Miami football has a legacy from Mark Richt after short tenure

Mark Richt’s tenure as the Head Coach of the Miami Football Program lasted just three seasons, but the former Hurricanes quarterback left a legacy in Coral Gables.

Richt arrived at his alma mater in December 2015 in need of his own resurrection after getting fired following 15 seasons as the Head Coach at Georgia and with the task of reviving the Miami football program.

In three years overseeing the Miami football program, Richt accomplished a lot on and off the field. The Hurricanes were coming off of a 7-6 season but had fired Al Golden in the middle of the season following a 58-0 loss to Clemson. The Miami football team was at it’s lowest point in nearly 40 years.

Richt brought pride back to Miami. The recruiting classes improved in each of Richt’s first three seasons. Miami went from 22nd to 12th to eighth in the 247sports Composite rankings. The team became much more competitive on the field. Three of Miami’s four losses in Richt’s first season in 2016 were by 11 points combined.

Miami began 2016 4-0, lost their next four games and then rebounded with a five-game winning streak to finish the season. The Hurricanes finished 9-4 in Richt’s first year. They finished the season in the national rankings for the first time since 2009 and won a bowl game for the first time since 2006.

One of Richt’s biggest endowments at Miami was helping raise money to get the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility built. Richt donated $1 million of his own money towards the project. The Soffers donated $14 million and the ground was broken on the facility in May 2017.

Riding the high of the five-game winning streak to close out 2016, the Hurricanes ran off ten in a row to begin 2017. That vaulted Miami to second in the College Football Playoff rankings. The turnover chain created by Defense Coordinator Manny Diaz became a national phenomenon and the U was back.

During the season Miami ended a seven-game losing streak to Florida State with a victory in Tallahassee. It was the first of back to back victories over the Seminoles.

The 2017 season also netted the Miami football team their first ACC Coastal Division title, first ACC Championship Game Appearance and an Orange Berth for the first time since the 2003 season. It was Miami’s first major bowl berth since 2003 as well.

The plaudits would end in the final regular season game of 2017. Behind a poor offensive performance particularly quarterback Malik Rosier Miami was upset 24-14 at 4-7 Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes were embarrassed 38-3 by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

They blew a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter at home in the Orange Bowl Game and lost 34-24 to Wisconsin. Despite the end to 2017, there was a lot of optimism heading into the 2018 season.

Miami began the season with the nation’s number eight ranking. They had a showdown with LSU in Arlington, Texas in the season opener. It was a game most expected Miami to win. The Hurricanes did not just lose to the Tigers they were physically overmatched in a 33-17 loss that wasn’t as close as the score.

After winning five straight following the loss to LSU, Miami lost four in a row to drop to 5-5. The Hurricanes won their final two games of the season at Virginia Tech and at home against Pittsburgh to earn a bid to the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to rematch with Wisconsin.

The game was eerily similar to Golden’s last game. Miami lost 35-3, had six first downs as they did against the Tigers in Golden’s last game. Miami Athletic Director Blake James sent out a Tweet stating that the performance was unacceptable and he’d work with Richt to rectify the poor offense that occurred throughout 2018.

Richt’s decision to retire shocked everyone including James. He leaves Miami after three seasons, but accomplishing a lot in a short period of time. The Soffer-IPF is a legacy that will endure.