Careful What You Wish For

Hello All,

Today is not a good day, no matter how you look at it.

The Randy Shannon Era has come to an end. My body has rejected my best efforts to sleep off a hangover and therefore it is time to shatter some dreams, since I can’t have any.

Everyone seems to think that now that Randy is gone Miami is about to hire some superstar coach and win a national title next season. WRONG. (And by the way, anyone celebrating this firing like it is a holiday is a fucking carpetbagger and not a real fan. Period. If you didn't think he was a good coach, that's fine. That is an argument that definitely has weight to it and I would concede some points on. But he was a phenomenal person and gave more to this program than anyone. Any. One. Period. So to all you spoiled little rich kids from New York that think you know anything about this, do me the following: go fist yourself. You don't know anything about life in the real world and think that everything is what you read on message boards. You make me sick and sometimes a little gun shy to call myself a member of the Miami fanbase. And to the guy who flew the banner: I would love five minutes with you in an alleyway.)

Now, let’s take a further look at the situation.

Start with the salary, the main consideration of any job. Fans and Administrators can talk all they want about Miami being willing to pay top dollar, but the fact is we never have. Couple that with the expectations of titles every year and you have a bad mix. Why should I want to take a job where I will be fired for not winning big enough if I am not getting paid like an elite coach?

Go next to the expectations. First, you are expected to win big every season. And now that Randy has been fired, the message has been sent: win big right away, because we are no longer building. See, the biggest advantage Miami offers right now is its loaded roster, but it also is a disadvantage; with all this talent in place, New Hire X can’t just win the ACC next season. He better be in the BCS top 5. That is the message that has been sent. And for the low pay, that is a whole lot of stress.

Now let’s talk fan base. They talk a lot of sh*t. This is a tough media market, a pro sports town that treats its college team as such. The head coach will have every decision second guessed. At the first sign of trouble he will be thrown under the bus and the personal attacks will start. God help him if he has kids that have to go to school and hear their dad’s mental capacity challenged. All this might be understandable at an SEC or Big 10 school, where every game is a sellout. However, Miami plays its games 45 minutes from campus at an identity-less stadium and rarely manages to even come within 10,000 people of filling it. So that’s fun.

Now, recruiting. People talk about how great the recruiting base is in South Florida. It truly is where the greatest talent is, no doubt. However, it is also one of the five worst academic regions in the nation, and Miami’s administration has set acceptance standards for athletes on par with the Notre Dames and Dukes of the world (even though they expect to compete with the Alabamas and USCs). New Hire X will also have to recruit now in the shadow of Randy Shannon, Mr. Miami Hurricane, who came from this neighborhood and went to a city public school and dug himself out of a terrible situation to become what these kids are trying to be and then was fired after a winning season by the predominantly white private school down the road. Good luck breaking the ice there.

While we’re at it, let’s go through the popular “candidates” being thrown around.

Gary Patterson, TCU- Has previously turned down SEC and Big 10 money. Think he’s coming to Miami?

Greg Peterson, Boise State- See “Patterson, Gary”.

Jon Gruden, Monday Night Football- Literally just fell out of my chair laughing when I heard this one. What else, he gonna bring his buddies Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher in as coordinators?

Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech- More realistic, but he just signed at Tech and I really doubt that Miami can outbid a Texas State University for a coach they really want.

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford- Michigan money or the NFL. Those are his two options.

So, get those guys out of your head, they ain’t coming. Now, for a more realistic list:

Mark Richt, Georgia- Former ‘Cane and successful SEC coach and recruiter…that has slowly nose dived over the last four seasons. We would be firing Randy Shannon to hire Randy Shannon Lite? This time without all the South Florida connections, however.

Mike Leach, Unemployment- First of all, his Air Raid offense does not fit in with our personnel, which has all the makings of the best run game in the country. Plus, does anyone think we are winning big with Jacory Harris or Stephen Morris throwing the ball 70 times a game? Second of all, this guy is a quack that had an alright time relating to kids in West Texas in recruiting…before he abused a player. Think this weirdo is going into Miami Northwestern or Miami Central or Hialeah and pulling kids? When he is following up Randy Shannon?

Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator Oklahoma- Brilliant offensive mind...wait, that's there other guy, Kevin Wilson... with no relevant head coaching experience. So, a country bumpkin version of Randy Shannon. Pass. Although he is at the top of this list. Oh, and he just gave up 40+ in a rivalry game. Like he does in every big game.

Dan Mullen, Mississippi State- Hate his pop gun offense and UiF background. Would lead to another transitory phase and that is assuming we can beat SEC money.

Mario Cristobal, FIU- I think on paper he is a good candidate. Young, Miami born and bred, member of the family, experienced as a head coach. However, it just feels like at this point it would be better to go outside the family for the new hire, given the way we just treated Randy.

Randy Edsall, UConn- I like him. Doesn’t seem like a Miami guy though.

The best hire would be Will Muschamp from texas, but good luck out bidding Texas for their head coach in waiting.

Who else? Kevin Sumlin from Houston? Mike London from Virginia? Al Goilden from...laugh...Temple?The point is, that second group does not seem like it is much better than Randy. Think any of those guys is stepping in and leading us to a title? I know, I know, Larry Coker did it. Hate to break it to you, but Ed Reed and Ken Dorsey are not walking through that door anytime soon.

Here is the reality of the situation. Miami’s job really only comes with one perk: great talent, both already in place and in the pipeline. That perk, however, is diminished a bit by an administration that forces coaches to operate at a disadvantage (which I am not saying is a bad thing).

Randy Shannon had an ear to the ground in this community. He knew what was going on, more so than others. He had respected members of the community on his support staff. He started following these kids when they were playing optimist ball. Who else will be able to do that?

Who else will be able to keep every player in the program, a program located in the world center for night life and sports agents, on the straight and narrow?

His on-field progress definitely stunted this season. Next year would have been make or break. I think we at least owed him that make or break. Bring in a new offensive coordinator, shake up the staff a little and see what we can do with the great senior class he brought in. Instead, it will be year one of another transition.

What happens when the new guy loses a game or two? Do we start flying banners over the stadium? After all, the message has been sent: win now or go home.

What happens when the new guy starts missing out on some South Florida recruits that everyone thinks we should have had, that say something like “I had a great relationship with Randy Shannon and I would rather go play for Urban Meyer than try and start over with this guy”? After all, the message has been sent: losing recruits to UiF and FSU is unacceptable.

‘Canes fans are rejoicing over the firing of a good man. A good man that gave his life to the program. They want anyone else.

This is the same attitude that leads to us electing Barack Obama.

To ‘Canes fans, I send my own message: Careful what you wish for.