STATE OF THE U 2023: Can coaching staff overhaul turn around Miami’s fortunes in a hurry?
A year ago when Mario Cristobal took over this Miami Hurricanes program, he assembled a staff charged with turning around a struggling team. To Cristobal’s credit, off a 5-7 season, he’s now put together a much different-looking group to try and lead Miami back to where it once was atop the college football world.
Just as Cristobal reshaped a struggling offensive line by bringing in a pair of 5-star prospects (Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola) and two highly touted transfers (Javion Cohen from Alabama, Matt Lee from UCF), the Miami coach shook things up by hiring new coordinators on both sides of the ball and new assistants as well.
Gone are offensive coordinator/WR coach Josh Gattis and defensive coordinator/LB coach Kevin Steele.
In are coordinators Shannon Dawson (also coaches QBs) and Lance Guidry (also coaches safeties).
Others that are gone: QB coach Frank Ponce, RB coach Kevin Smith, TE coach Stephen Field (now in a back office role), DE coach Rod Wright, LB coach Charlie Strong.
New faces as position coaches are RB coach Tim Harris, Jr., WR coach Kevin Beard, TE coach Cody Woodiel, DL coach Jason Taylor (from an off-field coaching role last year) and LB coach Derek Nicholson.
The returning coaches: OL coach Alex Mirabal, DL coach Joe Salave’a and DB coach Jahmile Addae.
So yeah, there’s been even more coaching turnover by percentage than there has roster turnover.
So let’s take a close peek today at this new-look staff and what each can bring to the table. They are now charged with helping in the turnaround effort spearheaded by the hiring of Cristobal a year ago December.
HEAD COACH MARIO CRISTOBAL
Cristobal returned to his alma mater in December, 2021 after leading the University of Oregon to three straight Pac-12 Conference championship game appearances and two Pac-12 titles. Prior to heading to Miami he was the only coach in the nation whose team has played in a Power Five conference championship game in each of the past three seasons. But year 1 at Miami didn’t go as planned. He tried to reshape the roster quickly by adding 11 transfers while signing a top 10 recruiting class. But there just were too many depth chart and talent holes, and Miami wound up a woeful 5-7. The good news? Cristobal is no stranger to turning things around. Along with Oregon he previously rebuilt FIU’s program, so he has a history of building up programs that were struggling when he came on (Oregon also was coming off a 7-5 season when he came in there). Cristobal has a tireless work ethic and a tremendous reputation as a recruiter. He also learned under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2013 to 2016, a move that changed his career. Cristobal knows what it should look like at a national championship level in the modern era, and he’s working to get the Canes there. Oh, and let’s not forget Cristobal previously coached at UM as an assistant … and played his Hurricanes career under coaches Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. He knows what it should look like and is trying to get Miami there.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QB COACH SHANNON DAWSON
Shannon Dawson (photo by Neil Gershman)
For the Miami Hurricanes to quickly turn around a 5-7 season, a key will be the immediate success of new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. He brings a hybrid Air-Raid attack to Miami, so the plodding Josh Gattis offense of 2022 that ranked No. 96 in the nation in scoring offense, No. 95 in rushing offense and No. 85 in total offense should be a thing of the past. Dawson’s numbers the last two years running the Houston offense? Very proficient. In 2021 the Cougars averaged 35.9 points and 413.4 yards, then this past season the team averaged 36.1 points and 455.8 yards. Dawson will use power option elements but also will spread out three and four receivers/tight ends in combination. Look for a close to 50/50 run-pass approach as the goal – last year his high-flying Houston offense threw the ball 55.4 percent of the time. Dawson has some key returning pieces including QB Tyler Van Dyke and has also gotten some key help from the portal and recruiting (2 five-star OL) that are part of a reshaped offensive line. There is no reason this should not be a high-flying attack in 2023.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/S COACH LANCE GUIDRY
The Lance Guidry defense will look quite a bit different from what fans saw from Kevin Steele a year ago. Guidry is aggressive and will stack seven defenders in the box. He’s not afraid to leave corners on an island. He also won’t use the extremely heavy rotation on the front seven that saw top Miami players sometimes in for barely half the reps of a game. Will it make a difference? Miami … and Guidry … hope so. Guidry’s defense has been described as a 2-4-5, but he takes issues with that and says it’s a case of 2 DEs that stand up like OLB. “It’s four down linemen, two backs and five DBs,” he said. “Now, we will go 4-3 with three backers when they go heavy personnel.” So look for him to keep opposing offenses off balance and take the attack to them. That should be different for a change, right? Guidry takes over a Miami D that didn’t fare particularly well in 2022 – the Canes ranked No. 64 in the nation in total defense (376.5 yards per game), No. 54 in rush defense (142.9 yards), No. 79 in passing yards allowed (233.6) and tied for 66th in scoring defense (26.8 points per game). A good sign is that Guidry’s used to getting results. His defenses dominated in his coordinator stops at McNeese State, Western Kentucky, and this past year at Marshall, with the lone real hiccup when he was coordinator for one year at Southeastern Louisiana in 2019 and just didn’t have a lot of talent with which to work. His Marshall D this past season ranked in the nation’s top 10 in 12 different categories on D including eighth in total defense (294.5 yards) and sixth in scoring defense (16.0).
