247 Update on Admin Changes

[GonzoCane]

That list of potential ADs is so uninspiring.

Miami guy who's been under the tutelage of one Kirby Hocutt? Dumb

Alabama Saudi Prince who's used to endless amounts of money and lives in a land where the law doesn't apply to him? FOH

Highsmith and Torretta? #FoldtheProgram

Dont forget the guy with the FBI surveillance van in front of his house.

 

[dycane]

If Mario wanted to leave, he would ask Phil for his blessing and get it. Phil is not going to stand in the way. Still don’t think Mario comes, mainly because I think Oregon is going to the playoffs, but the Ruiz stuff is encouraging.

 

[arwinga]

This would be an absolute homerun. He and Russ Bjork would be my top choices.

Why would he leave Clemson for us??

 

[Angry Ibis]

A new AD is not keeping a lame duck coach. The first thing any AD will want is the freedom to hire and fire the football coach. No one credible is taking that job and being told your have to keep Diaz

Does the same apply to hiring Mario?

 

[Baba Yaga]

Mario is not married to Phil Knight, hes married to a South Florida girl who wants to come home.

Further evidence of his recruiting prowess.

 

[Cryptical Envelopment]

Depends who you ask. Someone really could have hit the ground running where Richt left off.. it's probably the same shape or worse than that. Culture is bad. Roster is in shambles with talent littered throughout it but not nearly enough. I'd say it's in the exact same place Golden left it. Young NFL talent, no recruiting class, and an entitled culture that thinks if they work kind of hard, they deserve to win - but have no idea what real football looks like and what it really takes.

The program is in better shape than when Golden left because of the IPF, additional money from adidas, new AD coming, sounds like Boosters and admin get the point now. None of that is Manny's doing.

Where Richt left off was not good. Let's not revise history. As far from "good" as we are, the culture is better than it was, the roster is better, he brought Miami into the modern era with an actual 21st century offense for the first time, he was great at the portal, we have a strong and deep QB room for the first time since maybe JJ was coach.

Losing brings a lot of warts to the surface that would otherwise not show their face.

We are definitely in better shape than we were when CMR left IMO. I just think we all didn't realize how bad things were back then.

 

[caneworld]

Per David Lake

- On the front end, let me get this out of the way. The decision to separate from Blake James was a strong one by the UM administration and it should be commended. If you read the tea leaves, it is pretty clear that a change at head football coach is likely at the end of the season as well. With that being said, however, Manny Diaz still has key Board of Trustees members in his corner and they are willing to fight and continue to back him. It is not necessarily a forgone conclusion that Miami will move on from Diaz.

- With that being said, however, it is hard to ignore the strong message that the UM administration sent across the country to Eugene, Oregon. It is well known in UM circles that Mario Cristobal and Blake James do not like each other and that James would never be able to hire the coach of the No. 3 overall program in the country. Separating from James was a MAJOR first step to making a run at Cristobal.

- Why would Cristobal leave Oregon for Miami? Two reasons: Miami is home and being the head coach at UM has always been his dream job. Outsiders don’t fully grasp how much pull the University of Miami has with Cristobal in this regard, but people around the program know how much Cristobal loves UM and the city of Miami. IF the university were to come at him with the acceptable amount of resources and a vision from leadership for the future of the athletic department and football program, there is a belief that it would be very difficult for Cristobal to turn down the opportunity. A commitment, both in resources and vision, will be needed to make a run at Cristobal.

- Does Miami have the money to go get a Mario Cristobal? The constant message from people around this decision making process continues to be: “money is not an issue.” The U-Health healthcare system in South Florida makes a ton of money for the university and the UM leadership is finally willing to dip into those coffers to provide resources for the football program. We will see if UM puts the money up at the end of the day.

- There is a sense around Cristobal, however, that if Oregon keeps winning and makes the College Football Playoff, the chances of UM luring him away would be quite slim.

