Some Jon Gruden and UM athletic-related thoughts rolling around my head as of Monday night:
… The process and premise of a coaching change honestly started about a month ago, which was right around the time Miami lost at Virginia. I’m not necessarily saying the decision to fire Randy Shannon was made then, but I believe that’s when Kirby Hocutt started putting a list together and going through the “what ifs”.
… as I reflect back on The Shannon Era, I believe this job ate him up as he got further along in the process. Yes, a lot of blame must got on the recently fired fourth-year coach, but in some aspects I feel the university didn’t equip Shannon with the tools he needed to succeed.
Whether it was no-showing at CanesFest or not schmoozing boosters on plane rides, Shannon failed to do those things expected of a head coach off the field. I believe he was let go as much for those off the field CEO-type moves as he was for 75 this season, 28-22 overall and a 16-16 conference record.
… Miami gets a bad rap as a university with no money. If that’s what you truly believe, take some time to go walk around the downtown medical campus. Start exploring and you’ll never feel like UM has a lack of funds ever again. The money is absolutely there; the only question is the willingness to spend it on athletics.
Remember, the football program supports a huge part of the athletic department and if The Gruden Experiment is a five-year, $30M investment, it would have to net enough of a profit to not only support football, but several other sports as well.
I’ve been told by more than one source and it jives with what Kirby stated during Sunday’s press conference. The money is there if needed.
… Regarding Gruden, if anyone tells you there isn’t mutual interest or hasn’t been some discussion, they are either wrong, ignorant, stupid or flat out lying. As far along as the two parties are, aren’t or are gonna get, I have no idea.
Whether it’s the University of Miami or any other big-time program, you face the same problem regarding folks who feel they’re “in the know”. Boosters, donors or others closely associated with the program – they think they have a clue, but in reality very few folks really have the real scoop.
Furthermore, the story gets manipulated as it goes from person to person, like a giant game of ‘Telephone’.
So much of what’s being said right now should be taken with a grain of salt, but don’t doubt that Gruden is atop Miami’s list and that there’s interest.
… Should Gruden end up taking the Miami job, this is how I could see the chain of events having played out:
Kirby expressed that he’s compiling a list … a former player “puts UM in touch with Gruden” (or vice versa) … a donor “loved the idea” and passed it along … Kirby, knowing he had a coach in place, hired consultant Chuck Neinas to act as facilitator … the idea of Gruden went from fantasy to reality … Kirby continued seeing Randy not getting the job done … it’s decided before the South Florida game that win or lose, a change will be made (especially considering this shot at the biggest fish in the pond) … pandemonium ensues.
… Why all the push for Gruden? Because Miami is on the verge of becoming just another regional program. More of a NC State than an Alabama. More of a UCLA than an Ohio State. Ticket sales are down, donors are threatening to pull their money back and current recruits barely remember the likes of Ed Reed or Clinton Portis playing for ‘The U’ (let alone those four titles between 1983 and 1991, which may as well be a century ago to an 18-year old).
The logical play would be a Randy Edsall (UConn) or a Dan Mullen (Mississippi State), which could still happen and if so, Miami would get a modern day version of Dennis Erickson or Jimmy Johnson; guys ready to go next-level.
Remember, it took Johnson four years to win his first title, failing his first time (1986) and stumbling out the gate year one (1984) with an 8-5 record and right now, UM doesn’t have that kind of time for a return to prominence.
As good as Edsall and Mullen could be, I’m not sure Miami can afford for either of those guys to come in and feel things out for a year or two. Especially if you thought last Saturday crowd was small. UM needs a guy to make an immediate impact – a ‘home run’ type hire – and the only way to do that is a big fish like Gruden.
… also, please stop mentioning Mike Leach. He was interviewed back in 2006 and according to EVERY ONE of my sources, it was an EPIC FAILURE of an interview. I would faint if his name was mentioned anywhere on the ‘real list’.
… Regarding Kirby’s Sunday morning presser – beyond impressive and he really hit it out of the park. (Click here if you missed it.) He may have been a bit nervous out the gate, but he said everything that needed to be said and then some. I felt like he handled it perfectly and when it’s all said and done, we’re all going to be so thankful that he’s in charge of this athletic department.
… and lastly, PLEASE STOP thinking or insinuating that Donna Shalala and Kirby don’t want to win, or that they’d prefer to have a bunch of Rhodes Scholars who lose four or five games per year. That sentiment is beyond ridiculous. Both the president and athletic director want to win badly, but obviously want to do so the right way – with players going to class and not revisiting UM’s “Thug U” days.
When I think back to great UM teams, I don’t remember a bunch of guys getting arrested or failing out of school. Sure, there were some rough around the edges guys, but in all reality, no more than any other school.
Make no mistake about it – winning football games is very important to all those decision makers.
In summary, Gruden is absolutely Miami’s number one target and he has shown interest in this program. UM’s total investment for him and his entire staff would be between $27-30M over the course of five years.
Are negotiations still under way? I have no idea as I’ve been told a few different things the past few days. Today I was told that if Gruden is happening, the news will come very soon while someone else shared the exact opposite, due to the complicated nature of the negotiating process regarding his staff and all the other stuff.
If it doesn’t turn out to be Gruden … who knows? I do like Edsall or Mullen and really hope it’s someone with head coaching experience. Often times you see these “lists” by writers, they’re doing the same things the rest of us do. Who is a potential candidate who has crossed paths with UM’s president or athletic director? Who out there has UM ties? Who is a fresh face and up and and comer-type?
From there, they ask someone affiliated with the school – usually a donor or someone who doesn’t have as much information as they think – and the list gets approval and is printed, blogged or Tweeted.