RB COACH TIM HARRIS, JR.
Tim Harris, Jr. is the Miami Hurricanes new running backs coach, and he’s a former UM graduate whose father, Tim Sr., is a former Miami coach and whose brother, Brandon, is a former Canes cornerback. Tim Jr. and dad also coached local powerhouse program Miami Booker T. Washington, and last year Harris Jr. coached the running backs at UCF. Harris, Jr. is charged with making a run game that was somewhat anemic last year become a force. He’s said he wants tough, physical runners, and he’s got a returning starter and a pair of highly touted true freshman plus a talented Nebraska transfer (Ajay Allen) in his room. Harris, Jr. spent the past two seasons at UCF, including the 2022 season as the team’s assistant head coach / co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Under Harris’ direction in 2022, a dominant running attack helped the Knights lead the American Athletic Conference in total yards per contest, ranking 16th in the country in that category.
WR COACH KEVIN BEARD
Kevin Beard (photo by Neil Gershman)
Kevin Beard played for the University of Miami out of Plantation (Fla.) High School and previously was UM’s wide receivers coach from 1999-2003, his first position coaching role in college. Now he’s reprising that role once more. He’s charged with turning around a unit that struggled under Josh Gattis, who served as coordinator/WR coach last year. This was an offense that averaged just 23.6 points, and no wide receiver finished with more than 367 yards on the season. Beard aims to change all that, and the personnel from last year all return plus a couple of speedy freshmen and two transfers. So competition will be fierce for spots this fall. Beard spent the last four years coaching receivers at Toledo (with his first year with the Rockets spent as the director of player personnel and assistant recruiting coordinator). In 2022 at Toledo, Beard coached a receivers group led by second-team All-MAC selection Jerjuan Newton. The sophomore caught 53 passes for 830 yards and nine touchdowns. In addition, junior Devin Maddox made 39 catches for 548 yards and three touchdowns while sophomore DeMeer Blankumsee caught 41 passes for 512 yards and three scores. Those numbers wouldn’t be a bad starting point for some of the Canes’ wideouts.
TE COACH CODY WOODIEL
Cody Woodiel takes over as the tight ends coach after serving as a senior quality control analyst at UM – he also previously was an offensive analyst at Oregon. He’s considered a top up-and-coming young coach, and his unit will have to overcome the loss of Will Mallory to graduation. There is plenty of returning talent, plus transfer Cam McCormick and a couple of talented freshmen. So it’s a stacked room. Along with his time at Oregon, Woodiel had prior stops as an analyst at Charlotte and Troy … and he played college football at Troy. Woodiel also coached offensive line at Murray State. Woodiel, of course, has ties to Cristobal from their time together at Oregon. He joined Cristobal there in 2017, first serving as an offensive graduate assistant.
OL COACH ALEX MIRABAL
Mirabal may be known for his diminutive stature, but he’s built a reputation as a monster offensive line coach. A high school teammate of Cristobal’s at Miami Columbus, he has been the one constant on the staff during Cristobal’s career as a head coach. Mirabal came to Miami after spending the previous four years on Cristobal’s staff as offensive line coach at Oregon from 2018-2021. Mirabal also served as the assistant head coach for six years at FIU under Cristobal, working with the offensive line his final three years following three seasons coaching tight ends. Of note: Behind his Oregon line that he helped build through recruiting, the Oregon rushing attack last year averaged 203.2 rush yards per game – ranked No. 24 in the nation – and had 200-plus rush yards on seven occasions, including two 300-yard games. Mirabal’s unit underperformed badly last year, in part due to injury, ranking No. 95 in rushing offense and No. 108 in sacks allowed per game. The good news is it’s a total reshaped offensive line after the team added a pair of highly touted transfers from Alabama and UCF plus a pair of five-star OT signees. So the future is bright on the Miami O line.
