The Beast: Post-Interview, Pre-Scrimmage Blog…

Hopefully by now you’ve taken the time to listen to my interview with Randy Shannon. First off, I really appreciate the time he gave me. After doing this for the better part of two decades, I sometimes forget how cool it is to sit across from the head coach of a major Division-I program.

As I walked in Randy’s office on Wednesday, I looked around, saw all the trophies, looked down on the weight room and reminded myself that it was a pretty big privilege to have that opportunity. Randy seemed to be in a good mood that day and I think it came across that way in the interview.

Little did I know that defensive back – and fellow Bostonian – Albert Louis-Jean decided to leave Brockton, MA for Coral Gables. That news hadn’t sneaked out yet, so it wasn’t touched upon as we broke down certain positions during the interview.

I’m not going to sit here and say that Coach Shannon is the most media friendly coach in the country. At times I can be a homer, but in this case I won’t see the world through orange and green glasses. Back to his days as linebackers coach he’s always been great with me. Of course my agenda is different than most in the local media. I think he knows I’m not here to pull a fast one on him.

Before I switched on the “tape recorder” (these days we go digital), I ran down my list of questions with Coach. I realize I’m going to get better answers if he knows what’s coming.

I started on offense, first talking quarterbacks. Then we hit the running backs, but skipped over receiver as I felt it was a position we could ignore for now. I wanted to get some information on Tyler Horn. but Randy covered it when I posed a general question about the offensive line. When I moved to the other side of the ball, I knew I had to touch on middle linebacker. Again, Randy made my job easy as he continued to praise Kylan Robinson.

I know you may not believe this, but coaches use the media in many ways. Sometimes it’s to push a kid, as I think is the case with the recent praise of Jamal Reid. When talking about the safeties, I think the Reid comments were meant to light a fire under the butt of Ray Ray Armstrong. It’s also my belief that he’s trying to instill some confidence with the praise of Robinson at middle linebacker.

Sometimes you have to sift through this stuff and realize the coach is a lot smarter than your average bear (or fan). He knows this stuff gets back to his kids and it’s a calculated motivational tactic.

After getting through the position groups, I hit Coach Shannon with questions about the coaching staff.

When you really look at it, Randy has put together a pretty freaking experienced staff. At this point I think Micheal Barrow is the least experienced guy out there. I think his experience as a player supersedes his experience as a coach. Barrow knows linebacker like I know the discount rack at allCanes.

Mark Whipple and Joe Pannunzio have been head coaches. Rick Petri and John Lovett are seasoned veterans. Aubrey Hill and Wesley McGriff are young, but are consummate professionals. Mike Cassano, despite the fact that he looks young, has been doing this a long time. This is a good staff. Like Eddie Murphy says, “trust me.”

After touching on the coaches, I had to get to the contract situation. It was important to me to hear Randy’s side. I know he’s been asked this by everyone and I didn’t think I was going to get anything that hadn’t been said before, but it was a question I had to ask.

Aside from the basic, “where are we in the contract negotiations?” question, I wanted to ask him specifically if recruits have been asking about this. I’d been hearing for a few weeks that there were some big name recruits who were worried about Shannon not being there when they got on campus and Randy let me know it was becoming a problem.

To me it comes down to only one thing: market value. If Miami is striving to be one of the best programs in the country, there’s no reason to not pay market value for their head coach. We can sit here and argue about Coach Shannon’s progress as a head coach, but I can point to multiple coaches that you and I would agree are much worse, but making more.

To round up the interview, I wanted to hear from Coach Shannon regarding what the fans could do to help as this program tries to get back on top. He didn’t hold back and was forthright in saying “attendance”. It’s a battle that’s been going on for years. Most Miami fans want for the house to be done, before wanting to lend a hand in building.

We all realize that a mid-October game against Duke may not be the most exciting thing in the world (or in South Florida, for that matter) – but sooner or later people need to get it in their heads that going to a Canes game is about OUR TEAM, not the opponent.

You shouldn’t want to be anywhere else on a Saturday in fall. Take some ownership of this program, already. Maybe you didn’t graduate from UM like I did, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be your ‘adopted’ school.

Waxing the car or hitting the beach may seem more important than a UM/FAMU clash, but we’re talking about a half dozen home games a year. Six out of fifty-two isn’t asking a whole lot. Let the other stuff wait. Get to the game and bring some friends. Support your U.

As I left Coach Shannon’s office, I filled him in on my new role with allCanes and he seems pretty excited. I think he’ll be open to working with us and will give us some good scoop. He knows we’re part of the U Family and as some of you commented on the interview thread, he seemed open and relaxed during our ten minute chat. As we get more comfortable, I expect him to open up even more, letting you guys see a different side of the program than is available anywhere else. I’m excited about the opportunity and I hope you are too.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Brian “The Beast” London is one of the foremost insiders on all things Miami Hurricanes. He was on the Canes broadcast crew for more than a decade. He hosts a daily online radio show on www.SoFloRadio.com.

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