Miami football seldom prioritizes experience with head coaching hires

In four seasons under Shannon, Miami went 29-25. The Hurricanes best season under Shannon was 2011 when they finished 9-4. Shannon was never a permanent head coach again. In 2017 Shannon was 1-3 as the interim head coach at Florida replacing Jim McElwain. Golden was hired to replace Shannon for the 2012 season.

Al Golden 2011-15

Golden played at Penn State and began his coaching career as a high school coach in New Jersey. After being a highly praised DC at Virginia from 2001-2005, Golden was hired as the head coach at Temple. Golden was 27-34 with the Owls, but 17-8 in his final two seasons. Miami was unable to overcome sanctions in Golden’s five seasons.

Miami went 32–25 overall and 17–18 under Golden. It was announced in the third season under Golden that the entire Miami athletic department received three years on probation. The football program lost nine scholarships between 2014-16. Recruits were only allowed one complimentary ticket during official visits from 2014-16.

Following a 58-0 defeat to Clemson in 2015, Golden was fired. Tight ends coach Larry Scott replaced Golden and led the Hurricanes to a 4-2 record the remainder of the season. Richt was hired as the replacement later that fall. Richt is by far the most experienced coach Miami has hired.