forums

What went wrong

View as article
Hey WeBallinBoys, I have been a UM supporter and ticket holder since 1983 and I despise Penn State and love my Canes probably way more than you. I have have donated money to both BB and football programs. Take your remarks and shove it. The fact is Mario ruined everything and that is not debatable . The attendance sucked, the players gave up BECAUSE OF HIM, we had a multitude of injuries as a direct result of his practices, his coaching on the sidelines was below HS standards, he hired the wrong coaches, and his stubborn behavior cost us dearly. Now it's up to him to change his way of thinking FAST. If I was a recruit and watching what transpired this year the U is the last place I would go to. That is a fair assessment and I won't sugar coat the present situation that MARIO CREATED.
 
Advertisement
DMoney said:
No discipline- When Mario replaced Manny, we heard a lot about how Manny didn’t hold his players accountable. If anything changed, it hasn’t shown up on film yet. Miami was 108th in penalties per game and 123rd in giveaways. The film needs to start matching the talk.
Click to expand...
Penalties aside, the most glaring lack of discipline was James Williams's continued dirty play without consequences. He consistently made late hits, pushed opposing players late out of bounds, antagonized players pushing them after a play was over, talked trash non-stop even when we were losing big and behavior that could - and often did - deservedly draw unsportsmen like penalties.

Mario went off on an offensive player early in the year (I forget who it was) for celebrating a big play, but he consistently let 0 get away with crap all year.
 
CaneQueTiger said:
Great points @DMoney, but I'm inclined to believe that Mario will keep Gattis on next year, and just try to surround TVD with more talent. As a fan, I'm disgusted with the result of this year, but if we are being rational, Gattis didn't have much to work with. We were playing with the 3rd string QB and 3rd string lineman at times. I'm not sure what OC could make that work. To be without Zion, Chaney, Citizen, Arroyo, Restrepo, and Rivers for extended periods is crazy, and there is a clear drop-off in talent even when going to the two-deep. At this point we have to trust Mario. I'm all for burning it down, and building it back up.
Click to expand...
If he keeps gattis another year he will never be successful at miami. He will be more hated than manny or golden when his time is over.
 
Advertisement
OrangeBowlMagic said:
The blueprint was always to recruit so well that you have to try to lose.

That takes time. Let the man do what he does best.

In the meantime, the hope here is that he surrounds himself with folks who do give a schematic advantage. Mario doesn't call the plays. He doesn't design the offense. He doesn't coach the skill players. He hired a man to do that for him who makes $2M a year, and he wound up with a lemon. It happens. But it needs to be fixed, and right now.

As the head coach, and with what his key skillset it, he has to upgrade the talent, first and foremost. We need Top 10 classes (yes, classes, multiple), and we need to hit the portal HARD. I have full faith that will happen. And then he needs to evaluate and improve his staff. We know Mirabal is here long-term. But we need to hire an OC/QB coach, and we need to hire a WR coach. Right now. And the hope is those guys give us either a schematic advantage, or at worst a stalemate with the opponent, and the talent wins out.

Jimmy's and Joe's will ALWAYS >>>>>> X's and O's long-term in college football. But the X's and O's are certainly important as well, and even more so when your Jimmy's and Joe's aren't yet significantly better than the other guys'. I firmly believe those will be better than the other guys' in the next couple years. So go find an innovative coach who doesn't set your talent backwards. Recruit, recruit, recruit. There's a reason that Alabama and Ohio State and Georgia win year after year, and it's not because they have vastly superior coaching. They have a 2 and sometimes 3-deep of absolute bullies who are programmed to whip your ***. That *can* finally happen here with the coach we have and the infrastructure finally in place that we have been begging for year after year for going on 2 decades. But the new car smell vanishes quickly. He has to find an upgraded offensive coaching staff, in the least, and we need to see some progress next year or he's going to start to struggle on the trail too, and we go right back into the cycle of not having a coaching advantage, meaning we lose, meaning we don't recruit, meaning we can't win, meaning we can't recruit, meaning we can't win, wash...rinse...repeat.

Fire Gattis today. Period. And go find someone who can give you an advantage. Mario isn't the OC. This isn't "his offense". Yes, he wants to instill physicality and a dominant offensive line. But so does his mentor, Nick Saban, and yet he still finds a way to score points. Mario wants to be very physical and beat you in the trenches, but that doesn't mean he wants to run the ball into the A gap 40 times a game. Give a creative OC the talent up front, and let him use it.
Click to expand...
Shark Tank Laugh GIF by ABC Network
 
Advertisement
Again agree with nearly everything you wrote. Especially the point on giving players a reason to buy in. That's mostly on Gattis, IMHO. But the Steele/Addae situation needs to be addressed, as well.

