I love how people reach for outliers and think it's some kind of valid argument. Yes, TCU had a magical season, but look what happened when all their seniors left, they reverted right back to mediocrity, because they can't successfully reload high end talent. Michigan doesn't recruit as well as Alabama or Georgia and due to how top heavy the B1G is, they don't have to, they tower over the rest of that conference talent wise(Outside of Ohio State), because most of their peeer schools recruit like trash. It also helps to have a guy that was inches away from a Super Bowl leading your program. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if Michigan took a step back this fall, because they are going to lose a fair amount of experienced talent. What happens when Michigan loses Harbaugh and a less talented coach takes over, with the talent on the roster? Exactly.
The whole Mario experiment is about SUSTAINABILITY. If we want an elite program that lasts, and isn't a "One Year Wonder", Miami will have to stack classes, develop that high end incoming talent along with hitting the portal for needs as they arise. That's pretty much the only proven way to do this thing. Look at Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, etc. Guess what those programs do year in and year out? They recruit, and outside of Texas, they have been in the hunt for years on end. Yes, you do need quality coaching, and that's something that can be corrected by building a strong staff. That's on your program CEO, and to be honest, Mario has had a mixed bag in regards to hiring. He's had some terrible ones(Gattis), some meh(Dawson) and a some strong ones(Guidry). The question is whether he can find the combo that works, and whether he can build a system that limits his shortcomings(Game management). If Miami is beating teams by a score regularly and not in dogfights against weaker teams, it won't matter if Mario botches a TO or gets flustered and doesn't call victory formation. Keep in mind, Jim Harbaugh, a **** good coach has just as many titles as Gene Chizik and Ed Orgeron. It's a lot easier to be the last team standing if you stack high end talent, compared to hoping you hit on an elite coach.