Would Mario Cristobal Consider Hiring A Hurricanes OC From An Air Raid Background?
I am still not guessing who the next Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator will be. Mario Cristobal has kept his search for Josh Gattis' replacement close to the vest.
Since his time at Oregon, Cristobal has preferred a power spread offense. His history led me to assume that his OC search would limit his candidates to those who share this philosophy.
Perhaps that isn't the case this time.
According to David Lake from Inside The U, Houston Cougars passing game coordinator / quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson is set to interview this weekend. Could an air raid offense be coming to Coral Gables?
Dawson, 45, learned under air raid godfather Hal Mumme. If Dawson is truly in the mix here, it tells me Cristobal has more of an open mind to different philosophies than we gave him credit for.
Houston's offense was fun to watch and effective last season. The Cougars ranked 25th in the country in total offense with 455.8 yards per game. Miami ranked 86th with 367 yards per contest.
Houston scored 36.1 points per game, ranking 16th. Miami's O ranked a putrid 97th in America at 23.6 points.
Houston quarterback Clayton Tune passed for over 4,000 yards with FORTY touchdown passes. It's safe to assume Tyler Van Dyke would not mind playing in a Dawson offense. Miami's receivers would surely benefit, too.
Frank Tucker at Canes County, the Miami Rivals site, brought up another name to watch: Seth Littrell. He's another air raid disciple, who learned under Mike Leach.
The 44 year old former North Texas head coach had the Mean Green offense humming over the past seven seasons. He was fired after a 7-6 season in 2022, but their offense was never the problem.
In 2022, North Texas ranked 21st in total offense at 461.8 yards per game and 28th in scoring O at 33.8 points per contest.
Littrell had successful offensive coordinator stints at Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina.
Let me say this again, and even louder for those sitting in the back, I AM NOT PREDICTING that either Littrell or Dawson will get the job. With the way Mario has conducted his coordinator searches over the past two offseasons, you can expect the unexpected. With that said, I really like both of these options and would be thrilled if one of them gets the gig.
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