Miami Football (official thread)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

1/2/06

Changes upcoming for Miam(FL)......

The Miami Hurricanes' embarrassing loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl might have cost four assistant coaches their jobs.

The Miami Herald reported on its Web site Monday that assistant head coach Art Kehoe, running backs coach Don Soldinger, offensive coordinator Dan Werner and linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves were fired by the school.

''I got fired. I wish I didn't, but I did," Kehoe, who also coached the offensive line, told the Herald. "I have to move on with my life and take care of my family now.

"I am eternally grateful to the University of Miami for giving me one of the greatest lives you could ever have in college football. We won more games, more national titles, more bowl games, more big games. When you think about it, I owe everything to this school."

LSU beat Miami 40-3, the Hurricanes' most-lopsided bowl loss. Miami's previous most lopsided loss in a bowl game was a 29-0 loss to Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994.

[sandgk]

Had this already posted up in the Peach Bowl thread -

One interesting thing is this now makes 5 assistant coaches thrown under the bus by Coker et al -- (Greg Mark was let go earlier in the year).

[osugrad21]

Sun Sentinel

1/4

JOSEPH: Firings should keep Coker off hot seat - for now

Published January 3, 2006


Don Soldinger never held anything back while serving the University of Miami.

You might not have liked what you heard, but the Hurricanes' assistant coach was always a straight shooter and you knew where you stood. That didn't change on Bloody Monday.

After being told in the morning by coach Larry Coker he was one of four assistants being fired, Soldinger asked Coker the same question anyone else would have -- why?

"He said he didn't want to get into specifics," Soldinger said Monday afternoon after fielding calls from a number of former students, including former running back Frank Gore. "The only thing is ... if I was handling the situation I guess I would have done things a little different. I worked with and for [Coker] a long time.

"Hey, he knows what he's doing. I guess I don't fit into his plans. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Larry Coker. I wish it was two ways. Maybe it is."

Perhaps Coker fired offensive assistants Soldinger, Art Kehoe and Dan Werner and linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves to infuse the program with some spark. But there's reason to believe that Coker's chopping of heads was an attempt to save his own.

Call it self-preservation.

No matter how many ways you look at it, there's no way you can honestly believe the Hurricanes are better without Soldinger. The same could probably be said for Kehoe and Hargreaves.

Let's see, all Soldinger did during his years as an assistant at Miami was develop one of the country's strongest running games and backs Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Gore.

As for Hargreaves? Well, there were those first-round draft picks Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams as well as all-world Dan Morgan. And how is it that a guy like Kehoe can suddenly become incapable of coaching when he did the job for Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Butch Davis and Dennis Erickson?

"It's the nature of the business, I guess," Soldinger said.

But there's something troubling about what occurred at UM. Soldinger and Kehoe were lifers; they would have given blood for the program, and they had a successful record. So doesn't it seem odd that the only time in more than two decades they haven't been able to develop talent is during Coker's regime?

Yes, part of the problem was Werner's offense. But Coker must take a bigger share of the responsibility. It's his teams that have lacked emotion the past two years, and it's Coker who has failed miserably in recruiting the kinds of players the Hurricanes program has been loaded with in the past.

But Coker's biggest crime Monday was copping out, not once but twice.

First, he owed his staff, every single one of them, an explanation Monday as to why they were being fired. His inability to provide one (at least to Soldinger) seemed to indicate there wasn't one.

But Coker spoke as if he was above the program, above criticism.

He said, "Our performance hasn't been up to our expectations." He also added, "This program deserves better."

But isn't Coker's job as head coach defined as being the one in charge to bring the program's performance up to expectations and to get better? Coker is driving the bus, not Soldinger or Kehoe or anyone else.

No question, Coker's job is in jeopardy. Anything less than an ACC championship next season and he'll be looking for work next winter.

Unfortunately, what Coker didn't understand Monday was his best shot to save his own head was with coaches like Soldinger and Kehoe by his side.

[Dryden]

Originally Posted by bucknuts44820

How in the world does this guy get a new deal when in reality he has not been able to win anything with HIS recruits?

Um let's see ...

Schmooze the boosters and keep the influx of cash coming ... CHECK
Smooch the AD's and President's butts ... CHECK
Recruit like a madman ... CHECK
Mail in a couple 10 win seasons ... CHECK
Talk about that one time a couple of seasons ago you actually beat all of your major rival(s) ... CHECK
When the shit hits the fan, fire all the assistants, which is pretty easy since you're an 'outsider' to the program anyway ... CHECK

Coker worked four years under Cooper at Tulsa, then rejoined the Cooper family tree for another two at Ohio State. Coker learned from the best, so is this really any surprise?

If anyone knew how to parlay losing either your last game of the season or your bowl game 75% of the time into a contract extension ... well, like I said, Coker learned from the best.

[ysubuck]

I was stunned that they got rid of Kehoe. That guy has been there since Moses wore short pants.

I'm also surprised that he isn't more up front with the coaches about why they are being fired.

"Coach why was I fired?"

"I don't want to get into specifics."

Are you kidding me? That response tells me that he doesn't have a good reason for firing him. Ridiculous. I'm not sure I'm going to buy the "Larry Coker is a good guy" routine any longer.

[cincibuck]

Originally Posted by bullsfan75

His re-signing is very bad news for the Cryami faithful.

What Miami faithful? You talking about the five non-staff folks who go on the road with the 'canes?