What Happened To Miami’s Linebacker Corps?

For the better part of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, the Miami Hurricanes wrestled the title of “Linebacker U” away from Penn State and other powerhouse programs. UM’s success was undeniable, pumping out top flight talent, game changers and future NFL superstars.

Bernard “Tiger” Clark stepping up and taking MVP honors in the 1988 Orange Bowl as second-stringer. Micheal Barrow, Jessie Armstead and Darrin Smith earning the moniker “The Bermuda Triangle” a few years later, as offensive players would disappear in their respective part of the field.

There was also Ray Lewis blowing up on the scene as a true freshman and a man-child in 1993.

Almost a decade later it was greats like Dan Morgan, Jon Vilma and DJ Williams carrying the torch, while Jon Beason, Rocky McIntosh and Leon Williams marked the last handful of greats, around the time Randy Shannon went from coordinator to head coach.

Upon Shannon, a former UM linebacker himself, taking over those leadership duties in 2007, the backsliding began. Over a six-year span—2006 to 2011—Miami went on to employ five different defensive coordinators.

Tim Walton was in control Shannon’s first season as head coach. The experiment lasted a year before Bill Young took over for a season and headed back to Oklahoma State. John Lovett called the shots for two seasons, but was let go when Shannon’s tenure came to a close. Since then, Mark D’Onofrio has been the defensive coordinator on Al Golden’s staff, dating back to 2011 and to their Temple years before that.

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