I think the injury issue is a product of weak and sloppy player development prior to Mario's arrival combined with moving from bottom quartile to top 10% physicality during practices.

I don't think we need to fundamentally change anything, though I do agree they need to look tactically at changes they can make to reduce the pounding and potential chronic or acute injury risks.
 
Advertisement
nickster said:
Hey WeBallinBoys, I have been a UM supporter and ticket holder since 1983 and I despise Penn State and love my Canes probably way more than you. I have have donated money to both BB and football programs. Take your remarks and shove it. The fact is Mario ruined everything and that is not debatable . The attendance sucked, the players gave up BECAUSE OF HIM, we had a multitude of injuries as a direct result of his practices, his coaching on the sidelines was below HS standards, he hired the wrong coaches, and his stubborn behavior cost us dearly. Now it's up to him to change his way of thinking FAST. If I was a recruit and watching what transpired this year the U is the last place I would go to. That is a fair assessment and I won't sugar coat the present situation that MARIO CREATED.
Click to expand...
Was a good laugh thanks
 
DMoney said:
This was the worst season ever. That’s true both in a vacuum and in context. We spent Alabama money for FIU results. Every week was worse than the last. We’ve hit more rock bottoms than The Rock at Wrestlemania 19. It’s a relief to be done with the season, and that’s a strange feeling.

What went wrong?

The offense- No need to bury the lede. Josh Gattis was a catastrophic hire. We went from scoring 31 ppg to scoring 19 ppg. We were 113th in the nation with an NFL-caliber QB and a veteran offensive line. We were pass-happy (100th in rush play percentage) with no explosive passing (95th in yards per pass) and no ability to protect the passer (114th in sacks per game). Everything sucked.

I wasn’t too surprised we were boring. Anybody who listened to the podcast knew this offense struggled to make explosive plays throughout camp. But the total collapse of our quarterbacks was shocking to me and set the tone for this disastrous season.

I spoke with an FBS defensive coach who told me that our offense has no identity. We just run plays. Everything looked hard and everything was a struggle. Last year, there were numerous layups every game, both because of pace and scheme. We didn’t waste the entire clock trying to make the perfect playcall against the defense. The story of this season was congestion.

An offense this bad doesn’t just hurt your ability to score points. It also poisons the morale of the team. Which leads to point two:

Morale- The team and the staff were miserable all year. Anybody who watched the sidelines could see that. Mario sets an incredibly demanding tone with his work ethic. But if you’re a player, how do you buy into a hellacious process when the coaches can’t put you in position to succeed? On top of that, Mario consistently buried the talent while treating Gattis with kid gloves. I understand why he had to do that as a professional, but it would infuriate me as a player.

Some kids are just lost causes. That’s normal for any coaching transition. Some kids, like Restrepo, will go balls-to-the-wall for anybody. It’s the kids in the middle that matter. They will buy in if you give them a reason. Mario gave them nothing.

Staff cohesion- These are the two most glaring stats of the season for me- we ranked 8th nationally in sacks per game and 117th in the nation in pass efficiency defense. It’s almost impossible to be that bad against the pass with an elite front four pass rush. And it’s not like we lacked talent. The secondary was filled with experienced blue-chippers, several of whom will get looks on Sundays.

The lesson? Hiring all-star coaches does not guarantee an all-star staff. Kevin Steele had killer defenses at Auburn. Addae had elite secondaries at WVU and Georgia. But they could not get on the same page. Every game had multiple coverage busts that cost us games.

This board killed Banda and Rumph because of their resumes. But they were on the same page with the defensive coordinator. The result was consistently good pass defense and players getting better. Look at our pass efficiency defense ranks during the Rumph/Banda/Manny as DC years:

2016- 12th

2017- 20th

2018- 4th

We dropped to the 30s when Baker replaced Manny, dropped to 42nd with TRob and totally bottomed out with Addae. The lesson is that we need to prioritize chemistry and cohesion with the next staff, on both sides of the ball.

Injuries- If Mario is assessing every aspect of the program, he needs to start with our very expensive sports science program. This is more than just bad luck. We lost Arroyo, Zion, Citizen, Chaney, Justice, Denis and Chase Smith for the year along with TVD, Restrepo and Jalen Rivers for extended stretches. Everybody who visited Greentree noticed the extreme physicality of the practices. That style can be risky. We ended up with the worst of both of worlds- a beat-up team that wasn’t tough. Injuries were a problem with Cristobal at Oregon and the issue has continued at Miami.

