Latest reports coming out of New York are that Miami has not only met with Mike Leach, but Randy Shannon is in town and has been brought into the discussion.
The pitch is to bring in Leach as Miami’s new head coach and to promote Shannon to assistant head coach, while giving him a big time pay raise.
I don’t know about you, but I like this premise. Hell, who am I kidding, I love it.
Bob Stoops to Miami would still be my #1 scenario, but the money is too impossible to overcome. Stoops makes almost double what the Canes were paying Larry Coker.
This Leach/Shannon scenario is a helluva second choice and it’s infinitely better than bringing Greg Schiano to Miami. While I respect what Schiano has done at Rutgers, it wasn’t enough for me to warrant losing Shannon and a slew of other assistants. No way Schiano would’ve kept another defensive guy like Shannon – not to mention what would happen to Tim Walton, Clint Hurtt and John Palermo.
My hat’s off to Paul Dee and Donna Shalala if they can find a way to lure Leach to Miami without wrecking the infrastructure of this program. Miami would get their high-powered, high-octane offense without selling out on a defense which has been a top the nation since 2000.
Keeping Shannon means the defensive coaches are safe, I assume.
Offensively, Leach would bring in his own guys while calling his own plays and acting as QB coach. That eliminates Rich Olson, Todd Berry, Marquis Mosely and Joe Pannunzio from the equation, which is fine by me. Olson’s offense was putrid this season, as were quarterbacks, wide receivers and special teams – all coached buy the aforementioned guys.
The wild card is Mario Cristobal as offensive line coach. This is a guy Miami can’t afford to lose. He’s a top recruiter and an up and comer. Other programs have already inquired about Cristobal, but The U needs to find a way to keep one of their own on staff. Up his pay if need be. Miami can’t lose Mario. Same with strength and conditioning guru, Andreu Swasey. Those two are irreplaceable right now.
Leach & Shannon are a lethal duo, but they have to be a package deal. I’m not ready for Miami to turn the keys over to a B-level new guy and a new Texas-bred staff, but I also don’t want to see The U promote from within and give Shannon the job based on seniority. The duo is Miami’s best case scenario.
allCanesBlog.com will follow this story throughout the day. Check back for any late-breaking news.
.:Canes305:.