{"id":3129,"date":"2015-10-26T19:21:33","date_gmt":"2015-10-27T00:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gridironstuds.com\/blog\/?p=3129"},"modified":"2015-10-26T19:21:33","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T00:21:33","slug":"5-things-the-next-university-of-miami-coach-has-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/5-things-the-next-university-of-miami-coach-has-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things the Next University of Miami Coach Has to Be"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By: Chad Wilson<\/strong>
\nEditor in Chief – GridironStuds Blog<\/strong>
\nTwitter: @GridironStuds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that the banner requests have been met in Coral Gables, Florida the next phase is in effect. \u00a0That phase is finding a new coach to go Back to the Future at the University of Miami. \u00a0The suggestions have been numerous, comical, non-sensical and nostalgic. \u00a0Many fans feel that the next hire will be easy, just <insert name of successful head coach> or <insert name of former great player> and off we go. \u00a0Oh if only it were that simple. \u00a0This kind of faulty thinking is what got us here in the first place. If you read my previous article “Will We Ever Dance Again<\/a>” you will understand the challenges facing the program and the next UM coach.<\/p>\n

The list of names have been long ranging from Sebastian the Ibis, to the Rock to Butch Davis. \u00a0I’ve been asked who I think the next guy should be and my answer is, I don’t have a who but I definitely have the what. \u00a0Why am I so confident? \u00a0Because by nature I am an individual that analyzes things. Since we have been away from prominence for so long, \u00a0I’ve had quite some time to reflect on just exactly how the University of Miami got on top of college football and why it is so far removed from those days now.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the state of Florida is unique. There’s no doubt that the city of Miami is unique and that the University of Miami program is like no other in the country. With this in mind, \u00a0hiring a guy to head coach the program will not be a simple job. \u00a0It will require some careful thought. \u00a0Not every coach will do well at Miami. \u00a0Your success elsewhere does not guarantee you success here. \u00a0We wear shorts on Christmas Day, \u00a0where else are you going to do that?<\/p>\n

So I want my readers to think of the University of Miami head coaching job as a sprint. \u00a0I want you to think of it as a 4 x 100 meter relayl and in comparison, \u00a0most every other job in the country is a 400 to 800 meter dash. \u00a0To get Miami to the top and to keep it there, \u00a0it will take several men like it does in a 4 x 100 meter relay. \u00a0Everywhere else in the country one guy could build a dynasty just like it takes one guy to run a 400 meter or 800 meter dash. \u00a0I will explain this further below. \u00a0Here are the Five things the next University of Miami coach HAS to be:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Be a Non-Conformist<\/strong><\/p>\n

In “W<\/a>ill We Ever Dance Again<\/a>” I explained how college football has taken steps over the years to melt down the University of Miami program. \u00a0The administration at the University of Miami has also aided in this meltdown as they have been steadfast in wanting to change the image of the football team and the University. \u00a0Someone came up with the bright idea that the image of a school nestled between palm trees, surrounded by beaches and filled with students who attend class in flip flops should be viewed as a Harvard. \u00a0That makes as much sense as asking for Whopper at the counter at Tire Kingdom. \u00a0However, I guess this is how the academic community validates themselves. \u00a0The University of Miami’s academic reputation has never suffered even when Bernard Clark was doing the running man on the Superdome turf after a national championship. \u00a0A brawl with Notre Dame in the tunnel in 1988 did not move anyone to say the professors at the University of Miami are dumb. \u00a0However, \u00a0the move to change the culture has persisted and for the last 10 years plus the powers that be have prevailed.<\/p>\n

The next University of Miami coach has to push back on the powers that be. \u00a0The next coach has to challenge the culture change thought. \u00a0The next Miami coach has to stand by his players from impoverished backgrounds and support their need to show emotion and passion for the sport that means so much to them. \u00a0The next coach has to be willing to have that tough Monday morning meeting with the president about some incident that went down. \u00a0The next coach must be able to communicate to the wine tasters that an emotional kid is not a bad kid. \u00a0A kid that celebrates a touchdown, a sack or a big hit is not headed for a future on First 48. Who celebrated on field achievements more than Randall Hill? \u00a0Mr. Hill is running for Congress my dear lad. The next coach should be ready to go toe to toe with the academic bullies at Miami knowing that at some point you will get worn out and have to go. \u00a0In the process though, you will get men that will run through a bed of alligators to make you never taste defeat. \u00a0The next UM coach can’t be a yes man that puts our passionate South Florida athletes in a straight jacket because Lord Admiral so and so says it’s unbecoming of a gentleman while wiping Grey Poupon from his\u00a0stache. \u00a0Howard Schnellenberger was a rebel, \u00a0Jimmy Johnson a super rebel and Dennis Erickson while not a big\u00a0rebel, was not a true conformist either as he bolted when he had to say\u00a0yes too many times. \u00a0Butch Davis was a rebel who skirted around the NCAA loopholes and bolted when he had to fight the opposition too much. \u00a0So I don’t know if the next coach needs to be Billy Idol but it better be a rebel who’s ready to yell.<\/p>\n

