Miami’s search for their next head coach is officially underway. First off, Miami has no monetary obligation to Mark Richt; he did things the right way and completely cut ties with zero severance payments requested. Therefore, I’m told there is more money available to bring in what Blake James said is “the best guy for the job”. A good source tells me that Mario Cristobal has already confirmed his interest in the job with Miami. Another source tells me Manny Diaz reached out this morning just after the news broke to let UM brass know he was interested in the opening. A source inside Hecht tells me there is a segment of the athletic department that is pushing for Diaz and he has at least some internal support.
Blake James did not have a lot for us at the presser and I don’t think he was playing coy. He seemed really blindsided by Richt’s decision this morning and last night the mutual understanding between the two was that changes were necessary on offense, that was it. Richt made this decision late last night/early this morning. As such, a lot more will become clear in the coming days as things develop, and I’ve been told Miami wants this to be a quick search to hit the ground running for the last month of recruiting.
