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Howard Schnellenberger: 'Mark Richt has a better chance than I had. **** yes'
Howard Schnellenberger: 'Mark Richt has a better chance than I had. **** yes'
Posted by: Chris Vannini on Tuesday May 03, 2016
Will Mark Richt be successful at Miami? The program’s modern-era founder sure thinks so.
Howard Schnellenberger went 36-10 in his final four seasons at The U with their first national title, and the program rose even higher when he left, into the glory days of the '80s. Schnellenberger took over a down program and turned it into a winner. While on CaneSport Live last month, he said Richt will do the same.
“He’s got a better chance than I had, a better chance than Jimmy Johnson had. **** yes,” Schnellenberger said.
There’s obviously no shortage of regional talent, but the Canes haven’t won 10 games since 2003. Richt won at least 10 games nine times in 15 years at Georgia.
NCAA investigations were clouds over the program for years, but that’s gone. The facilities are better, but Richt has said an indoor facility is the most important thing the program needs. Schnellenberger says Miami will have one within five years, and they’d better, because even FAU is building one.
He says it won’t take long for Miami to flip the switch to get rolling.
“It doesn’t take long for kids in south Florida, the State of Miami, to be told by their coaches, their aunts and uncles and grandfathers about what the University of Miami was like,” Schnellenberger said. “When that thing gets started, and you have a guy with the success Mark has had, he’s going to be the music man. He’s going to be the leader of the band. I saw what I saw in the stadium (at the spring game). The fans have already accepted him.”
Richt will reportedly earn around $4 million annually. It was a big investment by the administration, but Schnellenberger said Richt’s return to Miami was divine intervention.
“They didn’t bring him in. God did. This was a marriage made in heaven,” he said. “You can see that from the very beginning. There wasn’t any question in his mind. There wasn’t any second-guessing by the university. They looked at each other, fell in love, they got married. It was perfect. They’re off their honeymoon now, back at work.”