- What would be the biggest reason that Cristobal stays at Oregon beyond a College Football Playoff run? Cristobal is fiercely loyal and grateful to Nike CEO Phil Knight, who of course is Oregon’s top booster. It was Knight who gave Cristobal another chance at being a head coach and that is something Cristobal doesn’t take lightly.

- There are three deep pocket boosters/board of trustees members that are believed to be pushing for a run at Cristobal: Jose Mas, Marcus Lemons, and attorney John Ruiz.

- In terms of what Miami is now looking for in an athletic director, I have been told ‘somebody who understands how to lead athletics.’ Blake James was respected for his ability to fundraise, but he did not understand how to hold coaches accountable for middling performances. Loyalty to a coach is important, but at some point hard decisions have to be made.

Now onto some athletic director names that are worth knowing at this early stage…

- Tony Hernandez: Hernandez worked his way up the athletic department when Paul Dee was the athletic director. People around the UM program respect Hernandez for being highly intelligent and he knows what a successful football program is supposed to look like. He is currently the Deputy Director of Athletics at Texas Tech under former UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt. He served as Miami’s interim athletic director when Hocutt left for Texas Tech.

- Tom Jurich: You won’t find a potential candidate with a better resume of success than Jurich, who pushed Louisville’s athletic department to new heights. Jurich was Louisville’s athletic director from 1997-2017 and during his time he hired Rick Pitino as the basketball coach and played a big part in the football program getting to the ACC and making hires like Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong. Louisville’s baseball program also took a step forward with his leadership. Jurich also vastly improved Louisville’s facilities during his time there. Jurich was placed on unpaid leave in 2017 after the Louisville basketball program was implicated in a FBI investigation. On May 18, 2018 the board of trustees agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with Jurich that cleared him of any wrong doing and phrased his termination as "retirement".

- Pat Chun: Chun hired Lane Kiffin as the athletic director at FAU, which is an interesting connection point. He is now the athletic director at Washington State. Chun worked his way up the ranks in the Ohio State athletic department, working 15 yards in Columbus, Ohio. He understands what a successful athletic department is supposed to look like.

- Jeff Purinton: Currently the Executive Deputy Athletics Director at Alabama. He is essentially No. 2 man to athletic director Greg Byrne. Purinton currently serves as the sports administrator for Alabama’s football team as well as men’s and women’s golf. He previously oversaw Alabama basketball. At one point, Purinton was believed to be in the mix for the FSU athletic director job.

- Alonzo Highsmith: The former UM running back has worked in NFL front offices and understands the business side of sports in addition to how to run athletics. Highsmith would understand what a winning football program looks like. Whether or not Highsmith is hired as the athletic director, there is a belief that he should be working within the UM athletic department as someone that oversees the football program.

- Gino Torretta: The former Heisman Trophy winner would check two boxes for the athletic director position: 1.) He understands the athletics side of leading an athletic department and specifically what a winning football program is supposed to look like. 2.) He understands the financial side of running an operation. Torretta’s post football career has centered around finances and asset management.

- It is hard to ignore the potential Columbus High School connection to the program moving forward…Jose Mas is a Board of Trustees member that deeply cares about UM athletics. He also attended Columbus with Mario Cristobal. Marcus Lemonis is a booster that also attended Columbus. Alonzo Highsmith is a Columbus alum. Cristobal’s right hand man, offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, also attended Columbus. These connection points are interesting.

The last two are the least qualified... I expect U to go with those.
I would love to get Jurich or Purinton.. but knowing our ***ked administration, they are a far cry..

 

[pacusmc]

Can the new aD find a way to either restructure the adidas deal or get out of it all together?

 

[AUcane]

Why would he leave Clemson for us??

don't know but at least ask him. Different folks have reasons for doing things and you won't know until you ask. That's how it works. do you not go after a good candidate just because you think they'll say no?

 

[Dghustla]

Stay away from that Bama dude for AD. Alabama is basically a Gulf State where problems are solved by throwing endless amounts of money at things until it's solved. Miami is a third world country compared to that and he wouldn't have the slightest idea how to work in the real world.

