In the wake of an embarrassing loss to top-ranked Alabama, Miami head coach Manny Diaz talked about his team’s story not yet being written and a how a 44-13 loss wouldn’t define his Hurricanes. After an equally-as-crushing 38-17 home loss to Michigan State this past weekend, few need to finish this book to know how this third-year head coach’s story is going to end.
Miamians have seen this show before—painfully aware that Diaz isn’t the guy to lead the Hurricanes back to national prominence—and with that the case, zero reason for the University of Miami to continue this flawed experiment any longer. Cut bait, move on and get it right next time, as the clock is ticking and ‘The U’ is officially on the brink of extinction—if not already past a point of no return.
Diaz isn’t built to run this program—and that fact that anyone yielding power lobbied to put him in this position is downright scary. This was an unvetted, panic-driven, knee-jerk hire that took place hours after the abrupt retirement of third-year head coach Mark Richt—UM’s board of trustees and athletic director Blake James extending an offer by sundown the same day Richt hung it up, less than two weeks after Diaz signed on fill Temple’s head coaching vacancy.
UM looked even more amateurish paying the Owls a reported $4M for the inconvenience of bringing Diaz home to cut his teeth as Miami’s fifth head coach in 14 seasons—now 15-12 after 27 games and a 1-2 in his third season where the Canes were outscored 82-30 in those lopsided losses to the Crimson Tide and Spartans—while almost choking away last weekend’s home opener against Appalachian State.
Southern Cal parted ways with Clay Helton two games into his seventh season with the Trojans; a hearty 42-28 home loss to Stanford the final straw—with USC sending a clear early-September message to the college football world that they’re making changes today to build a winner tomorrow.
Zero reason the University of Miami to not follow the lead of their like-minded, coastal, private school with a rich football history—stopping the bleeding and sending that same message, now—not late November after the Canes wrap what looks on pace to be a 5-7 season, as this 2021 team doesn’t pass the smell test.
Brutal as it is to accept, this is not a good football team and that is a direct result of Diaz not being a quality head coach. He lacks the *it* factor and is making year-one mistakes in year three, in what was supposed to be a step-forward season for both he and the Hurricanes.
CANES FOOTBALL: SPIRALING FOR YEARS
Miami’s football program hasn’t been right since a bogus yellow flag hit that end zone Sun Devil Stadium turf in the wee hours of January 3rd, 2003—a 34-game win-streak prematurely ended and a bid for back-to-back national championships completely stolen.
Butch Davis took six years to build a powerhouse, navigating the Hurricanes through mid-nineties probation and back to the promised land—before the imperfect storm of NFL dollars and UM’s athletic department mishandling an extension occurred. Larry Coker was promoted as a stop-gap option, as Miami was sitting on national champion caliber roster—the former offensive coordinator a two- or three-year option, at best—but never intended to be in charge for six.
Coker went 35-3 the first three seasons—three BCS berths, two national championship games and one title—which should’ve really been 36-2 with a pair of rings. His final three years, a 23-13 run and a complete 7-6 bottom-out year six.
Miami was almost tripped up twice in early 2003, barely surviving Florida and West Virginia. Still, something was noticeably off and the tipping come came on the road when the second-ranked Hurricanes were demolished 31-7 at Virginia Tech. The following week, a complete offensive collapse as Miami fell to Tennessee, 10-6.
The Canes hadn’t lost a regular season game since 2000, or back-to-back games since 1999—only to be outscored by the Hokies and Volunteers, 41-13 over an eight-day span—costing Miami a shot at Fiesta Bowl redemption and a Sugar Bowl title-game rebirth.
Miami kicked off ACC play the following year—the third-ranked Hurricanes upset by a flailing North Carolina team, 31-28—unable to bounce back at home against Clemson the following week, blowing a 17-3 halftime lead and falling 24-17 in overtime. The Canes still could’ve won the conference in their season finale—earning Sugar Bowl berth against undefeated Auburn—but fell to Virginia Tech at home, 16-10.
