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Since all the talk the last couple days has been about Butch and who he might bring back, I thought I might start a thread in which we can post all of our hypotheticals as to what a Butch Davis coaching staff might potentially look like. Here are my thoughts:
Head Coach - Butch Davis
Offensive Coordinator - Ken Dorsey - Much has been made of this potential decision already, but in my opinion Dorsey is one of those football minds that will be calling plays in the NFL in 4-5 years. Dorsey seems to be cut from the same coaching cloth as Major Applewhite or Kliff Kingsbury or even Jason Garrett. The question has been rightfully raised "if he wasn't a Miami great, would we be talking about him?" Honestly, I think I would, and obviously so would Butch. A risk, yes, but I think a calculated one.
Running Backs Coach - Ice Harris OR ???? - I honestly don't know enough about Butch's connections to know which way he'd go here. Ice could conceivably be retained (I think our RBs have played well in pass protection and ball security) or he may go another direction. Soldinger is already in his 70s so I doubt that's an option. Ken Browning was his RB coach at UNC but he's survived 18 years and multiple coaching changes there so I don't think he's leaving.
Tight Ends Coach - Larry Scott - I think Scott could and should be retained on Butch's staff, not just for the fact that he guided the team through the last of the Golden Debacle, but he's a darn good coach and a **** fine recruiter to boot.
Wide Receivers Coach - Kevin Beard - Similar to Scott, I'd like to see Beard stick around. Obviously Beard and Butch have a playing history together, but mainly Beard has simply been a good addition to the coaching staff and I hope he stays on.
Offensive Line Coach/Associate HC - Mario Cristobal OR Sam Pittman - This is where it gets interesting. I could see Mario joining Butch's staff with an eye towards the dreaded "Head Coach In Waiting" tag. Not my first choice, but I could see it happening if Butch pitches it. If it doesn't, I like Pittman a lot who was on Butch's staff at UNC and is now at Arkansas. He's got a better track record of producing OL than Mario (who doesn't?) and he's no slouch on the recruiting trail either.
Defensive Coordinator - Jim Leavitt/Greg Schiano/Charlie Strong - For me, this is the position that gets the real money. The elephant in the room for Miami the last five years has been the defense, and I would bet Butch is pitching hard to former head coaches to come rebuild their resume at Miami. Leavitt has always been a personal favorite of mine. He's back coaching now at Colorado so he's at least "hireable" if the admin can look beyond his past. Schiano literally has nothing better to do right now. Strong is my shot-in-the-dark dark horse (not racist.) Depending on just how badly he flames out at Texas, DC may be his only job option for the next couple of years. Either way, if the price is right, I think we snag a "name" hire at this position. BTW - if Strong does get hired, that pretty much rules out Mario as HCIW, in my opinion. That moniker would be Strong's.
Defensive Line Coach - Brick Haley - This hire depends largely on who gets the DC job, IMO. It's certainly not going to John Blake... If Butch can lure Strong from Texas, I could see Brick Haley coming with him. SEC guy who put a lot of guys into the league at L$U.
Linebackers Coach - Tommy Thigpen/Vernon Hargreaves - Thigpen worked with Butch at UNC and is now at Tennessee. Hargreaves again has a history with Butch here and took over for Shannon at Arkansas when Randy left for UF. Both would be great hires from SEC country. I like Thigpen a lot - he was at Auburn under Chizik after Butch left UNC coaching linebackers and safeties (linebackers alone in 2012.) I bring up Thigpen's secondary coaching experience because...
Defensive Backs Coach - Ed Reed - Again, I know people will shout "Reunion" and "this isn't 2001" and "how do we know he can coach??" For one, I think Butch gives serious consideration to Reed on gravitas alone. It's Ed freaking Reed. More importantly though, Reed is the "defensive Dorsey", in my opinion. The dude just knows every nuance of how to play defensive back. Get another coach on staff who's had experience as a secondary coach (like Thigpen for example) and I think Reed would be a great choice in this instance.
So there you have it. Does this staff have holes? You bet - every staff does. Will our actual coaching staff look anything like this next year? Probably not, but I had some time to kill so if you don't like it you can ***** off. Or better yet, please feel free to add your own comments and suggestions to this thread!
