Canespace

We Don't Get Fooled Again

The Who, a rock band that some of you may have never heard of, once wrote:

I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

On Canespace there has been an on-going conversation for over 15 years about one central question in college football: "Does Coaching matter?" Now everyone knows that, of course, coaching matters. But how much is the real question?

And the question gets more complicated the deeper you dig. Is the recruiting process more important than coaching? Is it talent more important than coaching? And, how much does coaching really matter after all?

There are several opinions on each of these very important and interesting questions. I am going to separate recruiting and talent from this argument for the sake of this article. I am going to focus only on the coaching variable to try to make this argument very precise and concise.

When Bum Phillips was the head coach of the Houston Oilers back in the day he made the following complimentary statement about the Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula (paraphrasing): "He can take his players and beat your team, and he can take your players and beat his team." 

That statement clearly and directly indicated that coaching was the MOST important element of winning and losing. Most fans are somewhat in between deciding that coaching means all or nothing in winning and losing.

Some say it is 70/30 coaching versus talent. Some say it is 30/70 coaching versus talent. Others go with a 60/40 or 50/50 argument of coaching versus talent. But does anybody really know what the actual equation is? Probably not, and if they say they do, they are probably lying to you.

However, once and for all, we are about to answer this question at the University of Miami. If coaching matters we are certainly about to find out.

Newly hired head coach Mario Cristobal has hired an amazingly talented coaching staff in Coral Gables. A staff so incredibly talented, experienced, motivated and professional that we are frankly surprised that he, or any coach at any college, was able to accomplish this surprising and impressive feat.

So we are about to find out really quickly if Manny Diaz was a fraud and a failure or if the talent on the team was significantly below average. 

Simply put, coaching will no longer be the acceptable scapegoat or the excuse, only the talent to win will be. The truth will reveal itself.

Time will tell, but my money is on Mario, and that coaching matters.

Then I'll get on my knees and pray, we don't get fooled again.

From Old And Tired To Totally Wired?

University of Miami basketball head coach Jim Larranaga was born in the Bronx, NY on October 2, 1949. He will turn 73 years old on 10/2/22. 

Coach L has been in the game for thirty-six years. For ten of those years, he has been at the helm of your Miami Hurricanes.

His impressive bio from the official UM website reads as follows:

In his 10 seasons at the University of Miami, head coach Jim Larrañaga has led the Hurricanes to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the Sweet 16, and won the 2013 ACC regular-season and tournament titles. He has been named the Associated Press, Naismith, USBWA and Henry Iba National Coach of the Year, twice was both the ACC and USBWA District Coach of the Year and was the 2013 NABC District Coach of the Year.

Larrañaga has posted three 25-win seasons at UM – the only Miami coach to do so – and five in his career. He also has recorded six 20-win campaigns at Miami and 12 in his career. In conference action, the Canes have won nine or more league games in six of nine seasons, while prior to Larrañaga’s arrival, Miami had never won more than eight ACC games in a season. Larrañaga has helped the Canes to 18 postseason victories, including four in the NCAA Tournament (three appearances), nine in the ACC Tournament (eight) and five in the NIT (two).

Miami’s 52 total road wins in the past 10 seasons are fourth-most among ACC teams during Larrañaga’s tenure and its 86 total victories away from home place fourth. During that same stretch, the Hurricanes are fifth in overall ACC wins (91), as well as sixth both ACC road (34) and home victories (57). In the six years prior to Larrañaga’s arrival, when the ACC had only 12 teams, Miami was tied for ninth in ACC victories (36) and won just 10 total ACC road games.

Miami has seen unprecedented fan interest in the program under Larrañaga. In 2017-18, for the third straight season, Miami sold out its season-ticket allotment at the Watsco Center. The 2015-16 season marked the first time in Miami Hurricanes’ history that any team sold out of season tickets.

Miami fans have debated if it may be time for a change at the head coaching position of the UM hoops team. Some suggest that Larranaga should just retire gracefully and exit stage left after such a long and prestigious coaching career.

Then, Coach L as he is affectionately known, unleashes 40 minutes of hell on Wake Forest and motivates his team to launch a huge comeback from an early deficit and win the most important game of the 2021-22 season to date.

Now, Larranaga has the Hurricanes positioned for another post-season NCAA tourney run if they can maintain their momentum into the season close.

