Opinion: How Miami Can Be A College Football Giant Again
Winning a college football national title can be quite difficult. Being a college football giant that consistently competes for championships would be an entirely different level for any program to reach.
The Miami Hurricanes were on that level in the 1980s and into the early 1990s, and were a dominant team again during the early 2000s. The result would be the five national championships that represent The U.
While there’s no one specific formula for the Canes to reach the top again, the five following steps provide a blueprint for success. Let’s start the countdown from five to one.
5) The Miami administration must be proactive.
Do not wait. When the football program needs something, make it happen.
Now.
Too many schools possess a divide between the administration and the football program. Quite frankly, Miami is traditionally one of those programs. That does not appear to be the case – or at least not nearly as much as it used to be – between the administration and folks inside the football offices today.
Finding the funds for facilities, salaries, recruiting, travel, etc. This is point blank, Miami’s administration must be willing to spend the money for Miami to win titles.
4) Keep former Canes involved with the football program.
Former Miami players can help to build back the program with their presence and their knowledge. Just like with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson giving props to his alma mater via X on Sep. 18, the former Cane likes to keep up with his old stomping grounds.
Would Johnson do that if Mario Cristobal and the Canes are not consistently vigilant by staying in touch with Johnson?
Look, Miami players are going to like superstars like Johnson showing up to practice, to games, posting about the Hurricanes on social media, and see them discussing the Canes on television as well.
Does not hurt for those famous Hurricanes players to provide some advice directly to the members of the current team either. All of that builds a camaraderie that cannot be put into finite terms. Make no mistake about it, the current players will want to win even more.
There are 85 scholarship players on a college football roster. The more they bleed for the program they represent, the more they respect it now and its history, the more likely those players will excel and build towards greatness.
Miami’s history of former players being around the program is well known. That must continue to maximize the chances of the Canes becoming a truly great program once again.
3) Big-time quarterback play is a must!
Take a look around college football. No matter the offensive system in place, each team that competes for conference supremacy and ultimately a berth within the College Football Playoff possess top-notch quarterback play.
Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke is on fire this season. Coincidence that the Miami offense is currently #15, #13, and #11 in total offense, passing offense, and scoring offense?
Hardly.
As Miami ascends upwards, it must continuously recruit and develop playmakers behind center. There is no shortcut here. See Alabama’s downfall for reference, as the Crimson Tide currently resides at #54 in scoring offense, and is coming off a 10-3 victory versus South Florida. Yes, USF.
Quarterback recruiting is quite subjective. The rankings can be all over the place for how it actually plays out not only in college football but also the NFL Draft and NFL stardom.
That’s why identifying signal callers that fit what Miami’s offense runs, as well as developing quarterbacks, is arguably even more important than recruiting and signing the top prospect on the board. The next two categories dive into this topic and more.
2) Recruiting Elite Talent
Without elite talent – across the roster – no college team can be year-in and year-out title contender. While quarterback is undoubtedly the most important position, having roster balance is paramount to winning championships as well. Forget about being a long-standing power or college football giant if there are holes at one or more positions.
Miami’s 2023 recruiting class is a great starting point. That must be the norm. Easy? Heck no!
That’s the point. Miami needs to have more talent than its competitors and that takes hard work and dedication. Beyond quarterback, that’s especially true along the defensive line and at cornerback. Those would be two spots that often dictate the winner of big-time college football games. There’s also a caveat to the recruiting world.
Miami continues to be tremendous at bringing in Transfer Portal talent. Matt Lee (center), Javion Cohen (offensive guard), Francisco Mauigoa (middle linebacker), and Jaden Davis (cornerback) are four of many transfers that are making an impact for the Canes.
Miami might not take as many transfers during the upcoming years, but hitting on key positions and filling needs – via the Transfer Portal – will be a way to complete a great roster. One more area to help make sure everything works well together and all the talent produces.
1) Elite assistant coaches must stay in Coral Gables.
It’s obvious that Cristobal wants to be Miami’s head coach. No reason to discuss him staying, fortunately for Miami. How he and the Miami administration handles the assistants – along with some luck – will be huge for Miami’s long-term success, however.
Looking at the course of college football history, many of the best programs possessed assistants that stayed at their respective program of choice.
Tom Osborne’s Nebraska teams from the 1980s and 1990s had several long-time assistant coaches. Same with Joe Paterno’s Penn State teams, and Bobby Bowden’s Florida State squads as well. That situation has played out for the Canes, too.
As one of several possible examples, former Miami player and offensive line coach Art Kehoe knows winning. Numerous Miami offensive linemen got better under Kehoe and some even went on to play in the National Football League.
Sure, he could have moved on several times, but decided to stay in Coral Gables for the majority of his coaching career. Having great teachers like Kehoe benefits the program because the systems and progressions from one player on the depth chart to the next is all but the same, making it more likely for players to feel comfortable and produce. Ultimately, that’s winning football.
Miami needs to have players learning from the same assistants year after year. Learning new schemes, constantly over the past 20 seasons for Miami, hindered many of those teams. That cannot happen any longer.
Plus coaches like Kehoe can be a conduit to past great teams (see section four). If Cristobal can keep the vast majority of his assistants in Coral Gables for five or more seasons, this program can truly take off.
There will be some coaches that take head coaching opportunities. Fair enough. It just cannot be the norm. Somehow, Miami has to keep the best assistant coaches from leaving. Yeah that takes some luck as well.
To be clear, Cristobal and the Miami administration will also have to be a big part of that happening. If assistant coaches are happy with those two parts of the program, they will be more likely to stay.
All in all, Miami can be a true college football giant once again. These five steps are a major part of the process.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.