The Beast : Monday Night Gruden

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?

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