At Miami, Winning is More Important than Integrity

In four years as Miami head coach, Randy Shannon had a record of 28-22. He and his players had achieved the third highest graduation rate in the country, and there had been just one arrest on a campus that prior to his arrival had been littered with trouble.

Shannon cleaned things up at the U, and his players competed with class. No brawls coming out of the tunnel. No scandals or pay-for-play.

But he didn't win enough. Miami's modest progress was a far cry from the glory days where they dominated college football with an intimidating style and flash and first-round draft picks. His Hurricanes passed the eyeball test, but they didn't play with the same edge the U squads had in the heyday, when they dominated on the field, in the nightclubs and in the NFL draft.

So Miami let him go, a guy who was running a model program, a Miami guy who played and coached at the school, a linebacker on the '87 national championship team, who, as defensive coordinator from 2001-2008, had five of his squads ranked in the top seven in total defense. In 2001 he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant.

But the Canes suffered multiple one-sided losses and made only two minor bowl games. Shannon bickered with players and battled his assistants, and in the end, he just didn't win enough. At 44, one of the few minority coaches at the top rung of college football, he was out of a job.

Shannon has a remarkable personal story. All his life he's been a fighter and an achiever who overcame long, long odds. His father was murdered when he was three. When he was ten his older twin brothers became addicted to crack cocaine. Both his brothers and older sister died of aids. Shannon emerged from all this turmoil and trouble to become a star three-sport athlete at Miami's Norland High, an all-state linebacker, and won a scholarship to play for the U. He understood the adversity some of his athletes faced, and set clear standards for them, encouraging record numbers of them to graduate, but they didn't win enough football games along the way.

Now Miami's trying to woo Jon Gruden, or floating Gruden's name to lure other top names toward the job. Alumni and the school leadership want a coach who'll offer at least lip service to the academic and community accomplishments of Shannon's era, plus one more critical element: 10, 11 and 12-win seasons, and BCS bowl games. It's a little like the climate at Michigan or Notre Dame. The leadership and the fan following expect a return to the glory days, and remains impatient with just being competitive and making progress.

It's a what have you done for me lately world. A good mid-year review and attendance record will keep your job, but the fourth-quarter sales numbers had better be better than last year. Management expects you to produce like Jon Gruden, or they'll try to find one of their own.