First, yes, tl:dr. I need to vent. Sorry.
This is a cluster* on so many levels.
First, everyone thinks hiring Alonzo is a no-brainer. It’s not. Why? Because we have no idea precisely what type of role Alonzo envisions. Think about it. If—and again if because I have no idea—Alonzo wants a role similar to that which he had in the NFL, why or how would Manny—or any other coach for that matter—support that? Let’s assume that Alonzo wants a role where he has input concerning scheme, personnel, staffing, coaching assistants, recruiting, etc. In other words, a role similar to that of an NFL general manager. This is what Barry Jackson hinted at.
This is problematic. You can’t do this to a first year head coach. You’d hamstring him. And if you think Manny is so in over his head that he needs this level of help, then just fire him and hire a coach that can handle both recruiting and coaching—which is, btw, every other college coach in America. And, btw, if he really does need this level of support, then why would UM pay for a head coach and a GM if it could just pay one guy to do that? You really don’t expect UM to pay 2 guys to do 1 person’s job, do you? Not when they can just wait until next year and start over.
Let’s just play this out with what could happen. For example, every Cane fan alive right now wants spread, up-tempo. Let’s take Manny at his word and assume that that is in fact what he wants. What if Alonzo wants to run a different scheme? What if he wants pro-style? Then what? Now you have a massive power struggle internally. That will only sow discontent amongst everyone involved and will likely affect the players and the on-the-field product (and everyone scouring for a new job next offseason).
It also has long-term ramifications. What if we suck again next year and Manny is fired. What coaching talent could we attract if we have a virtual GM in place? Who’d come here? Nobody IMO. Why come here and be overseen by a GM-type if you can go anywhere else and have say (as Parcells would say) over both the ingredients and the meal.
Did anyone see Sean McVay’s statement on the guy FSU hired to be its “chief of staff?” He said, “Truly there’s not much that Bruce has not done for us. From leading our travel operations, organizing training camps, navigating construction at the Coliseum, and keeping our facilities operating at a high level day-in and day-out . . . ” (Also, while searching for that I learned his fiancée is really, really hot.) I suspect this is more along the lines of what Manny and Blake envision. This may not be what Alonzo envisions for himself, hence why I don’t think it’s a no-brainer. It really depends on fit.
Now, ideally, you get Alonzo involved in some way. His heart is in the right place. He wants to help. (****, we all do. I’ll go shag punts if it’ll help.) In my perfect world, he’d be an assistant athletic director yet have a more global, broad approach than a more “boots-on-the-ground” xs and os approach. Think about this. We’re spending millions on the football team. Yet, the decision-maker (James) looks like he’d struggle identifying the difference between i-formation and shotgun. I do not want James making any decisions or recommendations to the BOT concerning retention, hiring or firing coaches. However, I’d be far more comfortable if we had someone very football savvy in that role. This is where Alonzo or a guy like him could succeed. Let’s get someone in place who can speak intelligently to the higher-ups concerning the on-field performance. Get James out of that role.
But, generally speaking, we’re still putting way too much stock in Alonzo. What does anyone really believe 1 man can accomplish? And let’s face it, it’s not like he has any history of fixing a college football program. The problem is bigger than Alonzo. We’re losing the financial war. CFB is becoming a war of resources. He who spends, wins. Its why it’s the same teams year-in, year-out at the top. CFB right now is like a political campaign. The big-spenders have a seat at the table. The others that can’t amass a war chest drop out of the race. This is where we’re f*ed IMO.
Look at OSU as an example. They hired a 40 year old, first time head coach to run their program. (Sound familiar?) Look at Day’s background/resume. Honestly, it’s not all that impressive. He called plays at Temple and BC from 2012-2014. Whoopdeedo. But, OSU has such massive resources and so much financial support, that it’s impossible to fail. They have/had two ocs (Kevin Wilson—who was OC at Oklahoma and head coach at Indiana and Mike Yurcich who ran OSU’s offense from 2013-2018). Each of these guys could likely have taken a job at nearly any school in the country calling plays yet they were hired in roles below their capability/resume to support Day. That’s incredible. But money talks. Same thing on the defensive side for OSU. Day is winning because he has massive support thanks to the infrastructure and financial support at OSU from the top down. Any coach that wins here won’t win because of our infrastructure or financial support—he’ll win in spite of it. That’s the harsh reality.
OSU gave the keys to the Lambo to a 16 year old kid but put him in a parking lot with no nearby objects to hit. Miami, on the other hand, dropped the 16 year old with the keys to a Corolla in the middle of I-95.
I think the point is made, but we’re like a small mom-and-pop shop in small town America and Wal-Mart is moving into town. We’re insistent that our “service” will keep us in business. We know everyone-in-town’s name. We know the families. But we all know how this played out. You can’t compete with the boatload of money. Similarly, we’re stuck thinking we can succeed because “South Florida talent, bro!” and the swag, and a couple 30 for 30s. That doesn’t compare to cash.
