After being dessemated with sanctions. After that second loss in 2000, I believe that team was better than 2001. That's coaching.
I knew someone would suggest that.
My comment was specific to Butch's first 7 games.
Let me help you out with time frames and the sequence of events:
During the summer of 1993, Tony Russell was arrested for the illegal Pell Grant distributions.
NCAA starts their investigation immediately after.
December 1, 1995-
after the 1995 season- the sanctions were announced.
The only impact on that team was that they were banned from post-season that year.
So no, they were not "dessemated by sanctions" in Butches first year.
You're 100% wrong.
The entire Miami athletic program knew they were going to get hammered with sanctions in '94. Miami therefore voluntarily surrendered 7 scholarships for the '95 season before official sanctions hit. So yes, Miami was dealing with scholarship restrictions in Butch's first year.
And the sanctions weren't the only reason why Erickson jumped ship to the Hawks. The other was Erickson knew with the '94 seniors graduating, Sapp going pro, and his lack of recruiting, the team was going to take a serious talent hit in talent. To this day, many Hurricane fans don't realize how poor of a recruiter Erickson was and how much he benefited from inheriting JJ's recruits. Erickson's last two recruiting classes were just abysmal. And his '93 class (considered to be his best) turned out to be overrated. Erickson alienating a good portion of South Florida HS didn't end up paying dividends for the program as many Miami HS studs went on to star at other programs, especially FSU during their glory years.
And no, Davis didn't inherit a top 10 roster in '95. Far from it. The team had 5 seniors. The DT postion in '95 was atrocious and much worse than what the Canes have today. The '95 team was weak at CB and OL. Collins and Clement weren't NFL caliber QBs. The team had poor depth with major drop off in talent after the 1st string
Even if Miami had never been put on probation, Miami was heading toward a downward spiral due to a lack of talent. If Dennis coached the team in '95, they still would have been reamed by FSU and UCLA. And Erickson knew it.