2. Not Looking to Retire as Head Coach of the Canes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miami is beautiful isn’t it? Great weather, G-string bikinis, lovely beaches, G-string bikinis. \u00a0It’s the kind of stuff that will make you want to relax and never go anywhere else again if you didn’t have to. \u00a0So you can’t hire a guy who’s in this place in his life. \u00a0I truly believe that one of the things that may have stopped Jimmy Johnson from be as successful with the Dolphins as he was with the Cowboys was because he had reached the age where he could retire. \u00a0If Jimmy had a lot left on his coaching plate, \u00a0he would have turned a blind eye to the beauty of the Keys like he did when he was at the University of Miami with brown hair as opposed to patches of gray. \u00a0The next coach can’t be wet behind the ears but he can’t be cracking behind the ears either. \u00a0The next Miami coach has to come in wanting something more after this job and approach the job with a sense of urgency. \u00a0They have to come in feeling like the clock is ticking and not that they have all the time in the World so they can take in all of the South Florida scenery. \u00a0They have to feel like if this doesn’t work out, \u00a0my career may be in shambles. \u00a0The next coach can’t come in here feeling like I’ll give this a try, \u00a0I’ll enjoy the time and if it doesn’t work out, \u00a0fire me, \u00a0give me my severance and I’ll buy a boat that says “Out to Sea” and retire. \u00a0No way Jose!<\/p>\n

3. Be Looking for A Pro Job Soon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of the coaches that had some of the biggest success at the University of Miami. \u00a0What they all have in common is a move from the University of Miami to the pro ranks. \u00a0Howard Schnellenberger moved on to the USFL. \u00a0Jimmy Johnson moved on the Cowboys and the Dolphins, \u00a0Dennis Erickson moved on to Seattle and San Francisco and Butch Davis onto the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n

This coincides with #2 on my list. \u00a0What Miami needs is a coach with a sense of urgency but also a coach that wants to shine in his role as the coach at UM so that he can be considered for a job at the next level. \u00a0You want a coach that is auditioning for something greater which would be a pro head coaching position. \u00a0The University of Miami is a stepping stone. \u00a0Some fans may frown at that, \u00a0I see it as a plus. \u00a0This is a place to cut your teeth for success at the highest level of the game of football. \u00a0Getting a coach that wants to be here for 20 years is not the answer. \u00a0That coach is likely to get comfortable and that’s not what you do in this town unless you are retired. \u00a0When the University of Miami was at it’s best, \u00a0it hired coaches who came in, \u00a0worked hard, worked fast and in five years had a least one title. \u00a0Those coaches did not get fired but left after success which forced the next guy coming in to keep things relatively the same.<\/p>\n

The reason Al Golden felt it right to try and change everything about UM football was because the two guys before him got fired. \u00a0In his mind, \u00a0he needed to scrap everything about UM and change the culture. \u00a0He was wrong. \u00a0It would be best if the next UM coach did not get fired but left after success. \u00a0Miami is a transient town that will only support a team that’s winning. \u00a0This is where my 4 x 100 meter relay team example comes in. \u00a0A runner in a 400 meter or 800 meter race can start off in the middle of the pack and eventually work his way to the front. \u00a0College programs where there is undying support in rural towns for the team can do that. \u00a0You can’t do that in Miami, \u00a0the fan base will chew you up and spit you out. Each runner in a 4 x 100m relay must sprint like hell, \u00a0try to win their leg and then hand it off to someone else. \u00a0This is what a Miami head coach needs to do. \u00a0Maybe the next coach lays the framework for a dynasty the way Butch Davis laid the framework for the 2001 national title. However,\u00a0once your leg is up, \u00a0pass it on to someone else who has the same urgent state of mind and will keep the identity because the man before him was a success. \u00a0Larry Coker wanted to coach Miami forever and retire as the coach. \u00a0He got walked down on his leg of the relay. \u00a0Get all sprinters in here thank you.<\/p>\n

