The Miami Hurricanes are hiring Denver Broncos offensive quality control assistant Favian Upshaw to fill the vacancy created when RB coach Matt Merritt left for the Arizona Cardinals. Merritt accepted the Cardinals' running backs job earlier this month.
Miami may have lost an RB coach to the NFL, but now they gain one from the NFL.
Miami is hiring Denver Broncos quality control assistant Favian Upshaw as its next running backs coach, sources tell @On3.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) February 26, 2026
Takes over a Miami RB room that includes Mark Fletcher, Marty Brown, Girard Pringle Jr. & Jordan Lyle. CBS first reported Upshaw was the target.… https://t.co/O9hI6Tzw70 pic.twitter.com/WGdXvxnXdU
Miami hires Denver Broncos offensive quality control assistant Favian Upshaw
Upshaw has spent the last three seasons (2023-25) with the Broncos as an offensive quality control coach. At Miami, he will inherit a room that returns production and depth. Mark Fletcher Jr. is back after a 2025 season in which he rushed for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns on 216 carries.
Cristobal has shown a willingness to hire coaches with NFL experience. Upshaw is only 32, but he's been building a resume that blends both the college and NFL level.
In Denver, Upshaw worked daily with the Broncos' offensive staff and around the team's running backs. And this offseason, he even drew interest for a bigger role, interviewing for Denver's wide receivers coach opening.
Before Denver, Upshaw returned to Tulane in 2022 as an offensive analyst/assistant quarterbacks coach. He previously worked at Tulane as a graduate assistant from 2018-19, a span that included the Green Wave's 2018 Cure Bowl win and a stretch of back-to-back bowl victories.
At Georgia Southern in 2021, Upshaw coached the RBs and oversaw one of the Sun Belt's most productive ground attacks. Georgia Southern led the conference in rushing attempts and averaged 193.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 32nd nationally.
Upshaw played quarterback at FIU in 2012, which was Mario Cristobal's final season as FIU's head coach. Upshaw later starred at Georgia Southern, where he put up more than 2,400 yards of total offense in his career and was named MVP of the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl.