He went through plenty of emotional stages this season, anger included when he learned the depth of a scandal that he insists was foreign to him when he accepted Miami's offer a year ago. Players he identified as leaders for this team were wrapped up in the Shapiro allegations for mistakes made years earlier, though Golden still asked himself a simple question: Was I duped?
He does not believe he was.
''They didn't prove us wrong,'' Golden said. ''Again, I've stood by them all. I've stood by every one of them. For all the adversity they had - imagine being a first-year coach at a place that has high expectations and then having to deal with that. I think we've trusted them and they've come through for us. Hopefully that's a microcosm of what's to come with our program.''
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