It’s Monday AM and everyone Wants to know what is going to happen.
It doesn’t look like any decisions were made on Sunday. Manny Diaz was out recruiting with his staff. We have updated our hot board. https://miami.rivals.com/news/analysis-recruiting-heading-into-final-stretch
Diaz also made his weekly Monday AM radio appearance. Here is what he said.
https://miami.rivals.com/news/monda...will-get-fixed-everything-has-to-be-evaluated
Blake James has not said a word.
Many people are obviously upset about the way this season went. It extends far beyond fans and former players to many people who do have a voice. There were a lot of behind the scenes conversations Sunday between a lot of angry and frustrated individuals. The question that won’t be answered for a few days is what all that talk means. But people with influence do care.
The options:
1. Hire a football administrator to oversee the football program - Alonzo Highsmith’s name is coming up in a lot of conversations. This is reality if someone, namely James, wants to make it happen. Sources tell me Highsmith would take the job. I wrote about this concept in my column yesterday. https://miami.rivals.com/news/opinion-the-tears-of-the-canes-fan-fall-from-the-sky
2. Hire someone like Highsmith to oversee the football program and keep Manny Diaz as head coach in 2020 - financial reasons make this a very live option.
3. Do nothing administratively and let Diaz make his staff evaluations and do as he sees fit - the easy path, the one I think James will prefer. The one FSU took this year. Not surprisingly Nothing changed in 10 months despite Willie Taggart hiring Kendal Briles and Jim Leavitt. They wasted another season and are about to hire a new coach this week. There are rumors everywhere it will be former Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops, which would not be good for Miami right now. Former FSU commits Jalen Harrell and Jaylan Knighton could become back in play for the Noles. Perhaps as a preemptive strike Diaz offered Harrell’s friend and teammate Jesus Machado a scholarship Sunday. Machado is ranked a 2 star prospect. He does not have ANY OTHER COMMITABLE OFFERS and no other visits planned. He will almost definitely commit to Miami this week.
4. Hire someone like Highsmith and let him make the call on Diaz and be prepared to deal with that decision either way.
5. Don’t hire someone like Highsmith yet still have hard conversations about the immediate future
To me, the Diaz decision depends on who you can get to replace him.
People with influence seem determined not to let the decision come down to money. So it’s Manny vs other options if it comes down to it.
Mike Leach is available. I suggested a Leach / Diaz pairing last week along the lines of what Ohio State did in 2012 when Urban Meyer was hired. But he is unquestionably a major risk. Leach does not handle himself well in front of a microphone. Watch his Sunday press conference after the loss to Washington.
There obviously is enormous support for former Cane Mario Cristobal, who probably should have gotten the job back in December. He followed a 9 Win season last year at Oregon with a 10 win season this year. His team is playing for the pac12 title on Saturday. Sources tell me that the Duck athletic brass is working on a new contract for Mario. If Miami wants to move in this direction, there is a very tight window to see if Cristobal is interested. Slow walking would likely remove Cristobal from the Miami equation for several years as Oregon almost certainly will want to lock him up with a big buyout.
There obviously are many other options out there if Miami chooses to go in that direction and conduct a search for a new coach as opposed to keeping Diaz.
I expect a lot of meetings and conversations about the future of Miami football this week. I think anything remains an option at the moment.
There are a lot of questions about James’ future and a decision to go down with the ship so to speak by keeping the status quo. James is well liked and few people who know him want to see him lose his job over the state of the football program. But there is no question this is a critical moment for him. Nobody wants to see the status quo continue and if James makes himself a road block to honest thinking and evaluation then the pressure on him will become enormous.
We will keep our eyes and ears open for new developments.
It doesn’t look like any decisions were made on Sunday. Manny Diaz was out recruiting with his staff. We have updated our hot board. https://miami.rivals.com/news/analysis-recruiting-heading-into-final-stretch
Diaz also made his weekly Monday AM radio appearance. Here is what he said.
https://miami.rivals.com/news/monda...will-get-fixed-everything-has-to-be-evaluated
Blake James has not said a word.
Many people are obviously upset about the way this season went. It extends far beyond fans and former players to many people who do have a voice. There were a lot of behind the scenes conversations Sunday between a lot of angry and frustrated individuals. The question that won’t be answered for a few days is what all that talk means. But people with influence do care.
The options:
1. Hire a football administrator to oversee the football program - Alonzo Highsmith’s name is coming up in a lot of conversations. This is reality if someone, namely James, wants to make it happen. Sources tell me Highsmith would take the job. I wrote about this concept in my column yesterday. https://miami.rivals.com/news/opinion-the-tears-of-the-canes-fan-fall-from-the-sky
2. Hire someone like Highsmith to oversee the football program and keep Manny Diaz as head coach in 2020 - financial reasons make this a very live option.
3. Do nothing administratively and let Diaz make his staff evaluations and do as he sees fit - the easy path, the one I think James will prefer. The one FSU took this year. Not surprisingly Nothing changed in 10 months despite Willie Taggart hiring Kendal Briles and Jim Leavitt. They wasted another season and are about to hire a new coach this week. There are rumors everywhere it will be former Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops, which would not be good for Miami right now. Former FSU commits Jalen Harrell and Jaylan Knighton could become back in play for the Noles. Perhaps as a preemptive strike Diaz offered Harrell’s friend and teammate Jesus Machado a scholarship Sunday. Machado is ranked a 2 star prospect. He does not have ANY OTHER COMMITABLE OFFERS and no other visits planned. He will almost definitely commit to Miami this week.
4. Hire someone like Highsmith and let him make the call on Diaz and be prepared to deal with that decision either way.
5. Don’t hire someone like Highsmith yet still have hard conversations about the immediate future
To me, the Diaz decision depends on who you can get to replace him.
People with influence seem determined not to let the decision come down to money. So it’s Manny vs other options if it comes down to it.
Mike Leach is available. I suggested a Leach / Diaz pairing last week along the lines of what Ohio State did in 2012 when Urban Meyer was hired. But he is unquestionably a major risk. Leach does not handle himself well in front of a microphone. Watch his Sunday press conference after the loss to Washington.
There obviously is enormous support for former Cane Mario Cristobal, who probably should have gotten the job back in December. He followed a 9 Win season last year at Oregon with a 10 win season this year. His team is playing for the pac12 title on Saturday. Sources tell me that the Duck athletic brass is working on a new contract for Mario. If Miami wants to move in this direction, there is a very tight window to see if Cristobal is interested. Slow walking would likely remove Cristobal from the Miami equation for several years as Oregon almost certainly will want to lock him up with a big buyout.
There obviously are many other options out there if Miami chooses to go in that direction and conduct a search for a new coach as opposed to keeping Diaz.
I expect a lot of meetings and conversations about the future of Miami football this week. I think anything remains an option at the moment.
There are a lot of questions about James’ future and a decision to go down with the ship so to speak by keeping the status quo. James is well liked and few people who know him want to see him lose his job over the state of the football program. But there is no question this is a critical moment for him. Nobody wants to see the status quo continue and if James makes himself a road block to honest thinking and evaluation then the pressure on him will become enormous.
We will keep our eyes and ears open for new developments.
