Yesterday it was a rumor. Today it’s official. Bill Young is headed back to the Midwest. Alma mater Oklahoma State came calling, ponied up big money and lured their native son back home.
This is obviously a big blow for the University of Miami. Not because Young is irreplaceable, but because of the timing. Head coach Randy Shannon is already knee-deep in his hunt for a new offensive coordinator, while trying to lock down another top-flight recruiting class.
While the OC search is rumored to be over (word is a new coach will be announced Wednesday morning) a new search begins. Where will Shannon turn regarding his replacement for Young? Some are conveniently pointing to Georgia’s Willie Martinez, as he has UM ties. Others say former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville will on some level offer his services to the Canes, citing his friendship with Shannon. Whether either holds water, we’ll see. Both sound like nothing more than Internet rumors.
Regarding Young, on one level the move is understandable. It’s also a head-scratcher, as well. The desire to head back home makes sense, though it doesn’t necessarily mesh with Young’s comments when taking the Miami job last year this time.
The then 61-year old talked about retirement and riding into the sunset with his wife in South Florida. He also cited a desire to win a national championship and coach high profile athletes like those Shannon is bringing to Coral Gables.
Money is obviously a factor, with Young reportedly clocking in somewhere around the $700,000 range. Whether that’s true or false, with T. Boone Pickens writing the checks one have to assume it was a healthy pay bump for the veteran coordinator.
As frustrating as the timing is the fact that Young never got to plant his feet and truly have an impact on Miami’s defense. His one-year tenure was watered down as the Canes lacked the necessary overall defensive talent to implement Young’s system. 2009 looked to be a year where change would be a bit more obvious as Miami will suit up more talent in the secondary and linebacking corps.
At this point it truly is hard to tell how much of a loss this is for the Canes. Young’s run defense was eaten alive down the stretch and the secondary struggled to create turnovers. Miami’s D looked great at Florida, but definitely showed some chinks in the armor as the season went on. How much of that was due to talent versus coaching, it is unknown and with Young gone next year, there’s no way to gauge any improvement.
Unfortunately this situation gives more ammunition to the Shannon haters, even though it shouldn’t. This opportunity was simply the perfect storm for Young. Big money. Alma mater. A chance to go back home. At 62 years old and no head coaching experience, Young is a perennial number two guy. Miami was a good opportunity, but for the OSU alum this is truly his dream scenario and perfect job.
This has nothing to do with Shannon or what Miami was willing to pay. The U broke open the bank last year to lure in Young and he was fairly compensated. As unfair as it seems, this is simply another stroke of bad luck for a program that’s had its fair share the past few seasons.
The announcement of the offensive coordinator will now bittersweet on some level as the job is only half done. Shannon will have to get on the case and lure in a solid defensive mind to take over where Young left off.
I’m not gonna lose sleep over this. I hope we get Tuberville.
– GO CANES…!!!
Great article as always..IMO I dont see filling this position being all that tough..we have all kind of young studs on D that are aggresive and willing to do what it takes to be the best..the O is a problem because its been a mess for a few years now..but as for the D with all the young talent and what we have on the way alot of DC`s will want to be here(of course money will play some factor)..DAU
Miami will be able to put some political spin on this. Hire the OC tomorrow morning (or whenever), and just brush Young leaving out the door. Direct any questions regarding it to another time, for this is a time to celebrate this new shiny OC we just hired, etc, etc. Regardless, a defense is much easier to run than an offense. As you’ve said before All Canes, Randy subscribes to the “The best players will win the most games” theory, and that holds true the strongest on the defensive side of the ball. I’m not worried in the slightest.
You aint lyin!! I would love to have Tuberville
GO CANES…!!!!
well it sounds like there are some high profile names floating around out there for a replacement, but do you think this is gonna affect our recruiting class?
The move wasn’t about money. The $700k figure was greatly exaggerated.
what about Barrow? yes he wet behind the ears but seems to be motivated to the challenge. the U needs to focus on back to the basic of the defense: cover 2 “D”! promote from within keep it simple and we be fine…GO Canes!
I think Bill Young leaving is unfortunate, but not the end of the world. Bottom line is a lack of loyalty to the program. Who we get for offensive coordinator is more important in my mind. Coach Shannon is a defensive guy and we will end up fine on defense. I’ve always preferred coordinators and coaches with a history with the U as either player or coach. Tuberville would be great and there is good history there.
As long as we keep our verbal commits(I think we will) we will keep moving upward. Loyalty is tough to come by, lets find a
DC who believes its all about the U.
315k is not 700k.. and tuberville isn’t going to come here and be a a coordinator when he’s more qualified to be head coach than the head coach is..
