ESPN “strikes” again.
Sure, their polls and headlines aren’t purposefully malicious – just utterly pointless. It’s all about ad revenue, so the ESPN folk turn non-stories into stories and make non-news into attention-grabbing headlines.
This recent college football poll states that 83% of college football fans (50K or so of them) feel Randy Shannon will fail to win a national championship at Miami.
I have zero issue with 8.3 out of every 10 sports fans hanging onto this belief – nor should any Miami fan out there. A quick reminder for those of you out there who feel a sense of entitlement as Canes fans “expecting” more rings – it’s 2010, not the mid 1980s, people. The landscape has changed.
Your goal as a Miami Hurricanes fan should be for this program to be in the title hunt when every season kicks off. Where it goes from there has everything to do with luck meeting preparation, the football gods supporting your cause, winning the games you’re supposed to, superstars staying healthy and getting a few lucky breaks along the way.
Should all that come to fruition, your team and a worthy opponent will go head-to-head for a shot at a championship.
The Canes were ahead of the curve in the 80s, allowing this program to win three titles, while leaving three on the field. Between 1983 and 1989, Miami legitimately could’ve brought home six rings – ’83, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88 and ’89.
For those trapped in yesteryear, a loud and blunt reminder – those days will never happen again. Let it go. There’s too much parity and big money in the game for one program to stay ahead of pack like UM did a few decades ago – focusing recruiting efforts on local talent, a brash attitude (not seen in most rah-rah college towns) and again, a perfect storm that the game had never seen.
National Championships aren’t any program’s birthright. What Miami accomplished between 1983-1991 was unprecedented – which is why we got a two-hour 30 For 30 on the subject matter last December. The Canes run was newsworthy because it was a rare feat.
Fans needs to see the difference between realistic expectations and lowering one’s standards, which will be what the emotionally-fueled, trapped in the ‘Decade of Dominance’ era Cane fans will cry when reading this piece.
83% of people think Shannon will never win a title at Miami, though the most important question is never posed; how long will Shannon be top dog at The U?
If his run ends in four years (or less), then the odds of winning a title are that much slimmer. If he has a Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno-like run, spanning several decades, then who is to say?
Speaking of Bowden and Paterno, combined – the two legends with decades of experience – have less national championship rings than Miami won over a 19-year span. Bowden’s first came in ’93 and his last in ’99 – a decade that saw Florida State playing some of the best football the sport has ever seen. Legendary coach. A boatload of talent. A favorable schedule. Two rings.
Paterno needed a miracle and full-on Miami collapse to win his most recent ring – 1986 – with his first title coming in 1982, his seventeenth season at Penn State’s leader. Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, Paterno has only mustered up three conference titles, yet Miami faithful have lambasted Shannon for not winning the ACC after three years on the job (on the heels of inherited a depleted program.)
Jim Tressel needed a bogus flag to take Miami’s fairly-earned 2002 title, giving mighty Ohio State their first ring since 1968. In his two title game appearances, he’s had his overrated ass handed to him by faster, better coached teams. (Fate? Payback? As far as Miami fans are concerned, absolutely.)
Rich Rodriguez is making good money at Michigan, hailed as a savior for a program that spilt a title in 1997 but hasn’t won one outright since 1948. The legendary Bo Schembechler spent 21 years as the Wolverines’ head coach, winning 13 conference titles and 17 bowl games, but never won a national championship ring.
Pete Carroll got his 1.5 rings at Southern Cal this past decade, but prior to his arrival, the Trojans hadn’t won the hardware since 1978.
Carroll’s predecessor Lane Kiffin is reportedly earning over $4M this year – despite only winning 12 career games – proving how desperate USC is to ride Carroll’s successful coattails, overpaying his inexperience, one-time lackey to carry the torch. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is said to be earning over $2M – more than Shannon and many others will take home as head coaches – but it’ll take more than two overpriced coaches to deliver the Trojans their next championship.
Mack Brown finally got his ring in 2005 – the Longhorns’ first since 1970 and only their fourth in school history. Brown had a shot at his second back in January, but left it on the field when a better Alabama team took out his Heisman-worthy quarterback. Further proof that the football gods need to be on your side; Colt McCoy was the most-winningest, experienced quarterback to ever play the game… and he goes down early in the championship game.
Urban Meyer had a hell of a run, getting two rings between 2006 and 2008 – Florida’s second and third titles for a program that’s been a the richest state power for years and has over a hundred years of football history.
Timing, chemistry and a new-look offense propelled Meyer’s Gators to the top on two occasions, but again the college game has caught up and the spread offense has become passe. Without Mr. Everything behind center, it’s a safe bet UF’s window of opportunity narrowed tremendously.
Tennessee football. Another hundred-plus year program whose last title came in 1998 and prior to that, 1967.
Nick Saban -arguably the best coach in the game – finally won Alabama’s first title since 1992. Before that, the big time Crimson Tide hadn’t won it all since 1979 and even SEC Championships were hard to come by. 2009 marked their first since 1999. Miami won five national championships since 1983. Alabama took home four conference titles during that same span.
Once a powerhouse, Pittsburgh claims nine national championships but hasn’t won one since 1976 and for all their money and power, Notre Dame hasn’t won a title since 1988 – the year their supposed “Catholics” stole one from Miami’s “Convicts”.
Then there’s a snakebitten program like Auburn, undefeated in 2004 but left out of the title game. This on the heels of an 11-0 run in 1993 where they were denied a title shot due to probation. The Tigers had a “good enough” team to complete both years, but fate wasn’t on their side.
Auburn also went 11-1 in 1983, but when No. 4 Miami upset No. 1 Nebraska, the title went to the one-loss Canes instead of the then No. 3 Tigers, who eked out an 8-7 win in the Sugar Bowl over No. 8 Michigan.
Three solid Tiger teams and no national championship since 1957.
Will Randy Shannon eventually get his ring? Nobody knows and with year four on the horizon, nobody should even pose such an open, pointless question.
Is Shannon capable of winning a title at MiamI? Absolutely. Especially if the turns out to be the lifelong dream job he hopes it will. That said, it’s not something to predict or to bank on.
Recruit well. Develop players. Build depth. Assemble a staff of solid assistants. Get better each passing year. Shannon’s focus needs to be making Miami a perennial title contender from this point forward. Keep the program humming. Become a BCS staple. Avoid any Coker-esque meltdowns or coasting that set the program back half a decade in a matter of years.
Work to keep The U in that handful of annual contenders and save the lame polls for online geeks who unknowingly are impacting ESPN.com’s bottom line.