Miami Hurricanes fire Al Golden as head coach day after 58-0 pounding

Miami has fired head football coach Al Golden one day after the biggest loss in school history.

Hurricanes athletic director Blake James made the announcement Sunday evening. Tight ends coach and run-game coordinator Larry Scott will serve as interim head coach.

"Coach Golden has led our program through some very difficult times and he 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 release. "However, we have a proud tradition of excellence at Miami, not just in football but in all sports, and we want to compete for ACC and national championships. I simply believe that now is the time to bring the Hurricane Family together and rally behind our young men."

Golden was 32-25 (17-18 in the ACC) in his four-plus seasons in Coral Gables, but a 58-0 home loss Saturday to undefeated Clemson proved to be the end of his tenure. Miami is just 4-3 this season, one year after going 6-7 despite having seven players who were eventually selected in the 2015 NFL draft.

Golden also went 0-5 against rival Florida State, the only Canes coach since 1979 to go winless against the in-state rival during his tenure. Golden also posted a 3-11 mark against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and was 0-2 in bowl games.

On a conference call, James explained why he felt now was the time to make a change.

"My goal is to always do this at the end of the season," James said. "With that said, I felt that going through yesterday's game ... we weren't where I thought we needed to be as a program, and I felt we needed to make this decision."

Fans had been flying banners attached to planes above Miami games throughout this season imploring Miami to fire Golden. Former Hurricanes players were regularly vocal in their disapproval of Golden. On Sunday, many former playerscelebrated Golden's dismissal.

Golden shepherded the Miami program through two years of self-imposed bowl bans (2011, 2012) and under the cloud of an NCAA scandal in light of the Nevin Shapiro case. Golden had been hired from Temple in December 2010.

The NCAA ultimately docked Miami nine total scholarships over the 2014-16 seasons, during which time the entire athletic program has been on probation.

"On behalf of my family I want to thank the University of Miami for a tremendous opportunity," Golden said in a release. "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."

Golden, who played for Joe Paterno at Penn State, is 59-59 in parts of 10 seasons as a head coach. He helped revitalize Temple's program in his first opportunity as a head coach, then replaced Randy Shannon at Miami.

The Hurricanes climbed to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 for a stretch in 2013 but have not finished a season in the national rankings since the 2009 campaign.

Miami won the last of its five national championships in 2001 and hasn't appeared in what was once called the BCS bowls -- the Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Rose -- since 2003. It has yet to win the ACC since joining in 2004 and hasn't even won a bowl game since 2006, the last night of Larry Coker's regime with the Hurricanes.

Information from ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson and The Associates Press contributed to this report.