Good article AllCanes. well. goodbye Coach Young. Hopefully Coach Shannon will find somebody better that can coach against that triple option..cause the guy from Georgia you said?? he couldnt do that. Well. as for the offensive coordinator. well. some say Ron Prince. Or Chuck Long. Or Rip Scherer the Cleavland Browns QB’s coach…or Mark Whipple from the Eagles…
Shannon said that if it comes down to it he’ll coach the defense.I don’t like this Willie Martinez guy, I’ve seen Georgia quite a few times and I don’t see anything I like out of him.
I really hope this doesn’t hurt the recruiting efforts.
And GOOD LUCK to Bill Young…coaching defense in the Big 12 is going take alot more years off of him.
Where did you hear that an OC will be hired today? If you know who it is please let me know this off season has been killing me.
**Whether it was $700K, a few hundred grand more… or the same exact pay — this was Young’s dream job. It’s his alma mater, he’s going back home and his wife’s family is in the area. This isn’t an indictment on Randy or the program. This was simply bad luck.
** It doesn’t sound like Mark Whipple or Chuck Long are in the running.
**I’ve seen nothing confirmed about Willie Martinez. As I said, people like to throw the name out there because there are Miami ties.
**Regarding Tubbs, he’s a friend of Randy’s and while he’s head coaching material, there was a rumor that he might do something on an interim basis to help an old friend. Not very plausible, but it was a rumor.
** OC should be named Friday. Some were saying today. Not other sites have said Friday. We’ll see.
The Miami program has no clear direction. When will a permanent staff be in place? Shannon has not been able to instill confidence in the fanbase. Overnight sucess is one thing but Shannon is has no cohesion going for the program. Next season is do or die.
oh $h!t brotha,,,we’re in trouble now!
Next season is not do or die, IMO…You need to let Shannon's Northwestern kids 3 years for them to develop. After all he was the one to get them here and he should be given a chance to bring the program around.
Next year we have a very tough schedule @ FSU, @ UNC, @ VT & GT and OU @ Dolphin Stadium. We could be looking at another 3 or 4 loss season.
A couple of things, UM is looking at a bunch of schedule changes including another FSU Labor day showdown and the OU game moved to Oct 3.
And for those who haven't bought the book "Hurricane Mutiny" (I didn't find out about this book till recently) pick it up, read it and you'll give Shannon alot more time since it'll give you a reminder of what this program went through in the Buth Davis era..even before the Pell Grant sanction's.
GO CANES!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope Young the best, but I would think you should really stay somewhere more than one year. This is the problem I have with many of the coaches in college football today. The mercenary coaches (follow the money) are messing up the scene. These guys can come and go as they please while the players are the ones who suffer. Other than that, there’s not much to say about a man who was here for 12 months.
Going into Year 3 for Shannon, this is a critical year for him. Starting from scratch with both coordinators isn’t a good thing for that. I am always optimistic regarding the players and their performance, but the program needs some stability right now with the coaches. Hopefully we’ll hear some OC news today and then bring someone in later on as DC. I’m crossing my fingers. I don’t think any program is facing what we’re facing right now, but I do believe we can get through it and still come out fine.
-Columbus Cane
This asshole called out you and us Cane fans out:
http://www.orangeandbluehue.com/2009/01/24/just-say-no-miami/
Allcanes, The “word on the streets” is saying that Mark Whipple is going to be the next OC and that Randy Shannon will most likely be handling the DC duties as well as, his HC duties. I’ve been researching Mark Whipple and he has a pretty impressive resume and looks like the answer to what Miami’s been missing on offense and with Randy running the defense this could be a pretty explosive duo…..now I know, I know, I should not count my chickens before the eggs are hatched or I should not put the cart before the horse. Things are not a done deal until the papers are signed (similar to the 18 year old recruits we hang our dreams on every year). However, this is some exciting news. What do you think of all of this???
Big A from the 321 to the 305!!!!!
Please tell me this Whipple stuff is a joke! We have a nobody position coach coming to OC Miami? What! UCLA has Norm Chow. USC had Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian. Oklahoma has had three guys that became HC (Mangino, Leach, and Long). BUT, Miami, the great MIami program can do no better than a middle aged lower teir NFL coach. Can’t lure a coach out of Rutgers, damn. Shalala must pay worse than we think. I bet Bill Young tripled his salary in this OSU move.
fuck him bring back shannon as DC
http://www.igglesblog.com/iggles_blog/2008/02/who-is-mark-whi.html
This is an Eagles blog…asking “who is mark whipple”. I am intrigued about this guy. Paul Johnson (GT coach) thinks he is a nut and is supposed to be very unpredictable.
what are your thoughts about whipple?