For now, get some sleep as the next few days could be crazy. The man they call “Chucky” will be on a private jet headed east. Question is, which coast of Florida is he headed for.
Anyone want to start checking tail numbers?
Chucky's record at Tampa Bay ended up not a whole lot above .500 before he was fired. He's a good looking guy with an opinion, but…
He also gets $5M a year from the Bucs, plus a couple more for ESPN. I don't see him coming, but neither did I see Randy going.
Beast,
Great post, man!! I definitely agree that one would be crazy to think that there isn't something going on with this Gruden thing. Also, it is quite unfortunate that the University seemed to have set Randy up for failure, though Randy certainly didn't help his cause by being a pain in the arse to deal with by the media in addition to being a substandard head coach. Randy was just in over his head and should have had some head coaching experience from a smaller program prior to taking on the monster that is The U. I am, however, glad that it seems like UM finally realizes that you get what you pay for and that cutting corners just means that you're gonna end up spending more $$ on the back end on damage control (i.e. fixing the shoddy work that you got on the cheap).
I hate that Randy had to go out like that because, as frustrated and angry as I and many others have been throughout this season, I know that Randy is a true Cane and that he wasn't intentionally trying to sabotage the program. He was just trying to do the best that he could with what he had. I, like many, was rooting for him. There wouldn't have been a better story than a local Miamian from the hood, overcoming all of his life tragedies to lead the hometown Hurricanes back to the top of the mountain. It just didn't work out, and no amount of hoping could've changed that.
I refuse to get anymore excited about this Gruden thing until it is official. I will say, though, that I'm glad that UM is finally seeming to be ready to put their $$$ where their mouth is. This would be one helluva hire to put it mildly!! Whatever they spend would be a wise investment I think. It would be a game changer in the state of FL as far as recruiting and even psychologically. FSU/UF/USF would all know that UM having Gruden would make an already challenging recruiting environment exponentially more challenging. They'd also know that UM is serious about getting back to the top of the mountain and not just living in the past.
If they're gonna go after Gruden, there is no better time than RIGHT now!!! With the possibility of an NFL lockout (though I personally don't think that it will happen), the UM job seems to be an attractive coaching gig for a guy like that if he's planning on coaching again soon. We're loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, and recruiting would be like taking candy from a baby with a big name coach like Gruden on board.
I think that Randy WAS the right hire at the time that we hired him. For all of his shortcomings, he did clean up the program's image, and he went to Costco and restocked the cupboard with some talented athletes. No one can deny that. Now we just need to close the deal on someone that knows how to turn this stock sports car into Ferrari.
GO CANES!!!
Thanks for putting some sanity into this situation.
I just hope it is Gruden.SL stadium has been empty on more than one occasion.Plus the recruits won't hang around forever waiting.It really is a pinnacle time for the "U" on so many different levels.
Beast! Love reading your takes on all things 'Canes related! You and I are on the same page most of the time. Just to add a few piggy backs, One, money is absolutely the main factor in these Gruden rumors. The down attendence all year along with every other Miami team making off season news from the Marlins stadium, to Brandon Marshall to the "decison", meant that on the heels of a 7-5 season, 25k fans would prob be the norm for next season. The only thing to put butts back in the seats would be a "Lebron" type splash for the 'Canes! At the end of the day, this is a business, and the football program means too much monetarily to the athletics program as a whole to have a season of poor attendence. This HAS to happen. I don't see any other name out there that would have as big an impact to recruiting, booster dollars, and program revenue collectively! Im an alum, and I haven't donated since we beat the Gators in the bowl game 7 years ago(?)! Gruden is hired, my check book is open!!
Well said, Beast. I hope this happens. -Cake and Shake
I'm not an alum (believe it or not, the Ivy League gave me bigger scholarships than the []_[] did), but I love the []_[] and even I would bust out the checkbook if Gruden was hired!!!
GO CANES!!!
Why is it assumed that a Gruden signing would put fans in the seats(or any coach, for that matter)?
Miami fans don't go to games because they have very little loyalty and are only interested in seeing championship runs.
Sure, maybe Gruden's first home game would garner higher ticket sales, but if the 'Canes have 3 losses going into the last home game of the year, fans won't show up, period.
Vs. VT, 330 game, ranked opponent, pretty big game… 40k show up. It's a joke. A new coach won't change that. Winning will.
just an opinion on the recruiting front…RS actually left us well stocked and a poor year of recruiting this year will not affect us overall. The talent is definitely on the team right now to be relevent for the next two years, so if every recruit onboard now flakes no great loss…go for the line men and athletes that are always overlooked and build skilled positions next year.
That said definitely need a BIG name to come in. Got to fill those seats.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/sfl-jon-gruden-miami-hurricanes-coach-113010,0,1393364.story
check it!
I want to throw a name out there if the Gruden rumor is just that, rumor.
I say get Rob Ryan.
He is an old school type of coach.
Twin brother Rex – jets HC
Buddy Ryan – Dad – NFL Legend.
Current DC for the Browns and like his Dad and bro he is an ass kicker not licker
Check out his creds online
I like to see dan Mullen as coach If Gruden dnt take job I think all the wr and rb wit that kind of o we be deadly and gators ain't been same since he left
Edsall would be a big mistake if you just check his coaching record; some fans at UConn already asking for his head and mediocre record; we can not afford another Shannon, and that's what Edsall would be. A great fit would be TCU's Gary Patterson, google his coaching record and you'll see the huge difference. Not as great a choice would be Dan Mullen, but do we want a spread offense instead of a pro offense which have sent Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinnie Testaverde and others to the NFL? This is UM and let's not settle for mediocrity anymore before settling on Edsall.