Analysis: Why no one wants to coach at Miami and 'Bama

Much has been made over the last few days about Rich Rodriguez' flirtation with the University of Alabama and their open spot as football coach. This afternoon, news comes that Rodriguez will be staying at West Virginia, albeit for a pay raise. That job is still open, and there is not a top-tier candidate to fill it. Miami last night broke down and hired from within in promoting Defensive Coordinator Larry Shannon, forgoing any premier candidates. Everyone is wondering why no one wants to coach there, and the answer is this: Miami and Alabama are just not premier programs right now, and it will probably take another coach or two at each school to get things turned around.

Is it really that simple? Well, yes, it is. Miami did win a BCS Championship under Larry Coker, but they have fallen far in the three years since. The 'Canes have become a team with a clear lack of discipline, stomping on the logo at Louisville, getting into numerous on-field altercations, and building up a decent rap sheet off it. Sure, I feel sorry for the loss of DT Brian Pata mid-season, and I hope that his killers are found, but let us not allow it to take away from the facts here. When you have no discipline and structure, you just are not going to be a successful football team. It simply does not happen.

The real problem at Miami goes beyond firing a coach and bringing in a new guy to call the shots. Miami's Athletic Dept. is also in bad shape, and their President, Donna Shalala is not exactly doing a great job either. Both of them seem to have been immune from criticism in this whole mess, but they should not be. If Ohio State was guilty of a lack of institutional control a few years back, then Miami most certainly is as well. There needs to be a total house cleaning, not just shifting around the wall ornaments and fluffing the pillows.

So that brings me to ask, will Larry Shannon be successful at Miami? Well, at first glance his defenses at The U have been very successful, and he is certainly familiar with the surroundings, having played and coached there. However, the offense needs a lot of work. Anyone who watched the Hurricanes play this season can attest to a horrid offensive gameplan. Not that ACC defenses are complaining about it, though. Shannon inherits a rather veteran team, with a solid defense, a middling offense, and a veteran QB who has never lived up to expectations. And they have absolutely no receiving talent.

If nothing changes, the 'Canes should win a few more games next season, simply based on experience alone. However, the program will continue to go downhill after that if Shannon fails to instill some character in his squad. This is where I think promoting from within is a bad move; an insider is not prone to upending the apple cart. Shannon is going to have to buck this trend and knock some heads together in Miami. My first move would be to institute a zero-tolerance policy, and proceed to boot the first player who so much as flirts with the line I've drawn off of the team. The animals have to be stopped from running the zoo down there, and that is the bottom line.

And that brings us to the Crimson Tide, who possess a football program in serious decline since Bear Bryant retired. Sure, they won a championship in the 90s, but that was a mere blip on the radar. In the hyper-competitive SEC, 'Bama is just not a team that can contend year in and year out, especially with the emergence again of Arkansas and South Carolina. Last year was their year, and they couldn't get it done. Mike Shula may have gotten canned, but after all of the pressure he was under to win this season, you have to think he is relieved to be gone.

The biggest problem in Alabama right now, and I have heard this echoed by several people, including a couple of former D-I players I know, is that there are far too many boosters who have to have their say on where the program goes in Tuscaloosa (and that it is Tuscaloosa, which means "middle of nowhere" in the original Greek). The boosters running the program is just as bad as the players doing so, and I think the best evidence of this will come about 5 years down the road when the Oklahoma State football program is in ruins. Just because they have some cash does not mean that they should be calling the shots. Until you resolve this situation (or get out of the SEC) there are going to be problems with building a consistent winner there.

Escalating the problems at The U and 'Bama are the emergence of new powerhouse programs like Louisville, West Virginia, and Wake Forest. They are not quite at yearly contender status yet, but there is a group of schools bubbling under the surface, and it is only a matter of time until they boil over. Once upon a time, Miami, Florida State, and Alabama were in the same position, struggling under dominant Army, Navy, and Notre Dame football teams. Now, the tables have turned, and all I have to say is get used to it!