I have said this before but before the season starts:
I never wanted Manny to be the hire in 2018. I am not sure any first time hc makes sense at this level. It takes time to be a HC, every single HC in football would tell you that. It’s a different skill set than being a coordinator, so you have to do it and grow and how do you know if the guy will? Manny was a very good DC in my view and never known as a recruiter. That doesn’t mean he has not recruited well as a hc, and in fact he totally retooled our recruiter and it has drive several of his hires.
I don’t know whether he works out. But some are clearly biased against him bc of what could be growing pains and bc they didn’t want him in the first place. His “ceiling” is unknowable. The only way Miami will get into the top ten is by being a top 15 program year over year and being able to say to elite players, we are good and YOU can make us great. I do not believe a magic coach will recruit us to the playoffs without taking steps first. Gary clearly doesn’t agree with that. I believe he loves the team and is mistaken abt our path back. You need to crawl before you walk and walk before you run to win enough SFL talent to win the ACC/get to playoffs
He showed real progress in year two. Miami finished ranked in the top 25 and they were a top 25 team at the time in my view.
His teams still started slow, and he still had a horrific loss in UNC. It’s not abt not beating the two best teams on your schedule it’s abt how you lost. Ncstate in my view was a top 25 team last year as they fell just out. UVA was the costal winner in 2019 and gave Florida all they could handle. That the team plays badly off a bye is very bad.
Manny has elevated recruiting imo, and materially elevated the coaching staff around him. That did not happen by accident. And those coaches like Jess believe Manny can win. TRobb turned down Florida.
So we made progress, in my view, in year two. I have said this before but my criteria for progress is this: if Miami does X is that material progress over 2020? That’s the equation.
For me Alabama is not a factor as they blew out OSU in the last game they played. They are one of the best defenses abt Miami team has probably ever played. Since bama 1992/3 perhaps.
2021 MUST include:
10 wins, a top 15 type team (could be 16/17 but inside the top 20 by a material amount) and not horrible losses like FIU and UNC. Bama is not part of that for me.
That is my floor for progress. I think we can do better but that’s the floor.
Bc IF we win 10 or more games for the second time in 15 years and if we have no bad losses )outside of Bama) that’s our best season since 05 or 03. That’s material progress. 9 wins is not for me. 10 wins but we don’t show up at UNC again is not for me.
The best thing for Miami is for Manny to work out. I have zero doubt abt that. And I honestly have zero doubt that it’s impossible to know based on what he has done how this story ends.
also we are top 15 going into the season bc of the material progress we made last year. That rightly raises the bar but how many years before this have we been unranked? That’s preseason ranking is bc of progress.
Manny may not be up to this job. I don’t know you but I do believe he may be up to and the fans push him out early and if the admn is the same you may get another unknown at HC. I would keep an open mind.
Last point. IF Manny gets to ten wins and no terrible loses outside of Bama that’s progress BUT that alone doesn’t prove he’s up to the job, it’s just another indicator he might be. I am very open on this quiestion bc I don’t know.
I never wanted Manny to be the hire in 2018. I am not sure any first time hc makes sense at this level. It takes time to be a HC, every single HC in football would tell you that. It’s a different skill set than being a coordinator, so you have to do it and grow and how do you know if the guy will? Manny was a very good DC in my view and never known as a recruiter. That doesn’t mean he has not recruited well as a hc, and in fact he totally retooled our recruiter and it has drive several of his hires.
I don’t know whether he works out. But some are clearly biased against him bc of what could be growing pains and bc they didn’t want him in the first place. His “ceiling” is unknowable. The only way Miami will get into the top ten is by being a top 15 program year over year and being able to say to elite players, we are good and YOU can make us great. I do not believe a magic coach will recruit us to the playoffs without taking steps first. Gary clearly doesn’t agree with that. I believe he loves the team and is mistaken abt our path back. You need to crawl before you walk and walk before you run to win enough SFL talent to win the ACC/get to playoffs
He showed real progress in year two. Miami finished ranked in the top 25 and they were a top 25 team at the time in my view.
His teams still started slow, and he still had a horrific loss in UNC. It’s not abt not beating the two best teams on your schedule it’s abt how you lost. Ncstate in my view was a top 25 team last year as they fell just out. UVA was the costal winner in 2019 and gave Florida all they could handle. That the team plays badly off a bye is very bad.
Manny has elevated recruiting imo, and materially elevated the coaching staff around him. That did not happen by accident. And those coaches like Jess believe Manny can win. TRobb turned down Florida.
So we made progress, in my view, in year two. I have said this before but my criteria for progress is this: if Miami does X is that material progress over 2020? That’s the equation.
For me Alabama is not a factor as they blew out OSU in the last game they played. They are one of the best defenses abt Miami team has probably ever played. Since bama 1992/3 perhaps.
2021 MUST include:
10 wins, a top 15 type team (could be 16/17 but inside the top 20 by a material amount) and not horrible losses like FIU and UNC. Bama is not part of that for me.
That is my floor for progress. I think we can do better but that’s the floor.
Bc IF we win 10 or more games for the second time in 15 years and if we have no bad losses )outside of Bama) that’s our best season since 05 or 03. That’s material progress. 9 wins is not for me. 10 wins but we don’t show up at UNC again is not for me.
The best thing for Miami is for Manny to work out. I have zero doubt abt that. And I honestly have zero doubt that it’s impossible to know based on what he has done how this story ends.
also we are top 15 going into the season bc of the material progress we made last year. That rightly raises the bar but how many years before this have we been unranked? That’s preseason ranking is bc of progress.
Manny may not be up to this job. I don’t know you but I do believe he may be up to and the fans push him out early and if the admn is the same you may get another unknown at HC. I would keep an open mind.
Last point. IF Manny gets to ten wins and no terrible loses outside of Bama that’s progress BUT that alone doesn’t prove he’s up to the job, it’s just another indicator he might be. I am very open on this quiestion bc I don’t know.
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