Big time players were no longer making big time plays, or stepping up in big games. Coker had lost total control; the mighty had fallen and any air of invincibility disappearing with each new loss.
Championship-caliber football was no longer a priority for Miami under then-president Donna Shalala—hired in 2001 and putting all her focus an energy into the medical school—content with mailbox money from Nike and the Atlantic Coast Conference, setting football’s bar at players staying out of police blotters and staving off any negative PR for her university.
9-3 seasons under good-guy head coaches with an in-line team held more currency than 12-0 runs and a football-reigns-supreme mentality.
January 1st, 2006 should’ve unequivocally been the end of the Coker era, put out to pasture the morning after No. 8 Miami was throttled 40-3 by No. 9 LSU in the 2005 Peach Bowl—made worse by a post-game tunnel brawl fueled by an embarrassed Hurricanes bunch.
Instead, a lazy administration stuck with Nice Guy Larry, barring he parted ways with four assistants—including brash, hit-stick-and-bust-dick old schoolers like Don Soldinger and Art Kehoe—while forcing Coker to bring on retread offensive coordinator Rich Olson, when the on-fumes Canes leader lobbied for Todd Berry and had to settle with shoehorning him in as quarterbacks coach, causing unavoidable friction.
The result, a chaotic and disastrous six-loss season—Miami’s worst since a probation-fueled 5-6 run in 1997, when the program hit rock bottom, before rebounding the next year.
November 13th, 2006—days after Miami played its first football game since the murder of beloved defensive end Bryan Pata—the University of North Carolina hired an out-of-work Davis as their new head coach. Five days after that, the Canes lost an unthinkable fourth game in a row for only the second time since 1977.
In a 2006 season where Miami also started a now familiar 1-2—dropping the opener to Florida State, before getting embarrassed at Louisville after a pre-game logo stomp—the Canes saved their coup de grâce for a battle royale-style, on-field brawl with Florida International, resulting in dozens of suspensions for both teams.
Coker was finally relived of his duties 11 days after Davis was hired to coach the Tar Heels—trotted out once more for a meaningless bowl game against Nevada on Boise State’s awkward blue turf—a disastrous end to a doomed-from-the-start campaign, for a head coach whose first win came six seasons earlier in front of a sold out Penn State crowd.
MORE ‘SLIDING DOOR’ MOMENTS FOR UM
The 2006 season was a watershed moment for the University of Miami and the start of a dismal 16-year run, marked in underachievement, unprofessionalism and amateurish moves that have completely derailed a once-proud football program nestled in the hottest recruiting region in the nation.
Truth be told, football was never a priority for UM’s administration—former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Howard Schnellenberger brought on as a last-ditch effort in 1979—the program on its last legs, almost dropped all together a few years prior. Schnelly changed the game by focusing on selling local talent on staying home—his eye for talent allowing him to pluck the state’s best, while cherry-picking elite national talent.
Within five years, Schnellenberger delivered on his promise and brought Miami its first national title; an uphill battle the entire way with a second-rate athletic department.
Still, the floodgates were open; a brand was built during a brash era for The Magic City and the Canes were fielding the fastest, nastiest, hardest-hitting, shit-talking-ist players in the country—laying waste to the option, the wishbone or any three-yards-and-a-cloud of dust boring garbage-football that had dominated up until that era.
The rest of the college football world eventually caught up with Miami—whose athletic department still thankfully failed upwards for the next decade. The next two lesser-known, up-and-comers—Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson—broke big and won titles, though not without scandal, which eventually caused Rome to fall for the first time in 1994, before rising again at the turn of the century.
Properly running and maintaining a championship-caliber program was never a sussed out process, though—the “U” on the side of the helmet and a rich history of NFL talent is what Miami relied on to keep the train barreling down the tracks. Facilities were so prehistoric, it took ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit shaming UM during the broadcast of Thanksgiving weekend’s Pata-inspired win over Boston College in 2006 to help light a fire.
