New Miami Coach??

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I don't think anyone can keep them under control!!!

[huskerhaze]

They Hire from within!!??!!

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2690489

 

Miami didn't look far for a coach to rebuild its struggling football program. Randy Shannon, the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator the last six seasons, has agreed to a four-year contract to become the school's new head coach, a source close to Shannon said Thursday night.

 

The source said Shannon was offered the job on Thursday and accepted later in the day. Financial terms weren't immediately known, but Shannon's annual salary is believed to be more than $1 million per season.

 

A Miami official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also confirmed the hiring.

 

Shannon, a popular former player and longtime assistant, becomes only the sixth African-American coach in Division I-A football.

 

"It's the guy that I wanted. It's the guy a lot of us wanted," Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman told The Associated Press. "Randy's been extremely sincere to this football program. He's been sincere about his feelings toward everyone on this team and the direction he wants this program to go. This is definitely the decision I wanted."

 

Shannon replaces Larry Coker, who was fired Nov. 24, the day after the Hurricanes upset Boston College 17-14 to salvage a 6-6 season.

 

Coker had a 59-15 record in six seasons at Miami and won the national championship in his first season in 2001. Miami lost to Ohio State 31-24 in double overtime in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, which cost the Hurricanes a second straight national championship.

 

Shannon, who has been Miami's defensive coordinator since 2001, is considered a safe hire for the financially strapped athletics department. A native of Miami, Shannon was a linebacker on the Hurricanes' 1987 national championship team and has been a longtime assistant at the school.

 

Shannon, 40, began working at Miami as a graduate assistant in 1991 and left to work for the Miami Dolphins from 1998 to 2000. He returned to his alma mater to join Coker's staff in 2001.

 

Shannon has long been regarded one of the country's top defensive coordinators and is well-liked by players. The Hurricanes ranked fifth in Division I-A in total defense this season, allowing 252.1 yards per game, and was third in rushing defense, surrendering only 66 yards per game.

 

Shannon was considered a viable candidate to replace his former boss from the beginning of the search. The Hurricanes targeted Rutgers coach Greg Schiano as their top choice, but the former Miami defensive coordinator told athletic director Paul Dee on Monday that he wasn't interested in the job.

 

It is believed the Hurricanes also talked with Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who expressed interest in the job, and requested permission to interview West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who is in contract negotiations to become Alabama's new coach.

 

Shannon had lenghty interviews with Miami president Donna Shalala throughout the day Thursday, and she and Miami board of trustee members agreed Shannon was their choice. Shannon met with Dee and Shalala in New York on Tuesday.

 

The school is expected to announce Shannon's hiring at a press conference Friday morning.

 

"Randy is the future of our football team now," Freeman told the AP. "And we're going to have some bright, bright success. I'm excited. I'm really excited."

 

Mark Schlabach covers college football and men's college basketball for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

"Randy is the future of our football team now," Freeman told the AP. "And we're going to have some bright, bright success. I'm excited. I'm really excited."

So they honestly think he's going to be able to clean the program up?

[chamrocck]

This is a strange hire. I thought certainly they would hire a new head coach from the outside as a gesture that they are going to get the program back on track and clean it up. Georgia's Richt started to surface and that could have been a good hire. Even Leach would be very interesting because of the sheer offense he would put up with Miami. They could have hired Richt or Leach and still kept this D-coordinator on staff. Dunno...just feel like they needed someone completely new...hiring a guy who was already on the staff tells me they likely didn't have many takers for the job.

 

Edit: Trying to look at items on Shannon. Appears Texas was ready to make him their new D-coordinator if he did not land the Miami head coach position. Sounded as if someone else was brought in as head coach, Shannon would leave knowing he had Texas in back pocket. This sort of sounds like Bo Pelini episode but with a different outcome...D-coordinator says either hire me as head coach or I walk...well this guy got the job and we all know what happened to Bo...