The great debate right now amongst fellow Canes fans is, inarguably, whether Mario or Lane should be the next coach of our beloved Hurricanes. I have witnessed great cases/arguments made in support of each candidate’s bid for the gig.
It basically boils down to (3) main points of contention; 1). Tenure/“program building”. How long will each coach stay? 2). Recruiting. Who’s the better recruiter? Who can stack the type of talent needed to take the next step? And 3). Coaching. Quite simply, who’s the better game day, X’s and O’s guy? When listening to the arguments either way, I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone is basically correct? The main thing causing the rift amongst us is “timing”. Both of these coaches will, I believe, do very well at Miami, but at different times.
To the first point, tenure/program building, the general consensus has been that Mario would have a longer tenure here, thereby providing stability and build up the program via recruiting and the like. Conversely, the general consensus has been that Kiffin is more of a journeyman and will only stay a few years before he’s off to the NFL. Ok. Here’s the complexity regarding this particular point. 1). Will Mario feel comfortable leaving his kids and what he’s built at Oregon before his vision has reached fruition? Will Mario feel comfortable prematurely leaving a program that has seemingly given him everything he’s needed to compete? It’s both a question of loyalty and accomplishment of personal and professional goals. Conversely, there’s no complexity when it comes to Kiffin. He will probably be at Miami for a maximum (4) years and bounce for a better opportunity. But that would almost certainly mean that he’s had success at Miami. Kiffin is eager to return to south Florida and take a very sharp weapon to the collective throat of cfb. His mind is clear and there’s no vacillation of any sort.
To the second point, recruiting. Again, the general consensus is that Mario is the better recruiter. I think the fan base is correct on this point also (although Kiffin isn’t exactly a slouch in this department). I, too, believe Mario will get better players (and more of them) to commit to the Canes. But I, and many others here, also subscribe to the fact that winning is actually the BEST recruiter and point of recruiting has a natural correlation to point (3)-coaching. Again, comes down to timing. Who’s the better game day coach? General consensus? Lane is definitely a better tactician on the sideline. Some believe Mario does less with more (out recruited his competitors, yet struggles with inferior competition) and Kiffin has proven that he can do more with less (see last nights results in relation to this season). So what does all of this have to do with timing? Most of you guys are super smart and already see where I’m going with this- BOTH coaches need to be hired to coach here…but at different times.
Lane needs to be our next coach. Period. Why? Because of point 1). Tenure. While Mario will stay and build up the program, he is not a game day savant and will need exceptional talent to bridge the gap in coaching acumen. He will need time…and WILL drop games early on that he should win. We are an impatient bunch and simply are out of patience after what we’ve endured over the last 15 years or so. As soon as he loses to one of the Tobacco Road teams, the “mopes v. Slurpers” schism is instantly reconstituted and it’s on and poppin’, lol. “Mario’s a corch!” and we are, once again, cobbling together funds to fly banners. Bad timing. But Lane will win RIGHT AWAY. We will NOT drop games to lesser comp and by year 3, I solidly believe we will be a lethal, legit team and in the playoffs. We return to the top and recruiting takes off…but so does kiffin- but only after we have #6 in the trophy case. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Northwest, Mario has honored his commitment to both himself, and the Oregon program. After continuing to cut his teeth on the PAC 12, he has since become a better game day coach, and has come to the realization that he simply can’t win it all at Oregon. He is watching what Lane is doing at Miami. Lane leaves for the NFL and Mario, without any consternation or regret, finally comes home to a program abuzz AND a stacked roster. This will enable Mario/Miami to maintain success and respectability (i.e. not dropping games to any sh1tty ACC teams not named Clemson) while he continues to grow as a coach and stack talent on his way to building another Canes dynasty. He doesn’t instantly have this insane pressure to win big right away because we, as a fan base, will be still be somewhat satiated by just having won it all couple of years earlier and thus, we don’t “eat our own”. Mario is able to ease into the job and the energy of the program is just…right.
Timing is, indeed everything. Lane first. Mario second. We all win.