Had Miami a well-oiled athletic department over the years—a president, athletic director and board of trustees with an understanding of what it takes to build a winner, opposed to relying on quality football talent to carry the Canes—at minimum, Coker would’ve been out after the 2005 Peach Bowl and Davis would’ve returned five years after his departure.
In reality, if UM was even close to having its collective shit together, Davis would’ve been extended at the end of the 2000 season—never leaving for Cleveland and ultimately seeing through the dynasty he resurrected—and by that same rationale, a capable Miami would’ve done the same for Schnellenberger a decade earlier instead of letting him bolt for the USFL soon after winning the program’s first championship.
The incompetence knows know bounds inside the walls of Hecht Athletic Center.
On January 6th, 2006—the day Coker pushed out four assistants to save his own ass and to buy another year—Davis was out of work and available, but his phone would never ring. UM’s board of trustees took umbrage with “how” Davis abandoned the program five years prior; despite the fact it was then-athletic director Paul Dee and the university’s administration that dragged-ass on getting an extension done in-season.
Knowing this type of pettiness has existed internally over the years, is it any surprise that the University of Miami still hasn’t been able to get its collective shit together when it comes to properly rebuilding a football program—forever zigging when it should’ve zagged, with too much foolish pride driving bad decisions?
Coker was gone 11 months later—three years too late—with a firm brought on to conduct a “national search” for Miami’s next head coach. The result, a reach-out to former defensive coordinator and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, who ultimately chose Piscataway over South Florida and remained with the Scarlet Knights.
LAZY HIRES & WRONG-FIT LEADERS
In less than two weeks, the nationwide scouring had UM taking the long way to their own backyard, where defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was handed the job.
Shannon—long known as an introvert and loner—was never head coaching material, but that didn’t stop Miami from trying to sell the one-of-ours, U-FAMILY narrative about the former player and assistant—when in reality it was a cheap, lazy hire by UM at a pivotal crossroads for the program.
Over the next four seasons, a 28-22 record was amassed and—three of those losses coming against Davis and the Tar Heels; Shannon’s former boss and coordinator owning him on game day—similar to the way North Carolina and Mack Brown has stuck it to former pupil Diaz the past two seasons.
Shannon never won a bowl game during his tenure—and he’d never sniff a head coaching opportunity again—bouncing around as a linebackers coach at TCU, Arkansas and Florida, before finally re-earning the defensive coordinator gig in Gainesville and then Central Florida; since falling into a “senior defensive analyst” role at Florida State in 2021.
Al Golden followed, with an ounce more experience than his predecessor—peaking in his famed, forced are-you-kidding-me press conference at Miami weeks after Shannon was fired for a 7-5 run and overtime loss to South Florida; Golden proving to be another bogus hire, canned halfway through year five after a 58-0 home loss to Clemson.
Golden inherited a disaster by way of the Nevin Shapiro scandal and went 32-25 at Miami—also losing both bowl games he coached—while following up a cupcake 9-4 run in 2013 with a 6-7 losing season in 2014.
The guy-with-the-tie should’ve been gone after a four-game skid ended year four—but Miami decided to stick with the out-of-place hire who beat out UConn’s Randy Edsall and quirky USFL head coach Marc Trestman during the late 2010 “national search”.
Golden was off-brand from the start; a former Penn State tight end and disciple of both Joe Paterno and Al Groh—running a bulky and sluggish 3-4 defense not tailored to the elite South Florida athletes he was recruiting—but UM’s board of trustees fell for an empty suit with a big, dumb 300-page binder about “deserving victory” and “pillars of success”—that wouldn’t have motivated an Enterprise Rent-A-Car training seminar, let alone a room of Miami football players.
Like Shannon, Golden has faded into oblivion since—the former Miami head honcho last seen coaching linebackers for the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals—never again in the running for a head coaching position at a high school, let alone a prominent university.
As or Richt, the right kind of guy at absolutely the wrong time in his career.
A shell of himself after doing 15 hard years of that SEC grind at Georgia—the Canes needed Richt in 2006, not 2016 when set to retire before his alma mater called—and regardless of his pedigree, still another lazy hire for the University of Miami; no national search conducted as the former Bulldogs’ coach was hired with 72 hours of stepping down at UGA.
