The cycle of any big story is the same.
The first few days are one big adrenaline rush. The brain turns and you getting no sleep, analyzing and over-analyzing. After that, a bit of a lull where you tend not to raise an eyebrow at any new information. From there, some new info and another adrenaline rush. And so it goes.
Almost two weeks into to this new coaching search, I’m at the point where I’ve seen all this before and tend to downplay everything.
With the weekend upon us, the latest from the Miami Herald.
I trust the Herald and certainly Susan, Barry and Michelle, but I just can’t trust the story. In the end, maybe it’s 100% right, but over the past few weeks we’ve heard so much that until a coach is at the podium with Kirby Hocutt, accepting the job, I won’t believe anything.
Let me say one thing. This entire process I’ve had sources telling me things and I’ve had to make the decision what to share and what to sit on. In the old school journalism world, you double source everything but these days, a weird new world.
With Twitter, you tweet whatever passes through your brain as opposed to what you know to be absolutely true. It causes you to lower your ethics a bit, which isn’t good or bad – it’s just the reality of the interactive experience where you feel closer to the people than ever before. It’s all so informal and I continue seeking out that happy medium. I’ll tweet something I feel pretty good about, but won’t go too far as to back myself into a corner.
I’ll admit that in world where fans have lived on their computers, wearing out their F5 refresh button waiting on news, it’s not fair to give tidbits. Trust me, I wish I had the whole story – bot nobody does. As of Friday night, this is what I’ve heard:
– As I’ve said for the past few weeks, the number of actual people conducting the search is small, therefore only a handful of folks really know what’s going on. If I had to make an educated guess, outside out athletic director I’d say one Board of Trustees member (maybe Paul DiMare, father of former assistant ball coach and player Gino DiMare) and possibly a former player like Bernie Kosar. A small group is doing this search, which makes the possible sources for media members to harass very small.
– Of those in the know, a safe bet that anyone who does know something has been told to keep their lips sealed – especially after Grudengate. Kirby has insisted that this search be done way out of the spotlight so it also wouldn’t surprise me if certain things were put out there to test for leaks, in an effort to see who has loose lips as it’s very easy to track information back to its source.
Everyone keeps asking me for names and in all honesty, I don’t feel confident enough to throw many names out there. I had the Jon Gruden story, but since then it’s been tough. I will say this, the one name I heard tonight happens to coincide with the Herald piece above – Al Golden. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing.
I know it’s frustrating and I know in so many words I’m telling you that I don’t buy what my sources are selling.
I’ve been told Golden is in the final two, along with another. The Herald has Golden in the final three and also reported Connecticut’s Randy Edsall and former Cane assistant / current Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman in that mix. I haven’t heard that, but it obviously doesn’t mean that isn’t true.
I also believe there are some mystery candidates in the fold that we haven’t event thought about yet.
I learned tonight that the job hasn’t formally been offered to anyone, meaning that contrary to what some might believe, no one has officially turned UM down, so the thought process that Hocutt is ‘striking out’ is flat-out wrong.
I do believe that Miami is close to hiring the next head coach and we’re down to the nitty-gritty. There could be a hire this weekend or the early part of next week and I’m fine with that.
That’s all I have for now, but should anything change, look for more tweets or another write up here if warranted.
im guessing you havent heard the peterson rumors from anyone at the hecht
Beast, what was the 2nd name you heard?
I'm going to go ahead and say Howard Schnellenberger will be our next coach. If I'm right, can I get a free t-shirt?
LET ME GIVE YOU OTHER CHOICES…JIM MORA…MIKE STOOPS…CHARLIE STRONG…TERRY BOWDEN…JASON GARRETT…MIKE MARTZ…Chris Petersen…JUST TO NAME A FEW… COME ON KIRBY!!!!
AllCanes,
I did read the Herald article and was kind of shocked, even-though I appreciate what the Herald writers do day in and day out, I hope they are wrong cause I want to believe Hocutt's promise of a home run hire and out of the 3 candidates suggested by the Herald maybe one would be a decent hire.
I like your perspective and since you seem to know the intricacies of the process I wanted to ask you, has Gus Malzahn name been in the mix of official names? and if not, why? I had him as one of my top candidates but his name has been more linked with the Vanderbilt opening than with Miami.
