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Randy Shannon

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Randy Shannon

Randy Lannard Shannon (born February 24, 1966 in Miami, Florida) is the current head football coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes.[1] His inaugural season as Miami's head coach was hugely unsuccessful, proving one of the worst seasons for the program in several decades. Under Shannon, Miami lost seven games during the 2007 regular season, including four to unranked teams and failed to qualify for any bowl game. Shannon also coached Miami to one of the worst losses in the program's history, a 48-0 loss to unranked Virginia, the final game played by Miami at the Orange Bowl.

As of November 2007, no announcement has yet been made on whether or not he will be asked to return as Miami's head coach, but few coaches at Miami have survived such unsuccessful seasons.

Playing career

Shannon is a graduate of Miami Norland High School in Miami Gardens, Florida. He played college football for the University of Miami, starting at outside linebacker for the 1987 national championship team.

After graduating in 1989, Shannon played briefly as a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys.

Coaching career

Early years

Shannon was first hired by Miami coach Dennis Erickson in 1991 to be a graduate assistant. He later became the team's defensive line coach and linebackers coach. Shannon worked as linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and as a defensive assistant in 1998 and 1999.

In 2001, Miami coach Larry Coker hired Shannon to be the defensive coordinator. That year Shannon received the Broyles Award given annually to the best assistant coach in college football.

A compiled list of Shannon's defenses:

University of Miami Head Coach

Shannon was officially introduced as the head coach of Miami on December 8, 2006, replacing Larry Coker in the position. Shannon reportedly agreed to a four-year deal worth over $4 million. He is the sixth black head coach in Division I-A NCAA football, the others being Karl Dorrell, (UCLA), Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State), Tyrone Willingham (Washington), Ron Prince (KSU), and Turner Gill (Buffalo). Coker stayed on to coach the team to a 21-20 MPC Computers Bowl victory over the University of Nevada; Shannon assumed all other functions, including recruiting, immediately upon his hiring. The first recruit he visited as head coach was five star running back Graig Cooper, who signed with Miami. [2]

2007 season

Shannon's first decision as head coach was to order the removal of the players' surnames from their jerseys. This was ordered on the basis that Shannon felt the players were more about themselves than the team. [3]

The season opened with a victory in his first game as head coach. The second game was a 51-13 loss to the University of Oklahoma in a nationally televised game, one of the most lopsided defeats in the program's history.

In an up and down season, Miami defeated then-20th ranked Texas A&M in the third game, then went on to lose to unranked North Carolina and, in the Orange Bowl, to both Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. One highlight was Miami's fourth quarter comeback against rival Florida State. However, in the team's final appearance ever at the Orange Bowl, Miami suffered a crushing 48-0 loss against unranked University of Virginia, the worst loss for the program in the history of its play at the Orange Bowl and the worst overall loss since 1944.

Miami finished the season losing to Boston College 28-14. The team lost 6 out of their 7 last games.

In discussing the most recent season and the death of former player, Sean Taylor, Shannon gave a rambling, incoherent interview with a reporter for the Miami Herald. Among the inconsistencies in the interview, he stated that one of his best friends growing up, Walter Odom, was shot and killed at the University of Florida as proof that the criminal stigma the Hurricanes program faces is overblown. [4] However, Odom died in 2002 in Miami after a long illness. [5]

References

  1. ^ Susan Miller Degnan; et al. (2006-12-07). "UM chooses Shannon as head football coach". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  2. ^ The Associated Press, Mark Schlabach & Joe Schad (2006-12-07). "Defensive coordinator Shannon new Miami Coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  3. ^ "A No Name Offense and Defense," The Miami Herald, July 24, 2007, page 3D.
  4. ^ "Shannon exclusive (part I)". Miami Herald. 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Two could be picked in NFL's first round". St Petersburg Times. 2002-02-06. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Preceded by University of Miami Head Football Coach
2007– 		Succeeded by
current

Template:Current African-American head football coaches of the NCAA

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