Talent deterioration- There was a significant talent drop-off after the early 2000s. But even through the Shannon and Golden eras, Miami continued to produce NFL players at a Top 5-10 rate. That fell of completely with Richt and Diaz. We’re down to 11 total NFL players, tied for 21st with Tennessee, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. Three transition classes in seven years along with disappointing classes in 2018 and 2020 put us in a hole.

Misses in the transfer portal- While Mario spent three months building a staff, we were falling behind at key positions in the Portal. Tyler Steen (Miami native) ended up as the starting LT for Alabama. Juice Wells, a stud WR from James Madison, went to South Carolina. We struck out at corner and linebacker. Mario said he regretted not taking more players from the Portal. The effects were felt on the field.

No discipline- When Mario replaced Manny, we heard a lot about how Manny didn’t hold his players accountable. If anything changed, it hasn’t shown up on film yet. Miami was 108th in penalties per game and 123rd in giveaways. The film needs to start matching the talk.

Put it all together, and you have the worst team our lives. What’s next? You can find that thread here. But for now, let’s hope Mario remembers the lessons of this season while the rest of us try to forget it.
Click to expand...
Those passing stats from the last staff are eye opening because it did not feel like we had that rank when watching.
 
Advertisement
DMoney said:
Three transition classes in seven years along with disappointing classes in 2018 and 2020 put us in a hole.
Click to expand...
Good post @DMoney, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
As expected, different things in the post resonate with different people. But when I read this ☝️ , whoa, that really stood out to me.

I guess I never really thought about this in those terms tbh. Transition classes are new coaches trying to salvage the existing class and flip recruits, while also trying to hire a staff and get acclimated. (Now you add NIL and transfer portal activity.) Not an easy task at all.

But to have 3 of our last 7 recruiting classes be transition classes? It's no wonder the talent level isn't anywhere close to where it needs to be to have a successful program. That ABSOLUTELY matters.

Hoping Mario can find success soon so we can have some longevity and consistency in our coaching staff. If anyone can start stacking consecutive top 10 classes, it's Mario.


GO CANES!!
 
DMoney said:
This was the worst season ever. That’s true both in a vacuum and in context. We spent Alabama money for FIU results. Every week was worse than the last. We’ve hit more rock bottoms than The Rock at Wrestlemania 19. It’s a relief to be done with the season, and that’s a strange feeling.

What went wrong?

The offense- No need to bury the lede. Josh Gattis was a catastrophic hire. We went from scoring 31 ppg to scoring 19 ppg. We were 113th in the nation with an NFL-caliber QB and a veteran offensive line. We were pass-happy (100th in rush play percentage) with no explosive passing (95th in yards per pass) and no ability to protect the passer (114th in sacks per game). Everything sucked.

I wasn’t too surprised we were boring. Anybody who listened to the podcast knew this offense struggled to make explosive plays throughout camp. But the total collapse of our quarterbacks was shocking to me and set the tone for this disastrous season.

I spoke with an FBS defensive coach who told me that our offense has no identity. We just run plays. Everything looked hard and everything was a struggle. Last year, there were numerous layups every game, both because of pace and scheme. We didn’t waste the entire clock trying to make the perfect playcall against the defense. The story of this season was congestion.

An offense this bad doesn’t just hurt your ability to score points. It also poisons the morale of the team. Which leads to point two:

Morale- The team and the staff were miserable all year. Anybody who watched the sidelines could see that. Mario sets an incredibly demanding tone with his work ethic. But if you’re a player, how do you buy into a hellacious process when the coaches can’t put you in position to succeed? On top of that, Mario consistently buried the talent while treating Gattis with kid gloves. I understand why he had to do that as a professional, but it would infuriate me as a player.

Some kids are just lost causes. That’s normal for any coaching transition. Some kids, like Restrepo, will go balls-to-the-wall for anybody. It’s the kids in the middle that matter. They will buy in if you give them a reason. Mario gave them nothing.

Staff cohesion- These are the two most glaring stats of the season for me- we ranked 8th nationally in sacks per game and 117th in the nation in pass efficiency defense. It’s almost impossible to be that bad against the pass with an elite front four pass rush. And it’s not like we lacked talent. The secondary was filled with experienced blue-chippers, several of whom will get looks on Sundays.

The lesson? Hiring all-star coaches does not guarantee an all-star staff. Kevin Steele had killer defenses at Auburn. Addae had elite secondaries at WVU and Georgia. But they could not get on the same page. Every game had multiple coverage busts that cost us games.

