National reaction to Miami football coordinator hires

Jesse Simonton of On3 asked “Upgrade? Examining the notable offensive and defensive coordinator moves across the ACC, Big 12 & Pac-12.” Simonton included recent Miami football coordinator hires, Lance Guidry on defenses and Shannon Dawson on offense.

Guidry led an elite Marshall defense in 2022. The Thundering Herd finished in the top 10 nationally in multiple categories. Miami was extremely inconsistent defensively in 2022. The Miami football team allowed less than 20 points six times in 2022 and 40 or more five times. Guidry will hope to instill more consistency defensively.

In addition to Guidry, Miami hired Derek Nicholson as the new linebackers coach for 2023. The Miami staff has gotten much younger with the departures of defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and Co-DC and LB coach Charlie Strong after the 2022 season. Nicholson is a former Florida State LB who comes to Miami from Cincinnati.

Miami hired Guidry from Tulane. Guidry and Nicholson were not in their previous positions long. Guidry was in New Orleans for about three weeks when news emerged he was leaving for Miami. Nicholson followed Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield from Louisville in December. Guidry has 10 years of experience as a DC.

"Miami defensive coordinator — Kevin Steele to Lance GuidryUpgrade? YesThe Hurricanes were mostly meh-to-bad defensively in their lone year with Kevin Steele as coordinator (13th in the ACC in yards per play allowed, 10th in scoring), but Mario Cristobal got a mulligan when Steele left to take the same job at Alabama.Cristobal opted not to promote Charlie Strong, who left the program because of the perceived snub, and instead plucked Lance Guidry away from Tulane. While not a household name, Guidry is considered a strong recruiter, something that Steele used to be, and a quality coordinator.At Marshall last season, the Thundering Herd had the best third down defense in the nation. They forced 29 takeaways — No. 5 in the country. They were No. 3 in yards per play allowed. Guidry will have more talent to work with than Steele did in 2022, and on paper, he looks like a better fit in South Florida, too."

Dawson and Guidry were both surprising hires that came almost out of nowhere. Dawson coming from the Air Raid coaching tree was probably the bigger surprise hire by Mario Cristobal. Expect Cristobal and Dawson to develop offensive concepts that incorporate the air raid offense and a physical running game.

The Miami football program will likely push the ball downfield more often than it did in 2022. Houston tied for 27th nationally averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt. Miami was 83rd averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. Houston finished 50th nationally averaging 4.59 yards per carry. Miami was 95th averaging 3.74 YPC.

"Miami offensive coordinator — Josh Gattis to Shannon DawsonUpgrade? YesJosh Gattis had a disastrous one-year pit-stop in South Florida, as the 2021 Broyles Award winner was in charge of an offense that averaged just 17.9 points per game in ACC play.The Hurricanes struggled to run or throw the football, as quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went from a preseason All-ACC selection to a young player battling multiple benchings and confidence issues.Much like last offseason, it took Mario Cristobal a while to land his offensive coordinator, but on paper, he looks to have made a strong hire in Houston’s Shannon Dawson. The longtime lieutenant to Dana Holgerson at Houston and West Virginia will bring the Air Raid down to Miami.Van Dyke should be thrilled, as Dawson developed Clayton Tune (45 total touchdowns, 4,600 total yards)."

Dawson and Guidry have big rebuilding tasks from a performance factor. The new systems need to work for Miami. David Lake of Inside the U examined the SP+ numbers from Bill Connelly of ESPN on Wednesday. Miami ranks 55th on offense and 20th on defense in a metric partially based on returning production.

The Hurricanes return far more production on defense in 2022 led by tackle Leonard Taylor and safety Kamren Kinchens. Miami still needs to add a transfer outside wide receiver that Cristobal said in December was a priority. Expect the Miami football to add a few more transfers during the spring portal window.