Two week mark and some pointless Gator "envy"

Miami and Randy Shannon parted ways two weeks ago today, and what a two weeks it’s been.

The early infatuation with Jon Gruden and questions surrounding how close the two sides did or didn’t get. Both talk of mystery and off-the-radar candidates as well as a message that no coach with baggage would be in the running. (Much to the chagrin of the Mike Leach faithful.)

Outside of that, Kirby Hocutt and the athletic department have operated off the grid, which has caused tons of speculation regarding who has or hasn’t been spoken to and legitimately considered.

The Miami Herald reported a final three a few days back – Randy Edsall of Connecticut, Al Golden of Temple and former UM offensive assistant Marc Trestman of the Montreal Alouetes – and none are even close to being the ‘home run’ hire Hocutt spoke of in his post-Shannon presser two Sundays back.

Adding another element of drama to the story, the fact that Urban Meyer stepped down as Florida’s head honcho and an uproar that he was replaced within days by Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

The million dollar question in Hurricane Nation this morning; how did Florida land a guy in two days while Miami’s turned up nothing in two weeks?

For starters, let’s get the timeline correct as athletic director Jeremy Foley has been seeking Meyer’s replacement for a over year; since Urban’s first retirement speech. The way it’s played out, we now see that Meyer returned for the 2010 season to save a recruiting class, keep up appearances and to give the program time to start thinking about its next move.

In the grand scheme of coaching options, who is overly-hyped about Muschamp? Florida didn’t just haul in Boise State’s Chris Petersen, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, TCU’s Gary Patterson or some other flavor of the year, big time guy. They couldn’t even lure Meyer’s protege and former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen back to Gainesville after a few seasons in Starksville. Instead, the quick search turned up a 39-year old defensive coordinator with no head coaching experience.

Butch Davis was just a few years older than Muschamp – with just a little more experience (and hardware) – when heading to Miami a decade and a half back. Having been under Jimmy Johnson in both Coral Gables and Dallas, Davis had enough know-how for the UM experience to prove successful, albeit a different era for the college game.

In the same breath, Shannon was also a defensive-minded, long-time coordinator and first-timer when he took over the UM program a decade later and that experiment failed on many levels.

Muschamp will probably be more Davis than he is Shannon, but for all the money, resources, facilities and recent success, Florida didn’t reel in a big fish with this recent hire. The allure of Gator Nation didn’t cause any highly-touted head coach to vacate their current perch – not even former defensive coordinator and long-time Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, who was rumored to have wanted the job a year ago when Meyer first walked away, but opting to stay in Norman this time around.

In time Muschamp might prove to be a great fit, but he wasn’t a coveted name and Florida hasn’t one-upped Miami with this recent hire. Especially not considering the names being thrown around soon after Meyer stepped down.

Miami is said to be down to three – Edsall, Golden and Trestman – with Texas Tech head coach and former Canes coordinator Tommy Tuberville a dark horse and I’m one of several to admit that list is disappointing.

That’s not to say that any of the aforementioned guys couldn’t come in and succeed. It’s simply the truth; there’s no ‘wow’ factor and none are the ‘home run’ hire that Hocutt said UM was looking for, should this truly be the final three.

In a matter of days, for one reason or another Hocutt is going to look like a zero or hero and if it’s the former, we’ll never have a clear understanding as to what fell on him, versus what was simply circumstantial.

Who has Hocutt spoken with to date? How deep have some of these meetings gone? What big names have been reached out to and how close have some come to getting on board?

Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples called Miami is “a great job” for the right person – right being the operative word.

“If you’re already at a school that has great facilities and great booster support, great fan support and a lot of money, then no, it’s not a good job for you,” Staples said. “But if you’re an up-and-coming coach who wants to win, who might be in a place that is kind of a lower-tier school that will not ever compete for a national championship, then you’d be crazy not to take it.”

Not only does that make complete sense, but it would also rule out a Patterson, a Harbaugh or some of your other big name guys (though Petersen not being in a BCS conference would at least have to think about making the leap) but for up and coming coodinators (Muschamp, Brent Venables, Gus Malzahn) or head coaches from “lesser” teams (Edsall, Golden, Trestman) – those are the types who would leap at a Miami-like opportunity that might be few and far between.

Many are still hoping for and waiting on a ‘mystery’ candidate or someone hiding in the shadows, waiting on the proper time to announce. In one sense it fits with Hocutt’s vision and said expectations for the program – that desire for a big time hire to fill seats and build excitement – as well as the reason for so much secrecy surrounding the process.

Of course it could also prove to be nothing more than wishful thinking from a fan base that simply wants to believe again.

No part of me wants to see The Pirate take over this program, but I can understand why a percentage of Canes do. Whether he’d get the job done or not, Leach’s renegade ways and high-flying offense give fans something to buy into.

He’s not a Gruden, Harbaugh or Petersen-type hire, but to his credit, Leach gets some peoples’ juices flowing in a way the current threesome of finalist stiffs never would.

A few guys from the northeast who lack that Miami “feel” and another from north of the border who hasn’t been part of the program in twenty-six years?

Meh.

While many want the trigger pulled and a new name announced, for now the silence is golden. The more time that passes without Edsall, Golden or Trestman named ‘the guy’, the more hope one can hold out that the process continues and others remain in the mix.

Two weeks without a head coach, revisionist history is getting the better of some. Years of an anti-Shannon campaign has been followed up with some now questioning the firing, feeling the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. “Maybe we were better off with Randy,” cries a portion of this disgruntled, hard-to-appease fan base.

Wherever the search winds up, the Shannon era truly had run its course and a quick look at the current State of The U proves that.

Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has assumed leadership duties and even a program in-flux appears to be running smoother during bowl preparations than it did the past several seasons.

Coaches are opening up to the media, as are players. Back-up quarterback A.J. Highsmith as finally been moved to the secondary and rarely-used linebacker Jordan Futch has shifted to tight-end, citing that he wasn’t getting the opportunities he deserved to shine on defense.

Offensively, quarterbacks Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris are truly engaged in a battle to earn a starting spot in the Sun Bowl and the competition is fueling everyones competitive fire. Players are said to have a bounce in their step and appear truly focused on Notre Dame, despite the lack of a new head coach.

Addition by subtraction seems to be working and if the inexperienced, hard-headed Shannon was able to stockpile some talent, getting this thing back on the right track, you have to believe the next hire will have the experience and game plan to build on that – regardless how unsexy the name could be at first.

The waiting game has been frustrating, but it’s part of this process as Miami obviously doesn’t want to settle. A safe bet that UM could’ve done their best UF and focused in on a highly-touted coordinator and given him the career upgrade; but Miami wants a proven guy and Muschamp absolutely doesn’t fit the bill.

Instead, ‘The U’ is trying to sell guys with head coaching gigs on why they should leave where they’re at for this opportunity. A completely different sales pitch than what Florida was dangling out there.

Hocutt is definitely up to his eyeballs, but it’s way too soon to claim he’s in over his head. This is a career-defining search for the young athletic director and there are countless reasons why personally and professionally this cannot be rushed. Miami football hangs in the balance and the wrong hire can not only be a career-killer, it can also send this program into the abyss. (No pressure though, KH.)

And so it goes. Entering week three and hopefully closing in on the finish line with a worthy candidate.

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