Randy Shannon Article

Submitted by mjv on

A short article on Randy Shannon's exit from da U.  He left handwritten letters for several of his players.  

The impression anyone my age has of Miami (YTM) is of a street gang in pads.  This act by Shannon (and frankly, his entire time at Miami) stands in stark contrast to my impression of the program.

I wish him the best going forward.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/2010/12/yours-truly-randy-shannon.html

Zvornik Bosna

December 9th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

He was not just a good coach but a GREAT roll model. He graduated players, kept everyone out of trouble, and most importantly changed the entire view of the program. However, this seems to be the exact opposite of what a lot of Miami fans and alums want. All they talk about is "swagger" and like Michael Irvin said, something along the lines of, we need more thugs it tells you all you need to know about that. It is sad that they think all there is to life is football. I think Shannon deserved another year but I wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up!

mcfly127

December 9th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

Good article and just another reason as to why he needs to come here because of his relationships with his players and his recruiting possibilities

MGoDC

December 9th, 2010 at 12:00 PM ^

I assume you mean "come here" as a DC not a HC. That would be great but I think he'll probably get at least one more decent HC job before he starts looking around for a DC job. I suppose we could throw a lot of money at him and hope that persuades him but the prestige of a HC job will probably influence him to give it at least one more go.

MGoDC

December 10th, 2010 at 2:54 AM ^

Forgot to check this thread so unfortunately you'll probably never see my reply. I don't know a lot of the behind the scenes politics involved with HC openings (schools looking for "their" types of people) but I assumed maybe Pitt? Or even MSU if Dan Mullen gets hired for the Florida job (I realize its not a premier job, but if he does well head coaching at an SEC school he can definitely get a much better job in a couple years).

There are also other jobs not necessarily open at the moment that he might be waiting on. He's pretty well regarded for academics and graduating his kids, so what would happen if the Stanford job opens up? Not necessarily saying it will and hoping this doesn't degenerate into a RR vs JH argument, but if DB ultimately decides to go with Harbaugh then Shannon might be an excellent fit at Stanford.

turd ferguson

December 9th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^

I have to think that Shannon will get some head coaching opportunities. Plus, if he doesn't get them this year, he certainly would after a good season or two at DC.

Long story short, he's very unlikely to come, and if he does, he's very unlikely to stay if he's successful as a DC here. I think he'd be great, but realistically, he'd either be out of here quickly (read: another DC change) or he wouldn't have performed well enough to get attractive HC offers. Neither possibility sounds good to me.

Beavis

December 9th, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^

Anybody that knows college football in the state of Florida knows this:

- Miami and FSU used to be the "thug" or "cut the corner" schools.  Both of them have cleaned up and are now the "clean" Florida schools.

- Florida has gone from "clean" to "thug".

- USF has thrown its hat in the ring as a legitimate program and lands in the "thug" and "cut the corner" Florida schools.

Tater

December 9th, 2010 at 3:48 PM ^

USF doesn't remotely qualify as a "thug" school.  As for "shortcuts," it's not like they have put together a juggernaut there.  If you think players are paid at USF, which is usually what "shortcuts" means, look at the offer sheets.  USF only has a very small number of players who were offered by the "big boys," and most of them are local products who wanted to stay close to home. 

When USF suddenly starts picking the pockets of the Big Three for multiple prospects very late in the recruiting process, then I will believe that they are "taking shortcuts."  Until then, all they are is a team trying to get to the next level and failing.

Realus

December 10th, 2010 at 1:59 AM ^

While Shannon (along with my mother-in-law and the neighborhood hamster) would be better DCs than GERG, I am not convinced that Shannon is the best choice out there.

Did he have success anywhere else than Miami?

And frankly, I would like to get a DC from the SEC, Big12, or PAC10/12 or even the Big Ten, if possible.  While the ACC and Big East are still BCS conferences, I don't think they have the coaching talent of the "big four"

antoo

December 10th, 2010 at 2:36 AM ^

I don't know if he's the best choice or not but as others have pointed out, he's had top 25 defenses most of the time he was the DC/HC.  Throw in the number of former Miami players in the NFL that were produced under his watch (21 defensive players alone by my quick count) and you have a strong case for Shannon.

Tacopants

December 10th, 2010 at 3:48 AM ^

I don't understand why you wouldn't think Shannon is the most attractive, semi realistic name out there for DC.   He has a proven record of recruiting well.  He has proven that he can graduate kids from what many thought was an impossible situation.  He's proven that he can take the talent and produce multiple NFL draft picks and top 20 defenses.

I challenge you to find a stronger candidate than that for a DC position in college football.  The only names I can think of that would surpass that are Bo Pelini, Charlie Strong, Will Muschamp, and maybe Bud Foster.

Frankly, the Michigan DC job isn't the most attractive one in the country for a variety of reasons.  You're not going to convince a established guy to leave his job for Michigan.  IF we got somebody from a power conference, he would be Shafer Redux, a newer guy taking a high profile role in hopes of proving himself.  Since he's not established, he could get pushed around by assistants...

I mean, I just don't get it.  Who do you think we can get that will be a step above Shannon?