Who Will The Miami Hurricanes Hire As Their Next Running Backs Coach?
Miami's running back roster will be attractive for whoever they hire to replace Tim Harris Jr.
The Hurricanes have three of their top four tailbacks from last season returning in 2024. The trio of Henry Parrish Jr, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Ajay Allen combined for 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Miami also has promising prospects in 3rd year freshman TreVonte' Citizen, redshirt freshman Chris Johnson Jr, and incoming true freshmen Jordan Lyle and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey.
Will Mario Cristobal be able to attract a top candidate to become the next Miami running backs coach?
We discussed a list of semi-realistic options Friday morning on my Locked On Canes podcast.
-I would not be too surprised if Miami promotes from within. Dennis Smith, Miami's executive director of football, is an excellent recruiter and he's coached running backs before. He was RB's coach on current Miami DC Lance Guidry's staff at McNeese State. Elevating "D Train" to an on-field role would give him more influence in recruiting. Miami also has a former running backs coach, Mike Cassano, on staff currently as an offensive analyst. He coached Miami's running backs under Randy Shannon 2010.
-An external candidate to look at could be Marshall running backs coach Telly Lockette. The South Florida native worked together on the Thundering Herd staff with Lance Guidry in 2021 and 2022. Lockette was a successful high school football coach in South Florida, serving as the head coach at Miami Central and as the offensive coordinator at Miami Northwestern, his alma mater.
-Ja'Juan Seider is a name that gets mentioned on every Miami blog. IF Miami could land the Penn State running backs coach, Seider would be a home run hire. However, his stock is so high right now that I'm not sure why he would make a lateral move. Seider could be a possible OC candidate in the near future.
-Cadillac Williams is high on the wish list of many Miami fans. The Auburn legend resigned from Hugh Freeze's staff after the 2023 season.
-How long will this hire take? Mario Cristobal tends to take his time with coaching searches. I have no sense as to what his timeline will look like, but I'm sure he wants to have his guy locked down well before spring football practices begin on March 4th.
Also check out: Recruiting At the Forefront of Miami's Next Coaching Hire
