Shannon named Miami HC

I had heard the rumors earlier in the day, but didn't want to post anything until there was a more public announcement. From The Miami Herald:

The University of Miami has a new head football coach.

UM defensive coordinator Randy Shannon accepted the position Thursday, according to a well-placed university source.

Shannon, 40, a Miami native, becomes only the sixth black head coach in Division I football. He replaces Larry Coker, who was fired last month after six seasons.

Shannon graduated from Norland High and then UM in 1989. He was a member of the 1987 Hurricanes national championship team and an 11th-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Shannon was a Miami Dolphins defensive assistant in 1998 and 1999 before becoming Miami's linebackers coach in 2000.

He returned to UM in 2001 as defensive coordinator, and became the first UM coach to win the Frank Broyles Award that year as the top assistant in college football. Shannon's defenses have been outstanding every season, including this one, in which UM (6-6) is ranked fifth in total defense, fourth in rushing defense and 12th in scoring defense.

With some of the big names that had been thrown around, promoting an assistant seems a bit anticlimactic. But after Schiano decided to stay at Rutgers, my biggest concern was keeping Shannon.

Now the big question is how will he restructure the assistants. I'm sure the good ones, namely Mario Cristobol, will stay.

I'm looking forward to a recruiting surge.

-UPDATE-

Omar's take:

I'll be the first to admit it took a great deal of courage to do what Donna Shalala, Paul Dee and the University of Miami Board of Trustees just did.

By hiring Randy Shannon as Larry Coker's successor Miami's administration and decision makers just stuck their middle finger up to the college football establishment.

To all those who think the U's broken.... Miami's faded, an embarrassment to college football, a football team in desperately need of new blood, or one that must distance itself from its illustrious history....UM's decision makers just said "Thanks but no thanks. We trust our own homegrown Hurricane to fix this teams problems."

And to prove it they overlooked the fact that he had no head coaching experience.

It was a brave move. Whether it's the right move will be determined in the next three seasons as Shannon labors to win UM conference and national titles, and assists the administration with getting Miami's facilities on par with the rest of the college football landscape.

While the decision to stay in-house was a brave one, picking Shannon was anything but a risk in my mind. After watching him work for the past five seasons I do have a few reservations, but I'm confident he can get the job done, which to me makes it a safe pick. I can't say the same for some of the names I heard being thrown around for the job because this program and this community isn't a good fit for everyone.

Shannon already has a leg up on any candidate UM could have hired because he knows this program in and out, and he knows this team, strengths and weaknesses. He's going to bring an attitude, hustle, tenacity and a toughness to this team, not just to his side of the ball.

Hopefully in the coming days some of the questions both U and I have (like who will be his offensive coordinator) will be answered, but I hope you'll allow your new coach - one of your own, someone with Hurricane blood - to actually put a team on the field before you start trying to run him out of town.

His loyalty and commitment deserves that much.