Miami football: Lane Kiffin top candidate for potential HC opening per infamous booster

Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin is the leading candidate to be the head coach for the Miami football team if an opening occurs per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports on the College Football Enquirer podcast. Wetzel told Pat Forde and Pete Thamel that infamous Miami booster Nevin Shapiro informed him about Kiffin.

Wetzel sent Shapiro a text who responded that Kiffin is the leading candidate with former Miami linebacker and head coach Randy Shannon as the defensive coordinator. Manny Diaz has been on the hot seat as the head coach of the Miami football team after a 2-4 start.

The firing of athletic director Blake James on Monday has increased speculation about the job security for Diaz. The mediocre season for Miami after beginning 2021 ranked as high as 14th has brought everyone down. Miami is 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the ACC in 2021 and 19-15 in three seasons under Diaz.

Shapiro was released from prison to home confinement after receiving a 20-year sentence in prison in 2010 as part of a $930 Ponzi scheme. Part of the fallout from the Ponzi scheme was Shapiro’s involvement as a booster with the Miami athletic department. Miami received significant sanctions due to the findings.

"“I texted my best Miami source, or certainly the most interesting Miami source, in Nevin Shapiro…Nevin is claiming that the top candidate is Lane Kiffin with Randy Shannon as the defensive coordinator.”"

Wetzel replayed the above information during the podcast. Forde. Thamel and Wetzel discussed the potential for Kiffin to be hired by Miami. Hip-hop legend Luther Campbell and Miami football alum and Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp have been pushing for Kiffin for months. Forde commented on Kiffin.

"“I can certainly see them wanting Lane…It always cracks me up — the boosters do this at some places, we’ll name your staff for you as we go. You have to hire Lane, got to have Randy Shannon because he knows the program and he recruits south Florida. You don’t get a say in the matter.”"

Forde, Thamel and Kiffin speculated about where is Kiffin in a better place to succeed, Miami or Mississippi. Kiffin currently has to compete with elite programs Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M in the SEC West. That is before Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC in 2025. Miami has less competition in the entire ACC.

"“Thamel asked Wetzel and Forde…”If you’re Lane, do you stay at a place that will just pay you through the nose? Or do you try to recapture some of that Miami magic?”“OK, if everybody in my division is rolling at their peak, where do I fit in? You say that in the SEC West and you say that in the ACC Coastal. Hah, go to Miami, baby,” Forde said. “In the SEC West if everybody is rolling, you’re the fourth-best team, maybe fifth, probably fifth..That’s before Oklahoma and Texas come in.Go be in the same division with football indifferent North Carolina; football apathetic Duke; Virginia Tech where they’ve lost control of their recruiting backyard; Pittsburgh which sometimes hits, sometimes misses. Yeah, give me that division. I’ll take that one….Wetzel retorted, “Oklahoma and Texas are coming.”"

Miami plays its penultimate game of 2021 on Saturday against Virginia Tech before traveling to Duke on November 27. The Hurricanes need to win one more game to qualify for a bowl. Any decision about Diaz will likely be made by the new athletic director. Miami is expected to move quickly with the hiring of a new AD.

If Diaz is fired he will be the fourth out of the last five Miami football coaches to be fired. The only exception was Mark Richt who retired after three seasons in 2018. Kiffin is scheduled to begin making over $5 million per season beginning in 2022. Mississippi AD Keith Carter would not discuss the buyout for Kiffin.