Then-Mississippi State head coach—and current Florida top dog—Dan Mullen was interviewed in this era, as was Davis—but James and the board felt that Richt’s name and laid-back ways carried more cachet.
Richt ran out of gas after three short seasons at Miami—highlighted by a 10-0 run in 2017—but ending the year with three game losing streak and 7-9 record from that point on. The Canes were rocked 35-3 in by Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl on a Thursday evening in late December and by Sunday morning, Richt called it a career—not having the heart or drive to shake up his staff, or to rebuild his offense.
By Sunday evening on December 30th, the University of Miami announced Diaz’s hiring—no national search taking place, while UM’s top brass was played by their former defensive coordinator and new Temple coach of less than two weeks—stating that if a decision wasn’t made quickly, Diaz was taking his name out of the running to focus on his new gig.
James and the board of trustees folded like a house of cards and handed the reigns to a first-timer who was still in the process of reinventing himself as a defensive coordinator, bouncing around for years after getting ousted by Brown at Texas during the 2013 season.
DIAZ PLAYING GAME AS IF POLITICIAN’S SON
Despite filling the Temple vacancy on December 12th, Diaz still found his way back to Miami’s sideline for the bowl debacle in New York two weeks later—the first of two occasions where the long-time coach refused to let go of an old job in favor of a new one.
Diaz has since named himself defensive coordinator for the 2021 season at Miami—after unofficially inserting him into the role halfway through the 2019 season when first-year assistant Blake Baker struggled in the role. The Hurricanes’ defense ranked 23rd nationally, before plummeting to 51st overall in 2020 and bailed out by a new-look offense during an 8-3 season.
Diaz was quick to fire offensive coordinator Dan Enos after a miserable 2019 season, but cut Baker extra slack due to their Louisiana Tech ties—Baker coaching safeties under defensive coordinator Diaz in 2014 and replacing his former boss when Diaz took the same role at Mississippi State in 2015.
LSU ultimately bailed Diaz out—saving him from having to punt one of “his” guys—hiring Baker away this off-season, but instead of bringing in a true alpha-dog to run Miami’s defense, Diaz took the easy way out and promoted-demoted himself—a narcissistic belief that no outsider can run his defense better than him.
A general rule of thumb of the uber-successful when promoted; letting go of old responsibilities to focus on the new job description and set of tasks. The role of CEO and head coach of the University of Miami’s long in-repair football program; it needs every ounce of energy that an individual has to give—so there is zero reason for Diaz to live-action-role-play the defensive coordinator role he was promoted from and should’ve left behind over two years ago.
Even worse, the fact that Diaz is failing in both—15-12 in two-plus seasons leading Miami and an embarrassing start to year three, while his defense is falling part.
AN UNFUNNY COMEDY OF ERRORS AGAINST SPARTY
The Hurricanes missed 30 tackles in the 38-17 weekend loss to Michigan State—low-lighted by what can only be described as a video game-like glitch when safety Gurvan Hall set to tackle the guy with the ball, only to inexplicably turn right and hit a blocker while said receiver scampered for a 51-yard gain.
The incompetence didn’t stop there. Tyrique Stevenson couldn’t haul in a routine interception on a drive that led to a Spartans’ field goal, Mike Harley dropped an early third down pass that would’ve kept the Canes offense moving, Dee Wiggins proved too lazy to get in the scrum for an early fumble the Spartans recovered and Will Mallory couldn’t haul-in an end zone pass that drilled him between the “8” and “5”—setting up a 27-yard wide left attempt from Andres Borregales moments later.
Quarterback D’Eriq King looks like a shell of his old self this swan song season—his post-ACL tear wheels not what they were pre-injury. Slammed to the ground by Michigan State defenders, King needed his shoulder looked at in-game, only to return in gutsy fashion—short-arming passing and looking off in the four-turnover performance—two fumbles and two picks credited to the sixth-year senior.
