The realization always comes hard. As much as a fan may love the University of Miami, the college coaches of America are not all applying for the job.
Shocking, right? By now, you might think that Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Memphis’ Justin Fuente and Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze would be taking Ibis to dinner. But UM is not quite UM anymore, and the job doesn’t pay that well, and expectations are through the roof.
So where should the Hurricanes turn?
There are the usual suspects, of course, such as 63-year-old former coach Butch Davis, former assistant (and Bucs coach) Greg Schiano, and former player Rob Chudzinski (now an assistant with the Colts). But are any of these the right man to lead the Hurricanes into the future?
Rich Rodriguez of Arizona also came up quickly in conversation, but it’s a question of whether he would relocate from a school where he is 31-17 in three seasons.
One name that is sure to be interesting is Mario Cristobal, the former UM player and FIU coach who was the national recruiter this year at Alabama. Cristobal seems like an intriguing choice, because he certainly knows the area, and he’s a link to the glory days of Miami.
Whoever the new coach is, he’ll face a challenge from fans who expect the team to return to its glory days.
Quickly.
