Coker officially out at Miami

PS - Another reason why I don't like Coker getting canned is b/c it opens up the possibility of Schiano leaving Rutgers. That would severely damage, if not break the program if he jumped ship.

 

SF is right. the other reason he's being fired after only one crappy year is that no one sees signs of progress. yes, his first two seasons were incredible but he didn't recruit those players. you can argue all you want whether the head coach or assistants actually bring in the recruits but the head coach gets the credit. so he won with davis' players and it's been qualified mediocrity (by miami standards) ever since. and this year was one disaster after another, so he's out.

 

Coker was damn classy at that press conference. Was floored that he took one question, nevermind 15. I would've been on the next train out of town.

 

I don't think the quick axe is that big of a reach. While Coker definitely isn't a headcase, it appears from a distance that Coker had lost control of his players and the feeling was he wasn't going to get them back.

I think that Coker will do a fine job at a different program, but it never struck me that his mild-mannered, fatherly ways would work at Miami. He seemed like the find of dad who would sit down with a kid and tell him not to be bad again with no threat of repercussion if they did rather than saying "You do this again, you're out."

He could have made a statement after the FIU brawl that he was in charge with longer suspensions for the protagonists, and he didn't. That may have been when he lost the part of the team which hadn't already checked out.

 

Remember, Coker shook his staff up after last year. Cutting loose Art Kehoe and Don Soldinger made a lot of people in south Florida extremely unhappy, particularly the high school coaches they depend on to provide much of their talent. Not only did things not get any better, they got worse this season on the field. So having already tried to "fix" things once, Coker didn't have credibility with fans to try it again. They had 23 thousand at that game last night - I can't imagine what it would have been like for them to try and sell tickets next year without making this move.

 

I hear Jerry Pepsier is an early frontrunner for replacement.

 

I really, really like Coker, think he's one of the true class acts in college football, and would not have fired him, but I agree with what you wrote, GB. There are so many enablers hanging around the Miami football program, from the street thugs all the way up to Dan LeBatard, that I think the military, fear-of-god approach is probably best for the school. When you brawl with LSU, then get your ass kicked in a bowl game, then disrespect Louisville, and get embarrassed in a regular season game, then when you brawl with a sorry ass FIU team that's not even worth the time and effort, and barely beat them anyway, the kids just aren't listening anymore.

My main problem with Miami the last few years is that they just don't have any offensive innovation. They won under Coker the first two years because they had better athletes at every position, so creativity didn't really matter. They don't have bad athletes now, they're just boring. And undisciplined. I still contend if Ralph Friedgen or Jim Grobe or Rich Rodriguez or Bobby Petrino was coaching that team, they'd be 10-2. Not great, but not awful. And at some point, Miami fans are going to have to face reality. You have a crappy, crumbling, off-campus stadium that's rarely full, and below-average facilities, especially compared to the rest of the ACC, everywhere else. If it really is true that 10-2 and 9-3 "just isn't good enough here" then maybe the school, starting with Donna Shalalla, should start pressuring the Ray Lewises, the Mike Irvins, the Willis McGehees, the Jim Kellys, the Egerrin Jameses, the Andre Johnsons, Jeremey Shockeys, Kellen Winslows, Ed Reeds, Warren Sapps and Duane Starks to give back a little money so they can build a new stadium.

And if the school has some kind of contractual agreement forcing them to use the OB, perhaps it's time to explore ways to get the hell out of it. If Miami really wants to continue to be one of CFBs elite programs, it might be time to start selling the future instead of the past. Time and time again, we heard when Notre Dame went through a down period that kids didn't give a crap about the storied history of the Golden Domers. Well, at some point, kids probably won't give a crap about who used to play at "The U" if they think Texas or Florida or USC will give them a better shot at getting laid, getting made, and getting paid.

In a world full of far too many two-bit hustlers, hucksters and con artists, Coker always seemed like one of the few honest, decent men in the game. I wish him well.

 

Sure, UM can move its football program all the way up to Dolphin Stadium (note that the U is in the Gables, very close to the OB) and then two football teams and a baseball team can completely destroy the playing surface there.

Um, not a good plan there.

True, the OB needs a massive remodeling project, but it's still a better solution than the stadium up near Fort Lauderdale.

 

Coker mentioned something about an OB renovation today in the presser.

 

Coker signed his death warrant last year when he gutted his staff and hired his offensive coordinator from LaTech. From LaTech to Miami? Really? I'm surprised the Canes didn't have a worse record. Coker is a great guy, but I don't know how good a coach he is. All his early success with Miami was with Butchie's boys.

 

He started recruiting heavy in the two lesser counties north of Dade.... and the program died.

 

the former players already give a lot of money. no institution - regardless of how many former players they have in the pros - will raise enough money from alumni to build a stadium.

and where exactly do you want them to play? everyone here knows they need a new stadium - one with 50-100 luxury suites but there are no other stadiums in south florida other than (as 2much wrote) dolphins stadium, which is too far away. at some point if the fighting with the city drags on for 5-10 more years i assume the U will start exploring the possibility of raising funds for a new stadium. but sometimes people forget that miami is a private school and although they play in a public stadium now unlike with most major college programs that get new digs, the state won't be kicking in any money.