Miami Hurricanes Football: Reviewing the 2015 Season
Bowl Game and Future Coach
Yes, for the third year straight the Miami Hurricanes are going to a bowl game. They have an opportunity to finish the season 9-4 which would be remarkable considering the up and downs of this season and great for recruiting headed into 2016. At this moment, The Miami Hurricanes will be available for:
Dec 26: Pinestripe Bowl in New York, New York vs. an BIG 10 opponent
Dec: 26 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas vs. an Pac 12 opponent
Dec 30: Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee vs. an SEC opponent
Dec 30: Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina vs. an SEC opponent
Jan 2: Tax Slayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida vs. an SEC opponent
Miami would like the Pinestripe bowl for various reasons. Christmas in New York City for one, and Miami has a large alumni base in New York. It would be beneficial for both sides to accept the opportunity. However, the Canes have a chance to play some decent teams in any of the bowl games. They have an opportunity to win a bowl for the first time since 2006.
Future Coach
The season is finally over and it’s almost time for the Miami administration to make the announcement for the next hire. Multiple media outlets have suggested that Butch Davis, Mario Cristobal, Greg Schiano, and Rod Chudzinksi are the leading candidates for the job. Even Mark Richt has now become an option, and is available for hire. Many former coaches and players believe that the Canes need to bring back a Miami guy to reestablish the brand of “The U”.
The thought has some logic, but it would be silly to limit the coaching search to guys with Miami ties. For instance, Dennis Erickson (Washington State) or Jimmy Johnson (Oklahoma State) didn’t have any at all. Both of them proved be successful. Randy Shannon was a Miami guy and that did not turn out for the best. The ideal approach is to get the best guy for the job. One who can embrace the culture at Miami, but someone that is an excellent X’s and O’s coach. Al Golden lacked both of these qualities. There is certainly a lot of pressure to get this right, and that’s probably why the Korn Ferry search firm was hired for this process. However, Blake James has included former players opinion on who they want for the next coach to be. Overwhelmingly, it has been Butch Davis.
Butch Davis was a former coach at The U who left for the Cleveland Browns in the winter of 2001. Many were upset that he left. Although, his greatest claim to fame is building the best team of all time: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. Can Butch Davis catch lightning in the bottle? We will have to see if he is hired.