Beast, good article well written and accurate, seems like we are down to two.
D…None of the above. I mean really this is who we fired Shannon for. Don't get me wrong, I will support who ever takes the helm 100%, but this is our final 3???? WOW….. hope one of these guys makes me choke on my words.
Sorry Randy.
Thank you for some good honest reporting! It isn't sexy, but it makes sense. The Herald has been soooo wrong throughout this process. They had Gruden and Pilini peg as the next coach. Then the Herald makes it seem like these guys TURNED down the Job! Wich fuels belief that "UM is a bad Job".
UM is a good job for the RIGHT guy!
Miami along with the whole state of Florida is loaded with talent and that is half the battle. Shannon got the recruiting part down and so will the next guy. I just hope the next coach can do the other half of the job "gameday coaching and Player development"…. But really what do i know, I am a Realtor!
Great article Beast, well written and sumarizes my feelings exactly. I heard the Golden, Edsall, Trestman list as well but I can't believe that's real. Maybe in all my fandom I just don't want to believe we can't get a top quality candidate, perhaps we will have to settle for the Al Goldens. However, until that day comes I will trust in Kirby to bring us back into the world of relevence, and I'll stop hitting F5 a few less times a day.
Cane.MBA
P.S. As hard as this is on me as a fan, I can't imagine how much harder it would be as a fan and a sports writter!
Have Gruden talk to former assistant Marc Trestman. Have Hocutt hire Trestman. Have a Merry Christmas in 2010. Win in 2011.
Wow, if those are the final three names Edsall, Trestman, and Golden, so much for the big time hire. Trestman could intrigue me I guess a little bit but the other two would be no better than what we had in Shannon. They may be good people but they will not take the U to the next level. These names have proven nothing and are 3rd and 4th tier hires among coaches at best. I really hope Miami snags a top level guy out of left field that we haven't even heard mentioned yet because the names on the "list" from the media are horrible and if one is hired, its at least another 5-6 years of getting beat by the South Floridas of the world. Please UM don't screw this up!
Great the u has to settle for a coach from temple….what the f…,k
I am more impressed with what Cristobal has done at FIU than with what Edsall and Golden have done. If we were to settle for Plan D (which seems more and more likely), I would rather settle for the Miami guy that would LOVE the job and could recruit his ass off.
My concern with this list is that if either Golden or Edsall are appointed HC and have any success, both would surely bolt for PSU the moment JoePa either quits or croaks. Better hope the old man lasts another five years or so, because this WILL happen.
We're now a farm system for Penn State coaches, apparently. Good grief!
Can please just talk about the bowl practice instead of this non sense. There was only one home run hire and that was gruden. Our ad blew that one. I'm almost ready to say of the team plays explosive in the bowl game give the job to the interim guy. None of the other guys are any better sounding. Hocutt screwed us we all know it might as well give it to a guy the players like.
If it's really down to these guys, Kirby should be fired.
Why isnt anybody excited about the possiblity of landing Trestman? This guy is an offensive guru and he had mentors like Bill Walsh and Seifert. He also coached the Raiders that put up all the those big numbers in the early part of last decade. Yeah he coached in the CFL but he's been successful everywhere. The only thing that I am concerned with is that many fans arent really familiar with him or his qualifications. They just see the CFL on the resume and they think he's 2nd class. If the fans have this perception, what would the recruits think?
canesftw – Trestman might or might not work and might or might not be the guy.
Either way, he's not a 'home run hire' and when this process started with a Jon Gruden was the benchmark.
Trestman has done a good job north of the border, but why hasn't he earned a head coaching gig in college before? Last time we saw him at this level he was an offensive coordinator at NC State.
Trestman wouldn't be a bad hire … but definitely isn't a home run and the benchmark was set very, very high after Shannon was canned.
Al Golden has won more games in 5 years at Temple than the previous 13 years before him (27 wins 1993-2005). He's doing something right and knows how to win. He's changed the attitude of a program. Something we might need.
As well, and this might seem silly or insignificant to some but to me it makes sense; he's won in a pro stadium with a small crowd. It's hard to play football when there isn't a lot of fans cheering you on. The man can motivate. He's going to be a great coach, I'd hate to loose out on him now.
Go canes!
