Al Golden doesn't wish to rehash Miami tenure

It is what it is.

That's pretty much the message Al Golden delivered when finally addressing his dismissal from Miami, nearly eights months after it happened.

"At the end of the day, I took the job without knowing that there was an impending NCAA investigation and eight months into it, it blew up and it took its toll at the end of the day, and that's it," Golden told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press earlier this week.

Golden, who's now coaching tight ends for the Detroit Lions, endured a tumultuous five seasons with the Hurricanes. On the field, he struggled to sustain success; off the field, he struggled to gain acceptance from alumni, boosters, and fans alike.

After the NCAA hit Miami with sanctions following its investigation into the program's past relationship with ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, Golden led the 'Canes into an era of bleakness.

It finally ended last season after weeks of frustrated fans calling for Golden to be fired. At one point, Golden was forced to watch a "Fire Al Golden" banner fly across the stadium.

"I don't want to rehash that," Golden said of the way his time in Coral Gables ended. "The way I look at it is it already took too much of my life, so I moved on."

Moved on he has, as the 46-year-old said he's now focused on the NFL and isn't spending a day dwelling on shortcomings at The U.

"I haven't looked back since. I miss the players. I miss the people that were supportive of my family and I, the people that were friends. But other than that we've moved on and now I'm looking after a new group."

Golden, who added that he felt "burned out" by the end of his Miami tenure, went 32-25 with the Hurricanes. The program replaced him with the much more popular Mark Richt.