4. Have Previous Head Coaching Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

The thing in recent years was for organizations to go out and find the hot shot coordinator that people “think” would make a great head coach. \u00a0You know where that works? \u00a0That works in the NFL and at low profile college football programs. \u00a0I don’t think that will work at the University of Miami. \u00a0Larry Coker was a coordinator. \u00a0I was elated when Miami hired Randy Shannon because I was happy for a man that was a friend but I soon thereafter became worried. \u00a0Any person put into a job like this will make mistakes. \u00a0When you make the mistakes at a high profile school, \u00a0the mistakes get magnified and blown out of proportion. \u00a0Make mistakes at Miami and the rabid fan base loses their mind. \u00a0Without previous head coaching experience, you will make more mistakes and be less prepared to handle the backlash. \u00a0I am certain if Shannon had a head coaching job or two prior to Miami, \u00a0I would not be writing this article, none of us would really know who Al Golden is and Clemson would not have flogged us behind the woodshed on Saturday in that fashion. \u00a0The fan base in Miami right now is ornery and on edge. They expect success quickly and will attack. \u00a0It takes an experienced head coach to handle the bumble bees that buy banners asking that their head coach be fired. A hot shot coordinator needs to cut his teeth elsewhere, \u00a0not in the MIA.<\/p>\n

5. Be A Great Developer of Talent<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rush in college football now is to grab the slick talking individual and pick some position for him to coach. \u00a0This coach doesn’t really need to know much about the actual on the field action, \u00a0he just needs to possess the ability to talk a hungry cat off of a fish truck. \u00a0The emphasis now is on guys who can go land the recruiting service 5 star and then let him just do 5 star things for three years at our school and ship him off to the league. \u00a0This blows my mind but you don’t need to do that at Miami. \u00a0First of all the slick talking “recruit a guy” coach will often have a hard time evaluating the actual talent. \u00a0He basically is skilled at reading online who the 5 star is and talking him into being “a guy for us”. \u00a0There are many 4 and 5 star busts and if you don’t have coaches that can develop talent, \u00a0chances are they can’t really evaluate it and then you get stuck. \u00a0Some guys can spot an awesome 18 year old but once they are there’s they can do little to turn them into an awesome 20 year old in the program.<\/p>\n

There is talent all over South Florida. \u00a0Since ranking kids and rating them is a business, \u00a0the big recruiting outfits can’t hang 4 and 5 star ratings on many of the kids in Florida that likely deserve them. \u00a0You don’t have to be Willie Diamond to go out and grab 3 and 4 star kids from this state. \u00a0If you are adept as a coach at developing talent and getting them to reach their full potential, \u00a0by age 20 they could play circles around most everyone else’s 5 star recruits that still play like they are 18 years old. \u00a0The next University of Miami coach needs to believe in developing talent and wants to put together a staff that can do that. \u00a0Miami is not going to win in recruiting with their facilities. \u00a0They won’t win in recruiting with the on campus stadium they don’t have. \u00a0They won’t win in recruiting with the college town where everyone knows your name. \u00a0The University of Miami will win in recruiting when Johnny comes to Miami in 2015 a good player and leaves in 2017, 18 or 19 as a guy the NFL just has to have and makes the Pro Bowl annually. \u00a0 While everyone else is eating homemade cupcakes, riding bikes underwater and playing the grand pianos in their tricked out facilities, \u00a0Miami players can be on the field using techniques combined with athleticism to dominate other programs\u00a0on Saturdays. \u00a0The next coach can flip the script on the out of towners recruiting this area. \u00a0Grab the talented kids that the other marquee schools are turning down and then go beat their heads in with them. Can I get a Amen!<\/p>\n

Now, \u00a0I do not yet have a name that fits all of this. \u00a0I can do some research. \u00a0Perhaps some of you out there think you know and you can feel free to comment below with who you think that is. \u00a0However, \u00a0simply grabbing some former Hurricane great and tricking yourself into believing he will succeed just because is setting yourself up for more heartache. \u00a0Whether or not the administration and decision makers for the University will recognize what I have written in this article as the keys to success or be willing to hire someone like what I am describing is the $64 million question. \u00a0Only time will tell but rest assured, \u00a0I’ve done enough reading, analyzing and sorting out to believe strongly in what has been written right here. \u00a0The next head coach hire at the University of Miami is crucial. \u00a0If the wrong guy is hired, \u00a0the consequences can be fatal. \u00a0Miami football can be catapulted back to it’s pre 1980 form. \u00a0It’s that serious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Chad Wilson Editor in Chief – GridironStuds Blog Twitter: @GridironStuds Now that the banner requests have been<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[829,1],"tags":[605,152,848,847,846,843,845,844,842],"class_list":["post-3129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-football","category-general","tag-al-golden","tag-college-football","tag-dennis-erickson","tag-howard-schnellenberger","tag-jimmy-johnson","tag-miami-football","tag-randy-shannon","tag-the-u","tag-the-university-of-miami"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}