Gotta agree these candidates don't impress me at all. However, I was sure we'd come down to Edsall, Golden, and one other person. Am surprised it's Trestman and not Chud, but maybe our player alums realize just how BAD this program has become. Most of them outside of Alonzo don't even send their kids here anymore.
We're down to being a training job for JoePa's successor if we take Edsall or Golden. Pray the old man hangs on for a few more years.
Trestman SUCKS, as do Edsall and Golden!!!
HERE ARE THE FACTS ON TRESTMAN:
In 30 years as a coach, Trestman NEVER landed a HC gig in the states, neither in the NFL or college. The highest position he ever reached was OC, and he didn't even find success in that capacity, as my analysis below illustrates:
AS OC OF THE '89 CLEVELAND BROWNS:
Under Trestman as their OC, the '89 Cleveland Browns (9-6-1) made the playoffs but lost in the conference championship. It was a team that was a team that had reached 10-12 wins each of the three prior seasons so Trestman had little to do with getting that team to the playoffs in '89 (he may even have hurt them as evidence by the one less win under his leadership).
AS OC OF THE ARIZONA CARDINALS, 1999-2000:
As OC of the Arizona Cardinals from '99 to 2000, his team went 9-23. Nuff said.
AS OC OF THE OAKLAND RAIDERS, 2002-2003:
As OC of the Oakland Raiders in '02 and '03, his team reached the Super Bowl immediately after Gruden was traded as their HC but lost to Gruden's Tampa Bay squad. That was obviously a Gruden-built Raiders squad that reached the Super Bowl and that had gone to the playoffs the two seasons prior. How do I know Trestman had little to do with that team's success? Because the following year, under Trestman as their OC, the Raiders went 4-12!!!!!!
AS OC OF NC STATE, 2005-2006:
Trestman was the OC of NC State in '05 and '06. That teams record during that time: 5-6 in '05 and 3-9 in '06. PATHETIC OVERALL RECORD + DOWNWARD TREND!!!
AS HC IN CANADA:
Finally, Trestman won the "Grey Cup," the Canadian Super Bowl, in '09 and 2010. BUT that was a team had reached the Grey Cup in 4 of the 6 seasons prior to Trestman's arrival, again suggesting that HE WASN'T THAT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SUCCESS!!!
CONCLUSION:
Trestman hasn't really proven himself in 30 (THIRTY!) years. Add to that the fact that he hasn't been around the college game in a long time, and that he seems pretty aloof (youtube him if you like), which means he'll probably not be a great recruiter. This to me says one thing: TRESTMAN WOULD BE A TERRIBLE HIRE FOR THE U!!!
GOLDEN AND EDSALL – ALSO TERRIBLE HIRES:
Golden and Edsall know their way around the college game, but as I've said before, they haven't done anything more impressive than 9-win seasons in conferences weaker than the ACC. Randy Shannon reached 9 wins in the ACC in his third year, so it's hard to argue that any of these guys would be upgrades.
WHO WE SHOULD HIRE:
Tuberville would be an excellent hire, as would Mike Leach. PLEASE MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION KIRBY!!!!
GO CANES.
PART 1 of 2 (sorry so long):
Trestman SUCKS, as do Edsall and Golden!!!
HERE ARE THE FACTS ON TRESTMAN:
In 30 years as a coach, Trestman NEVER landed a HC gig in the states, neither in the NFL or college. The highest position he ever reached was OC, and he didn't even find success in that capacity, as my analysis below illustrates:
AS OC OF THE '89 CLEVELAND BROWNS:
Under Trestman as their OC, the '89 Cleveland Browns (9-6-1) made the playoffs but lost in the conference championship. It was a team that was a team that had reached 10-12 wins each of the three prior seasons so Trestman had little to do with getting that team to the playoffs in '89 (he may even have hurt them as evidence by the one less win under his leadership).
AS OC OF THE ARIZONA CARDINALS, 1999-2000:
As OC of the Arizona Cardinals from '99 to 2000, his team went 9-23. Nuff said.
AS OC OF THE OAKLAND RAIDERS, 2002-2003:
As OC of the Oakland Raiders in '02 and '03, his team reached the Super Bowl immediately after Gruden was traded as their HC but lost to Gruden's Tampa Bay squad. That was obviously a Gruden-built Raiders squad that reached the Super Bowl and that had gone to the playoffs the two seasons prior. How do I know Trestman had little to do with that team's success? Because the following year, under Trestman as their OC, the Raiders went 4-12!!!!!!
