Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Randy Shannon Inks Four-Year Extension

Over the past several months and weeks, the discussion of Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Randy Shannon’s potential contract extension has been discussed.   Should he get one?  How much should it be? 

The first question has been answered; on Wednesday, Randy Shannon signed a new four-year deal to re-up as the Head Coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but most of the speculation in many circles believe that Shannon settled for less than the ACC minimum of $1.75 million per year.

The most likely reason Shannon chose to take less may be seen in his quote shortly after he signed the contract, “There's no other place I'd rather be than coaching Hurricanes football” (www.sun-sentinel.com).

Randy Shannon truly does mean that when he says it, and the fact that he has so much support from former players probably had a lot to do with it as well.

At some point, the details of the new contact will be released and the speculation can end. Maybe it is incentive-laden, but at the minimum, there better be some bonuses built into the contract, which is standard for coaches at big schools.

Now the interesting part of all this is the sudden “Randy Shannon is the greatest thing that could happen to Miami Football, and we are happy to have him” mentality that is being displayed by athletic director Kirby Hocutt and university president Donna Shalala.  But over the past few months, they were nickel-and-diming him into taking less money than the coach at Duke?

I think they have fragile confidence and support for Shannon that could change a moment’s notice should the Hurricanes falter at some point. 

The offered a contract extension because they HAD to; the effect on recruiting was obvious, and that factor alone could derail the rebuilding process.  I am sure they have a favorable buyout, so they can jump ship if things do not go well.

While I do not believe Shalala and Hocutt are 100 percent behind his efforts on the football field, they could not be happier with what he has accomplished off the field.

When Shannon took the job, Shalala wanted to get rid of the “Thug U” image, and wanted excellence in football like Miami was used too, but with the added excellence in the classroom and off-field behavior.

Shannon has accomplished that with flying colors, the University of Miami football team received a Public Recognition Award for the 2009–2010 season by boasting one of the highest Academic Progress Rates (APR) in the country. 

There were only 25 other football teams in the country to receive this award: Duke, Princeton, Rice, Yale, Villanova, and Brown University, just to name a few.

For all of you detractors out there let me hammer this point home for you, this is what the current administration wants more than National Championships. 

If you notice the University of Florida, University of Alabama, and Ohio State are not on that list, I am not saying those institutions are not committed to academics, but each one of them has pushed their resources towards having powerhouse football programs.

“Miami’s team also has been recognized for a strong performance in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR), which combines graduation and retention numbers. Under Shannon, the team has been in the top 10 percent of major college programs.

“Randy has done it all,” said  Shalala.” (www.mkrob.com)

Hocutt also made a statement, “We are very proud of the positive steps our football program has taken under the leadership of Coach Shannon,” Hocutt said in a news release. “With a commitment to excellence in the classroom, in the community, and in competition, we are well on our way, once again, to the top of the college football world.”  (www.sun-sentinel.com)

If you notice Hocutt said classroom and community before he mentioned competition, I believe that is the order of their focus for this program.

Unlike some of the Miami coaches in the past, Randy has chosen not to fight with the administration and do thing 100 percent his way.  Instead, he has complied with the administration's wishes and in the process passed on several high profile recruits because of potential character issues.

All of this does not mean Miami cannot return and maintain the former glory it once had, but it will be a bit more difficult when those good players who have character problems are signing to play with rival schools. 

Randy Shannon said he will be more than willing to discuss the details of the new contract on Thursday, so maybe we will have a bit more information come to light very shortly.

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