Some fans DO see the forest for the trees…

Like a moth drawn to an open flame, or a bored housewife perusing the gossip mags at the grocery store checkout, for some reason I still read the Miami Hurricanes message boards to see where this fan base remains divided.

For the most part, it remains drivel. The same old arguments spun in different ways. Folks who don’t support Randy Shannon spend every ounce of energy they have trying to build a case against the man, while the pro-Randy crowd finds themselves talking to a wall when attempting to prove their points.

Thankfully there are some good posters out there, fighting the case and seeing the forest for the trees. They can admit how far the program fell under Larry Coker and realize the uphill battle a private school like Miami would face, rebuilding against big time state powers with endless athletic budgets and high-price head coaches.

I came across a spirited rant on one of the message boards and felt the need to post here. Its author made some good points regarding Shannon, what was inherited, fair market value (regarding salary), improvement as well as desirability. Read on (edited for content and clarity):

“You dont have to be a mindless follower regarding Randy’s resume. A reply for many of you people who insist on making idiotic comments in an effort to sound like you know whats happening. You’re embarrassing yourselves for no reason.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but when you fabricate truths and twist facts to support your opinions, that’s where a problem lies. Take facts and then form your opinion. There is no reason to twist facts to validate your opinions.

For those who insist on saying there is no market for Randy outside of Miami, you are too lazy to look around the world of college football for fear it wouldn’t support your opinion.

Lane Kiffin (5-15 at Oakland and 7-6 at Tennessee) can land a $2M plus incentives contract at USC, Turner Gill (20-30 at Buffalo) landed a $2M contract at Kansas and Derek Dooley, 17-20 lifetime as a head coach before landing the Tennessee job (at an annual salary of $1.8M for a sub .500 record).

Common sense should tell anyone who’s open minded that there is clearly a trend in college football. A trend that shows there are some coaches being hired to big time programs and given big time money with less-than-impressive credentials.

Not only are the credentials less-than-impressive, their resumes all show overall losing records.

Randy’s team beat more ranked opponents last year than any team in the nation except Alabama. Randy’s win/loss record has also increased/improved each of his three years as head coach.

He’s done an excellent job replenishing the talent on the roster, to the point where national college football writers and “experts” feel that Miami is in position to be a team in the discussion for this year’s national title contenders. Are there question marks? Absolutely. But every team college or pro has their share of questions.

Randy’s local ties to South Florida are very attractive to other schools. Imagine Randy recruiting without having strict academics to worry about or imagine him recruiting for a school that didn’t have a “checkered past”, where he could operate a little more outside the lines.

Randy has put together an excellent resume as a defensive coordinator. He has NFL coaching experience, played in the NFL and has made football his life – just like all the other great ones. Bill Parcells. Jimmy Johnson. Joe Gibbs. In many cases it cost some guys their families, but you cannot deny their passion for the game and their job. Employers love that type of spirit.

Randy isn’t Jimmy Johnson, but JJ wasn’t thought of as a great coach his first three years at Oklahoma State, where he went 17-16 and didn’t win his first bowl game until year five as a head coach.

Jimmy lost his first three bowl games at UM – further proof these things take time when you hire a first time head coach or take over at a big time program.

There is zero argument that Randy is a better coach today than he was in year one. Some will disagree, but to imply there is no market for him outside of South Florida, you need to come up with a better argument regarding both him and this contract situation.

For those who still don’t want to believe, a reminder that Randy could’ve been the “coach in waiting” at Texas instead of Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator waiting in the wings for Mack Brown to step down.

Miami needs to pay FAIR MARKET VALUE for Randy’s new contract. Hell, use the three guys mentioned earlier as the model because there’s no reason Shannon shouldn’t be paid like Kiffin, Gill and Dooley.

It would really be a shame for UM to ruin these past three years of rebuilding. The talent is finally returning and we have reason to excited about this upcoming season.

If this contract isn’t ironed out quickly, the 2011 recruiting class will make the 2010 class look like a Pro Bowl team.”

Our spunky friend makes some strong points, though he went a little over the top at times. Most notably, the ‘head coach in waiting’ prediction. True, Shannon could’ve would up at Texas instead of Muschamp, but that doesn’t mean he’d have been groomed to be the next Longhorns head coach.

Muschamp is a good ol’ boy from Georgia, who did his time at LSU and Auburn (to name a few), before landing in Austin. Without playing the race card, this is Texas we’re talking about and there are only a handful of African American head coaches in the game. Whether Randy would’ve made a name for himself at UT, we’ll never know… so it can’t be assumed he’d be in the same position as Muschamp. (Plus, Muschamp hasn’t gotten the job. Until he takes over, it’s speculation. Big money UT can obviously afford to buy out that contract if need be.)

Other than that, it’s hard to argue his points.

USC, Kansas and Tennessee had zero issue paying their inexperienced, unproven coaches fair market value. Kiffin went 7-6 at Tennessee last year, with some bleeding heart anti-Randy folk actually praising his Lane’s efforts last year for getting the most out of his team… while Randy still takes grief for 9-4.

Gill had some eventual success at Buffalo and Dooley did some good at Louisiana Tech, but both commanded hefty paydays in their first stints at big time programs. (Another guy that could’ve been added to the list was Virginia’s Mike London, whose only head coaching experience came at Richmond – a program former coach Dave Clawson had already turned around.)

Forever lost on Miami’s fan base, the situation Shannon inherited. What was referred to as a “checkered past” above was actually an all time low regarding the modern era of Canes football in 2006. The Louisville logo stop. The FIU brawl. The Bryan Pata murder. A four-game losing streak. A fired head coach – Miami’s first in three decades. A bowl game in Boise on a blue field.

People also forget Shannon’s ability to shine even while the program around him crumbled. Our friend points acknowledges that while Coker’s teams fell apart offensively down the stretch, the defense continued to shine nationally – 6th (2001), 7th (2002), 3rd (2003), 28th (2004), 4th (2005) and 7th (2006) – often bailing out a stagnant offense that couldn’t sustain drives.

For those who lump Shannon in as a holdover who was part of the problem, he’s proven his mettle as a recruiter since taking over as head coach. Coker’s recruiting woes between 2004-2006 aren’t on Shannon. Every coach has their share of misses, but the overall recruiting culture under Coker was in shambles – right down to not even having a recruiting coordinator.

All of this is the polar opposite of what Coker inherited half a decade prior and a much darker situation that Kiffin, Gill, Dooley or London will face in their new jobs – while making more than Shannon.

The buzz has returned around UM. ESPN’s Bruce Feldman compares the talent and depth to what Southern Cal saw a few years ago – again, a far cry from the team that was suiting up punter Brian Monroe as a back up wideout or one that saw starting quarterback Kirby Freeman going 1-of-14 in one of his handful of starts.

Hopefully as this new season gets closer, folks can start seeing the Miami program – and Randy Shannon – for what it is. Personal bias, illogical timetables and overblown expectations – it’s time to let is all go. Appreciate this program’s grown on Shannon’s watch and get ready for another step forward this coming year.

More importantly, enjoy the ride. This is again a good time to be a Canes fan. The last few years were brutal and while Miami isn’t necessarily “back” – regarding this program’s standards – The U is on it’s way.

Keeping fighting the good fight, you handful of logical message board enthusiasts out there.

Comments

comments