PART 2 of 2 (sorry so long):
AS OC OF NC STATE, 2005-2006:
Trestman was the OC of NC State in '05 and '06. That teams record during that time: 5-6 in '05 and 3-9 in '06. PATHETIC OVERALL RECORD + DOWNWARD TREND!!!
AS HC IN CANADA:
Finally, Trestman won the "Grey Cup," the Canadian Super Bowl, in '09 and 2010. BUT that was a team had reached the Grey Cup in 4 of the 6 seasons prior to Trestman's arrival, again suggesting that HE WASN'T THAT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SUCCESS!!!
CONCLUSION:
Trestman hasn't really proven himself in 30 (THIRTY!) years. Add to that the fact that he hasn't been around the college game in a long time, and that he seems pretty aloof (youtube him if you like), which means he'll probably not be a great recruiter. This to me says one thing: TRESTMAN WOULD BE A TERRIBLE HIRE FOR THE U!!!
GOLDEN AND EDSALL – ALSO TERRIBLE HIRES:
Golden and Edsall know their way around the college game, but as I've said before, they haven't done anything more impressive than 9-win seasons in conferences weaker than the ACC. Randy Shannon reached 9 wins in the ACC in his third year, so it's hard to argue that any of these guys would be upgrades.
WHO WE SHOULD HIRE:
Tuberville would be an excellent hire, as would Mike Leach. PLEASE MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION KIRBY!!!!
GO CANES.
Reports from ESPN have Muschamp to Florida after what, 48 hours of searching?
At the same time, after two weeks of ever-declining expectations, Miami is interviewing a CANADIAN LEAGUE COACH?!?!?!
How am I NOT supposed to feel like the sky is falling on Miami football? I really want to be positive but I am staring to feel like
"my hopes : that the coaching search will turn out positively :: my hopes : that the Randy Shannon era would right the ship"
Are we seriously going from sweaty-palmed Gruden-scapes to the ****ing CFL (or a Big East coach or a his-team-got-kicked-out-of-the Big-East coach) while Florida cherry-picks Texas's coach-in-waiting after a 15 minute browsing session?
I am trying to stay positive here but my smile and confidence wavering.
allCanes – Thanks for all the great work and what you've been able to do.
I notice that Florida just hired Muschamp from Texas (their DC). Clearly, Foley had his eye on the target early and was able to close the deal on the guy he wanted within 24 hours. I wouldn't call this an earth-shattering move for UF but a solid choice on their part.
But it does bring home a point that has been gnawing at me. While I agree that a change in CEO was probably necessary, I am surprised that Hocutt had not already lined up his candidates much earlier. If Gruden was indeed interested (and UM was interested in him) where were the fall-back guys? Before you pulled the trigger on letting Shannon go, why did he not have a better sense of whether Gruden was indeed going to work out? I'm sure there's some "he said, she said" and lots of bad RUMINT ("rumor intelligence") but a few private phone conversations might have cleared things up before looking like UM got left at the alter.
Quite frankly, when it comes to senior level management, it is a bad idea to fire your current CEO unless you've got the replacements waiting in the wings.
Now it is really starting to show in the quality gulf of the current crop of candidates that are being reported on. We were promised a "home run" head coaching candidate, but you've laid out some very good reasons why Trestman, Edsall, Golden and even Mullen don't fit that bill. I think Bo Pelini and Tommy Tuberville come much closer, but they seem to be giving UM the cold shoulder. It's hard to think of Miami as a "premier" coaching job when "premier" coaches don't seem to be inclined to come to Coral Gables.
This whole experience seems to reinforce some key management mistakes by Hocutt: 1. Never fire the senior management without having the replacements lined up; and 2. manage expectations.
Here's hoping that Kirby surprises us all with an exciting candidate!
Go Canes!
Jake in Maryland
UF got Muschamp! WTF how much longer for the CANES?? Either Kirby likes no one or no one likes the JOB! I am frusturated Allcanes!!
Pick a coach PAY UP and let's move on!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!
