Shannon Dawson clears up instance where it looked like he was ripping Mario Cristobal

Glad we have that cleared up... After a soul-crushing road loss at SMU on Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes are tasked with picking up the pieces at 6-2 overall, but 2-2 in ACC play. This narrow overtime defeat to the Mustangs effectively knocks the Hurricanes out of the ACC title race, and pretty much the entire College Football Playoff conversation. Frustrations boiled over big time here.

During the game in question, Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson appeared to be livid on the sidelines during a critical moment. He was far more animated than Hurricanes fans have grown accustomed to. Since Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was in and around him, people thought that Dawson was yelling at his head coach. Miami sure does love to lose to unranked teams in big spots...

Fortunately for us, Dawson cleared up what all was going on during Monday's press conference.

"Over time, you realize that bringing more stress to an already stressful situation isn't necessarily the best approach. And I've dealt with that through my career and now to this point of my career, regardless of how bad things are going, you're probably going to see the same type of demeanor from me."

Dawson then went on to explain that he was angry that Miami was unable able to get one more yard.

"Now in that particular situation, it had nothing to do with ... the crazy thing about that, our interaction between me and Coach Cristobal, it had nothing do with that. I was talking into the headset, very upset about not getting a yard. That was simply that. I was like, 'We need to get the damn yard!' And we both agreed!"

From there, he finished by saying he would never disrespect authority because of how he was raised.

"I promise you this. There's two things. One is I was raised by (my) parents and I would never disrespect authority. Never. I serve a higher authority (and) I understand hierarchy of authority. I would never disrespect authority behind closed doors, or even out in the public. With that being said, if I ever did something like that, you would probably see a reaction from him. The reason he didn't react is it wasn't directed at him. It was directed towards frustration about not getting a yard."

Here is the entire clip of Dawson explaining at the podium what transpired on the sidelines vs. SMU.

For those who have not seen it or do not remember, here is the instance everyone is talking about.

We may want to believe what Dawson had to say, but this thing has devolved into a frustrating mess...

Shannon Dawson cannot help but be frustrated over what Miami became

As Dawson pointed out in his press conference, he has been at this coaching profession for a very long time. He has been coaching in the college ranks since being a wide receivers coach at Wingate way back in 2002. Since then, Dawson has worked at laces like West Virginia, Kentucky, Southern Miss and Houston prior to linking up with Cristobal in Miami in 2023. Dawson has seen it all before.

While Dawson is never going to admit this publicly, the Mario Cristobal and the Carson Beck of it all will drive any sane man mad. Miami is one of the most talented teams in the country. The Hurricanes recruit at a high level nationally. They have two great coordinators in Dawson and Corey Hetherman on the defensive side of the ball. Yet, whenever there is a trap game, why does Miami alway fall into it?

It is a combination of Cristobal not being an X's and O's guy. At his core, he is an offensive line coach and a great recruiter. Calling plays is not something he does on either side of the ball. In a way, it prevents Miami from being able rework things on the fly when it inevitably hits the fan. As far as Beck is concerned, he has done irreparable damage to his draft stock and reputation the last two seasons.

At some point, we have to wonder if Dawson is ready to lead his own team or get away from all this.