Cam Harris runs tentative isn’t hitting the hole like he did last year, Don Chaney Jr. is out for the season due to injury and Jaylan Knighton will miss one more game in a four-game suspension—laying waste to any claims of a three-headed monster attack this fall—while a porous offensive line’s combined starts stat shown on screen every week is about as meaningless as Diaz’s post-game coach-speak.
Charleston Rambo was a bright spot for the Canes, with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 12 receptions—halted only when the ball stopped going his way after a late third quarter score. Rambo is no longer a secret to ACC coordinators, who will game plan against him the way the Canes’ first three opponents have put the clamps on Mallory thus far.
ACC PLAY WILL SEPARATE MEN FROM THE BOYS, SADLY
Miami will get through Central Connecticut, just like it did a garbage team like Savannah State years back—the Canes playing at 12:30 pm on Saturday in front of what will be an embarrassingly sparse crowd that will get lambasted on social media—before getting to 2-2 and a short week before hosting Virginia next Thursday night. From there it’s off to Chapel Hill, where the Canes are 3-5 against the Tar Heels since joining the ACC—last season’s 62-26 end-of-year beating still looming fresh.
The Cavaliers and Tar Heels faced off hours after Miami got rolled by Michigan State—a 59-39 win for UNC, while the two combined for 1,276 total yards. Virginia threw all over North Carolina—553 yards in the air—while the Heels ran for 392 yards against the Hoos.
Diaz’s defense can’t tackle, stop the run or defend the pass—while this year’s Rhett Lashlee offense remains identity-less behind a hobbled quarterback, a brutal line and an indecisive running back. Does anyone really expect Miami to score more than 20 points against these first two ACC foes in the coming weeks—and what is this defense going to do to stop them, having given up 44 points to Alabama and 37 to Michigan State?
The wheels are just about off for this team after taking to big kicks to the face right out the gate—and things aren’t going to soon get easier as the Canes are lulled into a false sense of hope when smacking around the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut this weekend.
It’s time to sound the alarm in Coral Gables—Miami has a coaching problem, personnel issues and the big decision makers have been asleep at the wheel for years. In the past, a head coach would get his four or five years to right the ship—but in 2021, with the clock ticking and programs like USC making early-September moves—the Canes don’t have the luxury of letting this Diaz experiment “play out”.
The writing is on the wall and the college football world has seen this play out bad hire after bad hire the past decade-plus for UM.
They’ve also seen “national” searches result in a bevy of up-and-comer hires, or unproven options sliding into a critical and powerful head coaching role—so even more reason start sending smoke signals in the coming weeks regarding inevitable change.
Davis was the obvious answer back in 2006, but that ship sailed as the former Miami leader turned FIU head coach will turn 70 this fall—a far cry from the 44-year old who took over the program in 1995, fresh off of two Super Bowl wins with Jimmy Johnson in Dallas.
BACKED INTO A CORNER, IT’S NOW MARIO-OR-BUST
With time running out on the University of Miami after so many swings and misses, the only call left is to Mario Cristobal—offering him the dream job he should’ve been presented in late 2018 when Diaz was hired, and breaking whatever bank UM has to bring the Columbus High grad and two-time national champion back home—which is no gimme based on the blank check Oregon will offer to retain him.
Cristobal got his start as a grad assistant at UM under Davis from 1998 through 2000, but was poached by Schiano to coach offensive line and tight end at Rutgers from 2001 through 2003. Coker brought Cristobal back to handle tight ends for two years and offensive line for one, before Florida International offered him their head coaching gig, which he held for six seasons—doing the most with a crosstown commuter college—highlighted by a 7-6 run and bowl win in 2010 and 8-5 season in 2011.
Fired in 2012 after a 3-9 season, Cristobal appeared headed back to UM in an associate head coach, working with tight ends under Golden, but was hijacked by Nick Saban six weeks into the gig—hired to be Alabama’s offensive line coach, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator; bringing in top-ranked classes and named National Recruiter of the Year on two occasions.
Cristobal jumped for Oregon and an offensive line role under Willie Taggart, where he also handled co-offensive and run game coordinator duties—taking over an interim role in early December 2017 when Taggart left for Florida State, only to be named head coach three days later.
The Ducks went 9-4 out the gate in Cristobal’s first season—beating Michigan State in a bowl game—followed up by a 12-2 run in 2019, winning Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors and the conference, capping it off with a Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.
COVID derailed football out west in 2020—the Pac-12 starting their season early November—two games cancelled in what became a 4-3 season, ending with a Fiesta Bowl loss to No. 10 Iowa State—but the Ducks hit the ground running this year with an opening win over Fresno State—who upset No. 13 UCLA this past weekend—as well as a takedown of No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus in Week 2.
Cristobal’s teams are physical—beating teams like Michigan State and Wisconsin, who have had their way with a finesse Miami program—and his offensive lines solid and sound; something the Canes haven’t seen in almost 20 years.
Sure, Oregon choked away two big games in 2019—a mismanaged road opener against Auburn in Dallas, as well as a quirky road game at Arizona State—but outside of Saban and maybe Dabo Swinney, such is the case with most coaches and programs in the game. Perfection is near impossible, but winning the conference and knocking on the door of the College Football Playoffs will never happen with Diaz, as Miami drifts further and further into oblivion.
The University of Miami job isn’t for the weak; a private school in a large, diverse metropolitan city—a school with roughly 11,000 undergrads and an NFL stadium 20 miles north of campus—Miami will forever be an “event” town and never a “sports” mecca, which isn’t exactly music to the ears of collegiate head coaches and their families accustomed to college town living.
A head coaching role at “The U” is more akin to a second-tier sports franchise in a city that already has a superstar. Sold out stadiums and the pageantry that comes with college football; not to be found at a program where most fans didn’t attend UM and are quick to sour on the program as they don’t have a vested interest as alumni.
The lone selling point on Diaz years back; he’s Miami through and through—born and raised, graduated from Miami Country Day and grew up going to games at the Orange Bowl during UM’s decade of dominance. He saw those great teams, he know how unforgiving the city and its fans could be—and if he found a way to assemble a staff and inspire his team, he might just have a chance.
Instead, Diaz comes off like a man-boy that wants to be liked and accepted by his players, opposed to instilling the type of fear and respect that the greats in this game possess. Diaz is roughly the same age Davis was in the mid-nineties—but their resumes were night-and-day difference; as was the healthy fear Davis’ players had of him and respect that followed, which translated to on-field production.
WRONG FROM DAY ONE; TIME TO MOVE ON
Diaz started his tenure floating into a booster event on an 88′ yacht, went WWE-style on tackling dummies with his players to kickoff his first spring (yet players can’t make tackles in games), chomped down victory cigars after beating one of the worst teams in Florida State history and played slip-and-slide like a kid in the rain after Miami barely survived against Virginia last fall.
Year three was supposed to be a step forward, but feels like a colossal step back—first-year mistakes still on display—while Michigan State’s Mel Tucker has his second-year squad firing on all cylinders in last weekend’s 21-point win at HardRock as a touchdown underdog.
Tucker brought in 20 transfers this off-season, knowing he needed to change the Spartans’ culture—declaring all positions open this past summer; may the best man win. One of which—Wake Forest transfer and running back Kenneth Walker III—who carried 27 time for 172 yards, steamrolling the Canes’ arm-tackling defense—after a 264-yard opening performance against Northwestern.
Smoke and mirrors is on deck this Saturday as Miami gets back to .500 after Week 4—but it’s ACC time the following Thursday and back-to-back physical teams ready to punch Diaz’s Canes in the mouth, barring and about face that this team doesn’t appear ready for.
Should the backsliding continue, Miami will have no choice but to make another coaching change—while legitimately out of options, other than a Hail Mary fired from Coral Gables to Eugene, with the hopes a native son has the stomach to return home to clean up this long-time mess.
Chris Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello is a storyteller for some exciting brands and individuals—as well as a guitarist and songwriter for his band Company Jones, who just released their debut album “The Glow”. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.