Larry Coker Era After Win Over Boston College

Larry Coker was let go this morning after twelve years of service at the University of Miami, six of those as head coach. As much as I’ve lobbied for this during a depressing 6-6 season, there is a side of me which is sad today.

I can live with losing Coker The Coach, but this program will miss Coker The Man. Believe it. Men like Larry Coker are few and far between.

Paul Dee and Donna Shalala made the call this morning at the 11:30am ET press conference and the class act he is, Coker handled the whole situation diplomatically. Word is that Coker will stick around and coach the Canes in their bowl game, most like in Boise or San Francisco. While that seems mildly unconventional, I like the call.

Coker deserves his swan song and as nice as it was to beat Boston College on Thanksgiving night, the future looked cloudy and most fans couldn’t embrace the win, fearing it might save his job. After today’s decision, Miami’s bowl game will give even the most callous fan a reason to root for Coker and applaud him for a job well done.

On a personal note, I want to thank Coker for his twelve years at The U.

I spent the better part of this season lobbying for him to be replaced. As much as I dig Coker The Man, the program’s decline the past few seasons was impossible to ignore. I started losing faith in 2003 after Miami lost a snoozer to Tennessee, 10-6. The fact that Coker couldn’t rally his squad a week after a 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech? The first regular season loss in three years? That raised red flags. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw the Canes come out flat in back-to-back games.

Coker rallied Miami to an 11-2 season and an Orange Bowl win over Florida State, but at day’s end that team could’ve competed for a National Championship. As stellar as 2001 was, the Canes don’t have enough hardware for all their dominance and success the earlier part of this decade. To me, that’s coaching.

2004 and 2005 felt like one long season and the 40-3 Peach Bowl loss, at the time, felt like rock bottom. Little did we know then. As for 2006, 6-6 and the only quality win came on Coker Eve. The saddest part about it is that Miami looked pretty good last night. Had Coker played things a little differently, we might’ve been looking at a two-loss team this season. There’s enough talent there for Miami to have been a thread in the ACC this season.

That said, it is what it is. Things played out as they needed to. Coker made a profound comment in his farewell speech today about how a new personality can invigorate a program. He’s right. People have oft stated that this program has been Cokerized. In regards to Larry’s beliefs, ethics and morals – that’s a good thing. But from a coaching and discipline standpoint, Cokerization is not a good thing.

Miami Football needs a shot in the arm. It needs a fiery, aggressive, hungry and younger coach. Kudos to Dee and Shalala for their difficult decision this morning. This program was at a crossroads and this decision proved that this administration DOES give a damn about football. If they didn’t, Coker The Man would’ve been enough to bring Larry back in 2007.

Step one was ending the Coker Era. Step two is hiring the right man for the job. That’ll be a huge topic of conversation over the coming days, but I’ll throw my two cents in right now and plead that Dee and Shalala throw everything but the kitchen sink at Greg Schiano. If you want to resurrect this program, he’s your guy. It’s a no brainer. Anyone else is a distant second choice. Even Visor Boy.

Like many stinging from the loss to Virginia, I was enamored with the mention of Steve Spurrier – but in my opinion, he’s a third or fourth option and a few rungs higher than a Barry Alvarez.

If Schiano is EVER going to leave a Rutgers and attempt to climb the coaching ladder, THIS is the time. Supposedly go aggressively at Schiano, offering him upwards of $2M a year and incentives that can make the Jersey boy an offer he can’t refuse.

If Schiano is coming to Miami, expect an answer as early as next week. He either wants this job or he doesn’t and if he does, The U is going to pay what it takes to lure him back to Coral Gables.

Should Schiano spurn Miami, many feel Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe is an option and Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville could be the ultimate dark horse candidate.

All journeys start with that first step and Miami’s admin took a giant leap forward this morning. The Coker Era needed to end today, as great of a man and teacher as he’s been to these kids. If the Canes want to become a contender again, it’s time to bring in a big time player as head coach.

After today, The U is one step closer to doing that.

Thanks again, Larry. You won a title, had another one stolen and you impacted some lives while you were here. You can’t ask for anything more and you will definitely be missed.

.::Canes305:.

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