5. Dennis Erickson
Erickson remains the only Miami Head Football Coach to Capture two National Championships. The Hurricanes won a National Championship in Erickson’s first season in 1989 and followed it up two seasons later when the shared the title with Washington.
The irony of the 1991 title is that Washington’s coach Don James was a UM alum and Erickson a native of Everett, Washington. He came to Miami after coaching for two seasons at UW’s archrival Washington State.
Under Erickson’s guidance, the Hurricanes went 63-9 in six seasons. They appeared in a major bowl game in every season under Erickson. The ‘Canes made two Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl Appearances and one each in the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls. Miami went 3-3 under Erickson in bowl games, winning the first three and losing the last three.
Like Jimmy Johnson before him and Butch Davis after him, Erickson left Miami for the NFL. Erickson was 31-33 in four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before being fired following the 1998 season.
Erickson led a high-powered offense that usually featured three receivers. He was one of the innovators of the wide receiver screen. Five of the ten top passing performances in a single game in school history occurred under Erickson by former UM Quarterbacks Craig Erickson and Gino Torretta.