For years, we laughed at all the accoutrements established at other schools. The LSU locker room. The Alabama waterfall. Clemson nap halls. We insisted we could do it like we did in the 80s. We had nothing fancy but we won. That time is over. Too much money has poured into college sports. Big money wins. Period.
This is where Blake James fails. He’s not a visionary. He doesn’t have an ego. I want someone that wants a building named after them. That wants to make a name for himself. We need someone in that role that wants to double the financial resources for the team and triple the staff. Instead, we have a dude that appears happy and complacent that he has a really good job with the full support of those that matter. I mean, I guess you could point to the fact that the IPF was built under his watch as a success for him, but does it get built if not for Richt clamoring for it and putting his money where his mouth is?
Unfortunately, this is bigger than Alonzo or one role. We’re just getting outspent period. Alonzo would be a good start, but that’s all it is, a start. He’s not a savior. The expectations need to be tempered. It’s not about 1 dude and adding another $200,000 or so in salary. It’s about pouring in millions. And that’s not coming in anytime soon. And until then, we can anticipate that the results will be the same.
How does it get fixed? IMO, the only way is if we start winning and money starts rolling in. It’s like your 401(k). If the returns are .01%, you invest little. If the returns are 10%, you invest more. If we can win, money starts rolling in. I’m sure donors donate more when the product is good. Attendance is up. Merch sales are up. So, God bless you Manny. Find a way to win.
Look, I don't know what your motivation is, but there is so much wrong with your post that it is hard to know where to begin.
First, nobody called Alonzo a "savior". We realize that Blake is not likely to be fired just because the football team loses. But Blake has been terrible (overall) and since football is our bell-cow, we need to do something. Quickly. We have floundered through five head coaches in a row.
Coker - should have known the Miami system, but was the first UM head football coach IN HISTORY to be fired.
Shannon - should have known the Miami system, but his personality issues (paranoia, inability to trust/delegate) were his downfall.
Golden - sounded great on Day 1 and Month 1, quickly chose to NOT do things the Miami way, tried to be Ped State, failed.
Richt - was a "pre-Miami-way" guy that never really warmed up to the real Miami way.
Diaz - not a Miami way guy, thinks he knows the Miami way, has not yet demonstrated it.
Now, before you overreact and join the "we need to break all ties with prior Miami guys and find some great Division III savant", I will say that hiring a Miami guy is not a GUARANTEE of success, but it is better than randomly selecting some guy that 10 CIS posters lust after. There are SOME elements of the Miami way that are eternal - identifying talent, developing talent even if it requires a position change, family/brotherhood, INTENSE competition, choosing to work out "off the clock", supporting your teammates, scoring fast and often, swarming/choking defense, etc.
There are SOME THINGS that need to be updated over time. We all know that facilities has become a big focus, so maybe the days of working out in the old crappy weight room under the watchful eye of Andreu Swasey need to be modernized. Fine.
But what your long diatribe overlooks is that almost no head coach can DO EVERYTHING any longer. This is a 400-day-per-year job. There are infinite NCAA regulations to monitor. There are 85 strong-willed kids who try to skip class or get an extra hamburger at every opportunity. There are media demands, alumnus demands, staff demands. There are MAYBE a handful of guys who are insane enough to do everything at a very high level for a very long time (Belichick, Saban, Meyer), but they often become nasty SOBs that nobody (besides the fanbase) actually can like. And that is not even an assessment that is fully honest about how much those guys can ACTUALLY delegate, because I'm sure that Saban and Meyer have guys who do a lot of stuff for them that never gets mentioned.
Miami needs to innovate and not be the 100th school to try a new approach. We need to take a cue from the NFL org structures and find a strong hand who will maintain the Miami way and the Miami standard even as coaches come and go. We need to have ONE WAY of doing things, regardless of a particular head coach's personality. JJ and Dennis and Butch didn't come in and reject everything that had happened previously. They embraced what we had, and made their own contributions.
And unless you think that Alonzo has made a 20 year NFL exec career off of riding coattails or being "socially promoted" like an illiterate first grader, then you need to conclude that he brings something to the table in terms of talent identification and upholding a franchise's standard (I'm focusing more on his time with the Packers here).
Too many times we have heard "Miami is one of the last schools to offer". WHY? Alonzo needs to change the culture on this issue. Alonzo was recruited for one position and switched to another, which led to him being the THIRD OVERALL PICK. Miami needs to sign talent. Maybe Lamar Jackson really wants to play QB, and his talent is so great that Miami should have taken a chance on him, even if he had to change positions later. One of Miami's greatest success stories is taking Jim Kelly when Joe Ped-terno wanted to make him a linebacker (and entrust him to Sandusky). We need to get back to THAT Miami, and stop trusting young coaches like Manny to make these decisions IF YOUNG COACHES LIKE MIAMI DON'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD IN THIS REGARD. I am not saying that Alonzo would need to override a coach like JJ, but Miami needs to get back to the way we identified talent in the past.
Many Miami fans are clueless as to what Butch and Pete (yes, Pete Garcia) did to track SoFla talent over multiple years, how they went out and talked to a TON of sources (teachers, peewee coaches, etc.) to learn about each kid's leadership and character. Miami needs to get back to doing this, but maybe with MODERN RESOURCES, and not 5x7 notecards like Butch and Pete used.
And people such as yourself need to stop crapping on Miami fans about "facilities". Yes, we can make fun of waterslides and such, but nobody said we have to have spartan facilities either. First, the expenditure of money is no guarantee of developmental success. Look at the NFL draft, there are plenty of kids from smaller schools, which speaks to characteristics such as heart and motivation. Miami can chart a "middle course", especially since we are not in some rural college town, but a beautiful metropolitan city near the ocean. Miami should spend the money on workout and nutrition facilities, and save the "waterslide money".
I understand what Miami's challenges are. We face an uphill battle with some recruits because (shockingly) Miami isn't as flashy as other schools. So if we lose some recruits because they want waterslides, so be it. But that is NOT the same as saying "Miami is cheap, Miami won't spend money". We just need to go for SUBSTANCE over flash. And when it comes to coaches, if there is some coach who is hesitant to come to Miami because he wants a guarantee that his butt will be kissed, then we need to move on. We need to find coaches who WANT to be a part of a great (past, I realize) tradition, where they embrace Miami AS IT HAS BEEN, and make their own current and modern adjustments and improvements.
Nobody is saying "let's live 100% in the past". What we ARE saying is to take the best of what has worked in the past, embrace it as our culture and our bedrock, and then to move forward with the adjustments necessitated by things such as modern talent scouting, modern recruiting methods, modern fitness/nutrition advancements, and modern offensive/defensive schemes.
And, I'm sorry, but this is NOT all about Alonzo Highsmith. This is about ALPHA Alonzo. This is about any UM great who knows what it takes to succeed, has actually done so, and is willing to devote part of his career to his alma mater. I realize that some people are still mad at Randy, but they need to move on. I'm sure that some people crapped on Butch because "he used to work for JJ", and some people continue to crap on Butch for leaving UM for Cleveland.
But since Butch, we have not had a coach who successfully embraced UM and its history and culture, while still bringing innovation to the job. Yes, some of the things that Butch did (creativity with scholarships) would NOT work today, but he still had an eye for talent that was nearly unrivaled (along with the lesser known scouting that he did).
As a result, we have a ton of Miami fans who have (until about a month ago) crapped on every mention of Mario Cristobal, even while they advocate hiring "damaged goods" such as Chip Kelly, Mike Leach, or anyone from the Briles family. We have a ton of Miami fans who crap on every mention of Butch Davis, even while they advocate hiring every retread coach in the country. We have a ton of Miami fans who crap on the suggestion of Ken Dorsey as an OC, even while they tout dozens of names of assistants who have never had playcalling responsibilties.
So, yeah, I'm going to roll with the "Hire Alpha Highsmith" crowd. I went to school with him, I know he doesn't take crap from anyone, he is smart, he is talented, and he BURNS to win. That is, already, far more than you can say about Beta Blake.
I don't want to hear about "org chart" or let coaches get into their feelings. Miami needs a big change to bring back the core of our old culture. We need a lot more than a new OC.
Maybe Alpha Alonzo will be our savior, maybe he won't, but I'm willing to take a chance on being innovative with our org chart and bringing in a guy from our brightest of glory days (no matter how many guys got drafted in the early 2000s, Alonzo was a part of the FOUNDATION).
What I am NOT willing to put up with is Beta Blake and Manny ******* Diaz ****-blocking this move because they are protecting their egos and jobs. Maybe Manny can turn things around, his way, and on his own, but he is focusing ON HIMSELF. Manny and Beta Blake refuse to see that this is a 15-year disaster that pre-dates both of them. And is bigger than both of them.
Time to make a change. Time to hire Alpha Alonzo. Maybe the move fails, but it is a chance worth taking and I am tired of waiting for "three or four years" with every new coach.
Why do other schools find coaches who can turn things around in one year? Why do other schools find players who can become freshman All-Americans? I am tired of everyone else succeeding while our string of sub-par Athletic Directors (and, yes, our problematic Board of Trustees and our spineless current president) sit around fighting OVER THE ORG CHART while we continue to get farther and farther away from our most recent national championship years.
Hire Alpha Alonzo now, Beta Blake, or lose the HC contributions, lose the ticket sales, and lose your job.