DL COACH JOE SALAVE’A
Miami Hurricanes DL coach Joe Salave’a (Photo by Neil Gershman)
Salave’a spent the previous four seasons working in a similar capacity at the University of Oregon under Cristobal, and in his final year with the Ducks two of his top linemen were Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brandon Dorlus. Both earned first-team Pac-12 recognition, and Thibodeaux was a first-round NFL pick. After inheriting a defensive line that was part of a defense that finished near the bottom nationally in nearly every statistical category in 2016, Salave’a helped build the line into a group that helped Oregon rank in the nation’s top 25 in scoring defense, rushing defense, total defense, sacks and tackles for loss. A member of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame and an eight-year NFL veteran, Salave’a also spent five seasons at Washington State. At Miami? Last year the Canes’ front line had some issues but also had a couple of guys that showed they can be stars in DE Akheem Mesidor and DT Leonard Taylor. Now the challenge for Salave’a is finding another playmaking end and building some high quality DT depth.
DL COACH JASON TAYLOR
Jason Taylor’s reputation precedes him. The Hall-of-Famer had 139.5 sacks over 15 years in the pros … and has the tricks of the trade he can pass on along with that. He was a six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and the NFL sacks leader in 2002 plus the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award winner in 2006. Now he’s coach Taylor. Last year he served as a defensive analyst for Mario Cristobal, then this yewar was promoted to fill Rod Wright’s role. Taylor previously coached at Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School – as DL coach from 2017-19 and then defensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021.Taylor should be a guy that makes wave helping recruit top players to Miami given his knowledge of the pro game and what he can teach young playmakers.
LB COACH DEREK NICHOLSON
Derek Nicholson played at Florida State before beginning his coaching career. And his first college game ever was, you guessed it, against the Canes. Now he’s charged with turning around a position that’s struggled recently with top end talent and depth. It’ll help that he has a top end transfer (Francisco Mauigoa), but questions still surround his unit. The good news is in the past he’s proven he can develop top linebackers. He coached inside linebackers for Louisville from 2020-22 and while there he was instrumental in the development of all-ACC players Dorian Etheridge, C.J Avery, Momo Sanogo and Monty Montgomery, and he was a part of a defensive coaching staff that helped Louisville lead the nation with 50 sacks last season (including 23 sacks and 43 TFL by linebackers, leading the nation). He was following Scott Satterfield to Cincinnati before Mario Cristobal lured him away. Prior to Louisville, Nicholson spent four seasons at Southern Mississippi – two seasons coaching the defensive line and serving as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He spent the 2014 season at the University of Louisville, coaching outside linebackers/defensive ends on a defense that ranked fifth in the country in total defense, led the nation in interceptions, was ninth in total sacks and fourth in rush defense.
DB COACH JAHMILE ADDAE
Miami Hurricanes DB coach Jahmile Addae (Photo by Neil Gershman)
Addae arrives in Coral Gables after spending the 2021 season in a similar capacity at Georgia, where he helped guide the Bulldogs to a national championship. Addae, who is considered a strong recruiter, led a secondary at UGA that ranked among the nation’s elite in nearly every category – No. 13 in the nation in pass defense, allowing just 190 passing yards per game, No. 2 in passing efficiency defense and No. 8 in interceptions (16). But at Miami last season – even with NFL draftees Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey at CB plus All-American Kam Kinchens joining James Williams at safety – the secondary underperformed. The Canes ranked No. 79 in the nation in passing yards allowed and No. 101 in team passing efficiency defense. With Stevenson and Ivey gone the team’s brought in four transfers to help fill the gap. This is a unit that must perform really well for Lance Guidry’s attacking style of defense to not get burned.
Along with all the above coaches, also notable are Miami off-field roles for guys like former Miami Central coach Roland Smith and NFL special teams veteran Marwan Maalouf, among others like former DB coach Mike Rumph and DL coach Todd Stroud.
General Manager Alonzo Highsmith is also charged with providing oversight of football operations, a role in personnel, can evaluate talent with the best of them and also will help build bridges between the South Florida football community and Miami football. Highsmith has served for more than two decades in a variety of NFL personnel positions. He was the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2018-19. Prior to joining the Browns, Highsmith spent 19 seasons in the Green Bay Packers player personnel department. During his time in Green Bay, the Packers earned 13 trips to the playoffs, nine NFC North division titles and a victory in Super Bowl XLV.
Add it all up and this should be a stellar staff, a group that gets guys ready for gameday and develops players to their fullest potential. Prior to Cristobal, have Miami fans been able to say that often in the last couple of decades?
So the State of The U is on the upswing, but a lot will hinge on these new coaches installing their systems, making sure players buy in, and then turn guys into NFL-level performers.
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