This board killed Banda and Rumph because of their resumes. But they were on the same page with the defensive coordinator. The result was consistently good pass defense and players getting better. Look at our pass efficiency defense ranks during the Rumph/Banda/Manny as DC years:

2016- 12th

2017- 20th

2018- 4th

We dropped to the 30s when Baker replaced Manny, dropped to 42nd with TRob and totally bottomed out with Addae. The lesson is that we need to prioritize chemistry and cohesion with the next staff, on both sides of the ball.

Injuries- If Mario is assessing every aspect of the program, he needs to start with our very expensive sports science program. This is more than just bad luck. We lost Arroyo, Zion, Citizen, Chaney, Justice, Denis and Chase Smith for the year along with TVD, Restrepo and Jalen Rivers for extended stretches. Everybody who visited Greentree noticed the extreme physicality of the practices. That style can be risky. We ended up with the worst of both of worlds- a beat-up team that wasn’t tough. Injuries were a problem with Cristobal at Oregon and the issue has continued at Miami.

Talent deterioration- There was a significant talent drop-off after the early 2000s. But even through the Shannon and Golden eras, Miami continued to produce NFL players at a Top 5-10 rate. That fell of completely with Richt and Diaz. We’re down to 11 total NFL players, tied for 21st with Tennessee, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. Three transition classes in seven years along with disappointing classes in 2018 and 2020 put us in a hole.

Misses in the transfer portal- While Mario spent three months building a staff, we were falling behind at key positions in the Portal. Tyler Steen (Miami native) ended up as the starting LT for Alabama. Juice Wells, a stud WR from James Madison, went to South Carolina. We struck out at corner and linebacker. Mario said he regretted not taking more players from the Portal. The effects were felt on the field.

No discipline- When Mario replaced Manny, we heard a lot about how Manny didn’t hold his players accountable. If anything changed, it hasn’t shown up on film yet. Miami was 108th in penalties per game and 123rd in giveaways. The film needs to start matching the talk.

Put it all together, and you have the worst team our lives. What’s next? You can find that thread here. But for now, let’s hope Mario remembers the lessons of this season while the rest of us try to forget it.
Click to expand...

“But if you’re a player, how do you buy into a hellacious process when the coaches can’t put you in position to succeed?”

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

You can type up pages of analysis but bottom line, this is it is right here
 
OrangeBowlMagic said:
The blueprint was always to recruit so well that you have to try to lose.

That takes time. Let the man do what he does best.

In the meantime, the hope here is that he surrounds himself with folks who do give a schematic advantage. Mario doesn't call the plays. He doesn't design the offense. He doesn't coach the skill players. He hired a man to do that for him who makes $2M a year, and he wound up with a lemon. It happens. But it needs to be fixed, and right now.

As the head coach, and with what his key skillset it, he has to upgrade the talent, first and foremost. We need Top 10 classes (yes, classes, multiple), and we need to hit the portal HARD. I have full faith that will happen. And then he needs to evaluate and improve his staff. We know Mirabal is here long-term. But we need to hire an OC/QB coach, and we need to hire a WR coach. Right now. And the hope is those guys give us either a schematic advantage, or at worst a stalemate with the opponent, and the talent wins out.

Jimmy's and Joe's will ALWAYS >>>>>> X's and O's long-term in college football. But the X's and O's are certainly important as well, and even more so when your Jimmy's and Joe's aren't yet significantly better than the other guys'. I firmly believe those will be better than the other guys' in the next couple years. So go find an innovative coach who doesn't set your talent backwards. Recruit, recruit, recruit. There's a reason that Alabama and Ohio State and Georgia win year after year, and it's not because they have vastly superior coaching. They have a 2 and sometimes 3-deep of absolute bullies who are programmed to whip your ***. That *can* finally happen here with the coach we have and the infrastructure finally in place that we have been begging for year after year for going on 2 decades. But the new car smell vanishes quickly. He has to find an upgraded offensive coaching staff, in the least, and we need to see some progress next year or he's going to start to struggle on the trail too, and we go right back into the cycle of not having a coaching advantage, meaning we lose, meaning we don't recruit, meaning we can't win, meaning we can't recruit, meaning we can't win, wash...rinse...repeat.

Fire Gattis today. Period. And go find someone who can give you an advantage. Mario isn't the OC. This isn't "his offense". Yes, he wants to instill physicality and a dominant offensive line. But so does his mentor, Nick Saban, and yet he still finds a way to score points. Mario wants to be very physical and beat you in the trenches, but that doesn't mean he wants to run the ball into the A gap 40 times a game. Give a creative OC the talent up front, and let him use it.
Click to expand...
Excellent post!
 
Has Mario ever fired a coordinator as a hc? I don’t think he did at Oregon. Didn’t follow FIU close enough to remember.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top