I love how u are all missing the point where our AD claimed he wanted to put a home run hire in. That's clearly not the case. If it was gruden would be our coach and it would all be set in stone. Its clear he has no intention of doing so. He is lookin to sign the cheapest guy he can find. He is willing to sacrifice this years class to do it. He fired the wrong guy, the guy who should be fired is him. We are headed back to the crapper just face it everyone.
WTF! UF already has their new coach. Why hasn't Miami been able to get this done?
Maybe we should hire floridas oc atleast he gets something done
Florida can get a head coach days after losing Meyer, yet the Hurricanes cant find a coach WEEKS into the process? And you still want to argue the fact that Miami isn't the job it once was. Face it, this university has to BEG qualified individuals to come here. This program cant afford another under the radar head coach. We cant afford another 4 year rebuild. If this thing isnt corrected immediately, as in win next season, it may be too late. The aura of Miami may fade away completely.
WELL THE GATORS GOT THEIR MAN…KIRBY GOT NEXT…HOPE HE LOOKS AT SOME MORE INTRESTING CHOICES LIKE …JIM MORA…MIKE MARTZ…BOB STOOPS…CHRIS PETERSEN….AND SO ON!!!
Is anyone else embarrassed that our AD actually boarded a plane, received an intimate TSA pat-down, shut off his cell phone during a plane ride, and landed in NC to meet with Marc Trestman?
Seriously, this is painful. Give me Tubs/Golden/Edsall and call it a day.
Three weeks and three de-commitments for Marc "Never-Had-A-Job-For-More-Than-3-Years-Without-Getting-Fired" Trestman. Dios mio!!
Jeeze,,, Gayturds AD, you know, the one WITH a brain, makes his hire and gets his man in three short days.
Holcutt, you know, the one without a brain or clue, cannot get out of his own way. Not only does he fire Shannon on a knee-jerk reaction at a time when this program appeared on the precipice of returning to prominance, now he hasn't a clue on earth who to replace him with.
Face it,,, the wrong man was fired on November 27th.
CANES305, please save this blog from the garbage it has become with the mutterings and musings of this beast idiot.
peace
Weird how allcanes and beast have gone extremely quiet through all of this. They know we are all right and this team is gonna fade back into a nothing school it was before the 89s. Florida two days have a coach. Miami two weeks no clue and no hope.
I hope we get Edsall. I've been a canes fan as long as I can remember. I'm a Miami native. I'm an alumnus (a double alumnus in fact). I bleed Orange and Green. I miss the glory days and I don't want to dwell on what's already transpired but I really think Randy should have gotten one more season. Even to just lock down the recruits. Edsall might bring them back but I think we've put a big dent in recruiting without a promissing hire… Either way, I don't think we'll know till after our bowl so if we lose that and don't have a coach yet, I think we can say goodbye to some serious talent. Gotta look at it from their perspectives. I wouldn't blame them. There was a lot of hate on the Herald torward the recruiting class for reconsidering but again, I don't blame them. Pumped for the bowl but I never thought in my entire life I'd be excited about the Miami Hurricanes playing in the Sun Bowl with no head coach and recruits heading for the hills. I'm already counting down the days to kickoff next September 3rd abd a rematch with Ohio State in Miami.
One more thing, thanks for the blog guys. This is the best source for The U I've come across and helps me stay connected up in Michigan.
Go Canes
Weird how allcanes and beast have gone extremely quiet through all of this. They know we are all right and this team is gonna fade back into a nothing school it was before the 89s.
Things are quiet this weekend and not much to say. Thankfully this is a FREE site and we don't have to generate content to justify what we charge subscribers.
Wish there was a ton to write about today, but with all quiet on the homefront, we're waiting and seeing just like everyone else.
Florida two days have a coach. Miami two weeks no clue and no hope.
Florida, for all their money and facilities just hired a defensive coordinator with no head coaching experience. Is Will Muschamp really a home run hire? Does anyone really doubt that UM couldn't have gone out to get a coordinator who was salivating at the opportunity to take over a big time program?
Miami is looking for a guy with head coaching experience, meaning someone will most likely have to leave a job where they're already head coach, which is a tougher sell than luring a coordinator that wants to be the head guy.
No Petersen, Patterson or Harbaugh to Florida — they got Muschamp … who may be good, but on paper isn't a big time name … yet.