And, like Terrance with his Hooters girls, we like that. Yeah, we like that a lot.

It seems like that in the blink of an eye, Miami Hurricane fans went from feeling that their coach may be old and tired to feeling totally wired!

Lock And Load

From where I stand, it appears that the tide has clearly turned. And no, I am definitely not talking about the Crimson Tide of Alabama. 

I am talking about the incoming tide of top notch coaches and talent at the University of Miami in the last 60 days.

In that very short span of time, since 12/6/21, the Hurricanes have added:

• The athletic director from Clemson
• The head coach from Oregon.
• The defensive coordinator from Auburn/Tennessee.
• The offensive coordinator from Michigan.
• The defensive backs coach from Georgia.
• And a top 15 recruiting class with some serious talent.

So yes, clearly it does appear that the tide is turning in Coral Gables.

Could it be that the University of Miami will actually return to the top of the college football heap? Could it be that the Hurricanes may win the National Championship once again in just a few years?

Could it be that the Miami Hurricanes are locking and loading in the 305?

Yes, it could very well be. And we like that. Yeah, we like that a lot.

National Signing Day: 2022

Mario Cristobal understands what it means to be a Miami Hurricane.

He knows how life-changing a degree from the University can be. He has experienced the highest of highs on the football field, winning a pair of national titles during his time in orange and green. And he’s never forgotten the relationships he forged during his time at The U.

That’s why for him, recruiting is so personal. It’s why he relishes every conversation he has with young football players and their families; why he’s so hands-on during a process that can be grueling and daunting in even the best of circumstances.

“I enjoy it. I really do. I like getting out there. I like meeting families. We’ve had great moments and I’ve had my tail kicked in a couple of times and just the appetite for it grows more and more and more over the years,” the Hurricanes’ head coach said of recruiting. “I think it’s awesome. And you know, the staff that we put together has to love it…and they have to love the University of Miami as much as I do…It’s an honor and a blessing to be able to go out there and give young men and their families an opportunity to play football at the highest level and [have the] experience of a lifetime. It’s a blessing.”

On Wednesday, Cristobal’s passion and drive on the recruiting trail paid dividends for the Hurricanes, with Miami adding four additional highly touted prospects to its 2022 recruiting class, a class Cristobal emphasized he isn’t quite finished shaping just yet.

Joining the Hurricanes on National Signing Day were four-star running back TreVonte’ Citizen, three-star offensive lineman Anez Cooper, four-star defensive lineman Ahmad Moten and three-star offensive lineman Matthew McCoy.

They are the latest additions to a group that already includes four-star quarterback prospect Jacurri Brown, four-star wide receiver Isaiah Horton, four-star safety Markeith Williams, four-star cornerback Chris Graves, four-star linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers, three-star cornerback Jaden Harris, four-star defensive end Nyjalik Kelly, four-star tight end Jaleel Skinner and four-star defensive end Cyrus Moss, all of whom joined the Hurricanes during the Early Signing Period.

In all, Miami’s 14 freshman signees and five transfers – defensive linemen Jake Lichtenstein and Antonio Moultrie, offensive lineman Logan Sagapolu, wide receiver Frank Ladson and running back Henry Parrish – helped the Hurricanes secure one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, an impressive feat given Cristobal was named Miami’s new coach just eight days before the Early Signing Period began in December.

Recruiting website 247Sports.com ranked Miami’s 2022 recruiting class 15^th in the nation and third in the ACC – a marked improvement from where the Hurricanes stood in December.

“I’m thankful to the staff. We had a good day. We had a good day. We’ve set really high standards for ourselves. We’ve gotten used to knocking out consecutive top-10 classes in difficult situations,” Cristobal said. “So the fact that we’re not done yet is exciting. The fact that we closed a gap like we did is good. Never satisfied about that, but it shows you again the caliber and the power of the University of Miami. If you work at it, if you grind at it, a lot of needs were addressed.”

And even as the Hurricanes continue working toward the start of a new season and he continues looking to add the final pieces of Miami’s 2022 recruiting class, Cristobal is already starting to think of the work that awaits him down the road.

Already, he and his coaching staff are trying to connect with the prospects they hope to sign in 2023 and 2024.

Read more here: https://miamihurricanes.com/news/2022/02/02/fb-feature-cristobal-canes-add-playmakers-on-signing-day/