Head Coach - Butch Davis
Offensive Coordinator - Ken Dorsey - Much has been made of this potential decision already, but in my opinion Dorsey is one of those football minds that will be calling plays in the NFL in 4-5 years. Dorsey seems to be cut from the same coaching cloth as Major Applewhite or Kliff Kingsbury or even Jason Garrett. The question has been rightfully raised "if he wasn't a Miami great, would we be talking about him?" Honestly, I think I would, and obviously so would Butch. A risk, yes, but I think a calculated one.
Running Backs Coach - Ice Harris OR ???? - I honestly don't know enough about Butch's connections to know which way he'd go here. Ice could conceivably be retained (I think our RBs have played well in pass protection and ball security) or he may go another direction. Soldinger is already in his 70s so I doubt that's an option. Ken Browning was his RB coach at UNC but he's survived 18 years and multiple coaching changes there so I don't think he's leaving.
Tight Ends Coach - Larry Scott - I think Scott could and should be retained on Butch's staff, not just for the fact that he guided the team through the last of the Golden Debacle, but he's a darn good coach and a **** fine recruiter to boot.
Wide Receivers Coach - Kevin Beard - Similar to Scott, I'd like to see Beard stick around. Obviously Beard and Butch have a playing history together, but mainly Beard has simply been a good addition to the coaching staff and I hope he stays on.
Offensive Line Coach/Associate HC - Mario Cristobal OR Sam Pittman - This is where it gets interesting. I could see Mario joining Butch's staff with an eye towards the dreaded "Head Coach In Waiting" tag. Not my first choice, but I could see it happening if Butch pitches it. If it doesn't, I like Pittman a lot who was on Butch's staff at UNC and is now at Arkansas. He's got a better track record of producing OL than Mario (who doesn't?) and he's no slouch on the recruiting trail either.
Defensive Coordinator - Jim Leavitt/Greg Schiano/Charlie Strong - For me, this is the position that gets the real money. The elephant in the room for Miami the last five years has been the defense, and I would bet Butch is pitching hard to former head coaches to come rebuild their resume at Miami. Leavitt has always been a personal favorite of mine. He's back coaching now at Colorado so he's at least "hireable" if the admin can look beyond his past. Schiano literally has nothing better to do right now. Strong is my shot-in-the-dark dark horse (not racist.) Depending on just how badly he flames out at Texas, DC may be his only job option for the next couple of years. Either way, if the price is right, I think we snag a "name" hire at this position. BTW - if Strong does get hired, that pretty much rules out Mario as HCIW, in my opinion. That moniker would be Strong's.
Defensive Line Coach - Brick Haley - This hire depends largely on who gets the DC job, IMO. It's certainly not going to John Blake... If Butch can lure Strong from Texas, I could see Brick Haley coming with him. SEC guy who put a lot of guys into the league at L$U.
Linebackers Coach - Tommy Thigpen/Vernon Hargreaves - Thigpen worked with Butch at UNC and is now at Tennessee. Hargreaves again has a history with Butch here and took over for Shannon at Arkansas when Randy left for UF. Both would be great hires from SEC country. I like Thigpen a lot - he was at Auburn under Chizik after Butch left UNC coaching linebackers and safeties (linebackers alone in 2012.) I bring up Thigpen's secondary coaching experience because...
Defensive Backs Coach - Ed Reed - Again, I know people will shout "Reunion" and "this isn't 2001" and "how do we know he can coach??" For one, I think Butch gives serious consideration to Reed on gravitas alone. It's Ed freaking Reed. More importantly though, Reed is the "defensive Dorsey", in my opinion. The dude just knows every nuance of how to play defensive back. Get another coach on staff who's had experience as a secondary coach (like Thigpen for example) and I think Reed would be a great choice in this instance.
So there you have it. Does this staff have holes? You bet - every staff does. Will our actual coaching staff look anything like this next year? Probably not, but I had some time to kill so if you don't like it you can ***** off. Or better yet, please feel free to add your own comments and suggestions to this thread!
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