Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald reported on Friday that the Miami football staff for the Sun Bowl has been clarified. Earlier this week it was reported defensive line coach Jess Simpson will be the interim head coach and wide receivers coach Rob Likens will be the offensive coordinator against Washington State.
Miami fired head coach Manny Diaz on Monday and replaced him with former Hurricanes offensive lineman and Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal. Last week, former Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee accepted the head coaching position at SMU. Miami offensive line coach Garin Justice will join Lashlee.
Justice will return to the Miami football team next week to coach the Hurricanes in the Sun Bowl. Graduate assistant Benedick Hyppolite will coach the WRs in the Sun Bowl. Running backs coach Eric Hickson and tight ends coach Stephen Field remain intact for the Sun Bowl. Field was on Cristobal’s staff at Oregon in 2019.
The interim promotion of Hyppolite will allow Likens to prepare the offensive game plan for Washington State and prepare the quarterbacks. Simpson being the interim head coach has also led to shuffling on the defensive staff. Todd Stroud who is currently the Miami senior football advisor will be the DL coach.
Stroud was the DL coach for Miami in 2019 and 2020 after replacing Simpson who then replaced Stroud this season. Defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson will be the interim defensive coordinator taking over for Diaz who was the head coach and DC this season. Robinson was previously the DC at South Carolina.
Cornerbacks coach Demarcus Van Dyke, inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Jonathan Patke and outside LBs coach Ishmael Aristide, are also expected to remain on the Miami staff for the Sun Bowl game against Washington State on New Year’s Eve. Cristobal is expected to watch the game from the press box.