Disagree with that if it was just about throwing money at problems text would have won the last 15 national titles.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

Yes, it sucks to have billionaire boosters who want to steal coaches from Top 5 teams.

I miss the good old days of interviewing Randy Edsall.

I'm sure T Boone Pickens had no say at Oklahoma State as he was giving hundreds of millions to the athletic program. Welcome to the real world.

We have big money finally stepping up and willing to invest in the athletic department, and because the university may not pick their personal favorite we have posters are losing their minds.

 

[Tad Footeball]

Mario is not married to Phil Knight, hes married to a South Florida girl who wants to come home.

She's actually from Georgia.

 

[Cryptical Envelopment]

What happens if USC wakes up and Oregon stops getting the pick of California kids?

Then there will still literally be a total of two decent recruiting programs west of Oklahoma, instead of one, and Oregon will probably have the better recruiting staff.

 

[Canedude08]

View attachment 161510

If that's the case, then Miami deserves exactly what is about to happen. Keep going with "Miami Guy Bro" hires and keep getting "Miami Guy Bro" results. The fact that this fanbase is excited about hiring a guy with no collegiate managerial experience to run the athletic department is hilarious. Then again, our fanbase jerks off to highlight films from the Reagan era, so it's not shocking.

 

[Mr. Dynasty1]

View attachment 161510

 

[NDE]

"The U-Health healthcare system in South Florida makes a ton of money for the university".... You know how many times I've said money was and will NEVER be an issue for the program because of this! We have probably the top health program in the NATION. Money will always be there to spread around.

No need for U-Health when you have Ruiz's billions and his UM tax deductions. All will be fully deducted from his income tax and estate taxes. This will be a killing for UM.

 

[RobCanes1905]

As in this guy?!

TV Lawyer, Ex-Israeli Commando Forge a $33 Billion SPAC Deal

John H. Ruiz is on no one’s list of Wall Street big shots.

www.bloomberg.com

Good lord that’s some serious dinero

 

[JimmyJohnsonsHair]

I'm sure T Boone Pickens had no say at Oklahoma State as he was giving hundreds of millions to the athletic program. Welcome to the real world.

We have big money finally stepping up and willing to invest in the athletic department, and because the university may not pick their personal favorite we have posters are losing their minds.

Big money donors stepping up is ultimately a good thing. No one is disputing that. But is it a good thing if they don't spend that money wisely? For example, hiring Toretta over Jurich as AD without even making a call to the latter simply because Gino is a "Miami guy" may not be in the best interest of the program.

 

[blushrts]

don't know but at least ask him. Different folks have reasons for doing things and you won't know until you ask. That's how it works. do you not go after a good candidate just because you think they'll say no?

Wayne Gretzky: "you miss every shot you don't take"

 

[JayCane20]

Where Richt left off was not good. Let's not revise history. As far from "good" as we are, the culture is better than it was, the roster is better, he brought Miami into the modern era with an actual 21st century offense for the first time, he was great at the portal, we have a strong and deep QB room for the first time since maybe JJ was coach.

Losing brings a lot of warts to the surface that would otherwise not show their face.

We are definitely in better shape than we were when CMR left IMO. I just think we all didn't realize how bad things were back then.

Diaz fixed the QB room and brought us to a modern offense. I'll give you that one for sure. But this season and his current recruiting class is not leaving the program in a good spot at all. Culture is also hard to measure - I'll have a hard time being convinced that he's changed the culture at all. He's playing young guys that won't quit fighting.. that's about it. Still a bunch of loser mentalities on this roster.

Golden left the DT position in as good or better shape than Diaz is going to leave it. The LB position is still a disaster. CB is still a disaster. OL is about equal to where Golden left it. DE is far worse than Golden left it. TE is worse than Golden left it. RB/WR/QB are the only rooms that have improved and can be attributed to Manny Diaz. Golden even left Rayshawn Jenkins, Carter, Jaquan Johnson at Safety. Njoku & Herndon at TE.