The Nix Factor…

Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel recently bowed out regarding his University of Miami blog and has moved on up to the NFL, now covering the Miami Dolphins.

On his way out the door he left it all on the field regarding The U, giving fans every morsel of Canes-related info he could.

One of his last posts was a recent Q&A with new offensive coordinator Patrick Nix and personally, I’m liking what I’m hearing.

Like the majority of our fan base I still have that “wait and see” approach regarding all things related to Miami football right now. Still, it’s a step in the right direction after our offensive offense woes since Terry Porter’s flag hit the turf on January 3rd, 2003.

Since the ‘robbery in the desert’, the Canes have sputtered offensively. Brock Berlin was good enough to go 5-0 against Florida State and Florida, but there were still some inexplicable low-scoring outputs during his run. Most notably a 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech, followed by a 10-6 loss to Tennessee at home.

The Ken Dorsey-Andre Johnson-Willis McGahee era, it was not.

Berlin led Miami to a 9-3 record a season later and there were glimmers of offensive firepower. A thrilling 41-38 comeback against Louisville proved to be the high point. There were also too many moments like the 16-10 loss to Virginia Tech with the ACC crown and BCS berth on the lie.

2005 and 2006 were even more disappointing. The highly touted Kyle Wright hasn’t lived up to the hype. Low-scoring outings had become the norm. Vanilla and bland play calling. No imagination. Few playmakers.

The defense remained amongst the nation’s best, but the offense has now kept Miami out of the BCS for three straight seasons.

Enter Nix. Miami’s fourth offensive signal caller since the 2003 season. The former Georgia Tech coordinator is the lynch pin to Randy Shannon’s rebuilding efforts. Randy knows defense, so that’ll remain a constant – but to get back to championship form, The U needs to start rolling teams up offensively, not just whooping them defensively.

In reading Omar’s piece, the first thing I dug was Nix’s “out with the old, in with the new mentality”. Forget trying to tinker with and attempting to fix Miami’s system. It’s time for something new. 2006 was an abomination and 2005 wasn’t much better. It’s time to inject life into this program with some new schemes, new plays, new signals and new terminology. That’s something Rich Olson promised but never delivered, hence a six-loss season.

Nix sounds a bit optimistic and realistic at the same time. I like that. I get tired of sound bites and headline grabbing quotes. He knows there’s a process and that it’ll get ugly at times, but there’s reason to get excited. Some new plays are proving successful and that’ll help these kids get their swagger back, instead of that faux bravado we saw last season. All bark, no bite.

As for the quarterback situation, he addressed in a straightforward manner. Miami will do what it takes to move the chains, score points and win games. There’s no talk of a quarterback controversy. Both kids will see the field if need be. Should one get the hot hand, expect the staff to ride them until they have a reason not to.

Also, another reason to believe we won’t see Robert Marve redshirt in 2007. With no stability at quarterback, expect the freshman to get his feet wet this year. It’ll get him ready for next season, while letting him make an immediate impact this year.

The cream will rise to the top regarding the three quarterbacks. Better to let them settle it on the field than to make that call based on fall ball. Get your reps against Marshall and make a decision going into Oklahoma.

Nix talked about his senior year at Auburn and his more athletic back up getting more goal line snaps even though as a starter, he put them in scoring position. The greater good of the team supercedes all personal goals and accomplishments.

“Whatever we have to do, whoever we have to play at any position is what the goal is,” said Nix.

Omar discussed Freeman entering games for the running plays, rollouts and short yardage plays with Wright in the game to work the middle of the field and play action ability. In theory, that two-headed monster sounds great, but can it work in reality? We’ll see. I can’t imagine it playing out any worse than 2005-2006.

It’ll take a ‘one at a time’ mentality for Miami if they plan on being in the ACC mix this year. All games are winnable, but will they have the focus and game plan to get it done week in and week out? Again, we’ll see.

However it plays out, Nix seems to be saying the right things, making the right moves and getting the kids excited. Combine that with a newly revamped offensive line at the hands of Jeff Stoutland and the Canes’ offense could actually turn some heads in 2007.

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