Everything's Coming Up Canes! Miami Steals James Coley Away From Rival FSU

WOW. Just....wow. The fact that Miami was able to pull Coley away from FSU to be the OC is big enough in itself, but what this means for Miami's recruiting cannot be understated. Not only does this give Miami a quartet of Golden, Cristobal, Coley, and Carroll leading the recruiting charge, but it means they will have more than enough firepower to lock down top flight recruits if/when the NCAA lays down scholarship reductions.

If Miami is going to be working with smaller classes, they've put together the staff to be able to do it. Not only that, but Coley is a heck of an offensive mind. He was usually part of the brain-trust that made offensive adjustments for the Noles, although Jimbo handled the play calling. That doesn't mean that Coley isn't capable of performing the job, it just means that he is, on the whole, unproven in that regard.

Here's some stats to show his impact on the offense at FSU compared to Miami's from last year:

Yards Per Game: FSU 470.8 / Miami 440.2

Points Per Game: FSU 39.3 / Miami 31.4

The reported offer was $500,000 a year plus full and complete control of the offense. The fact that Coley does not yet have reliable OC experience was softened a bit by the fact that FSU worked so hard to keep him. Matching that offer and reportedly having Jimbo considering giving up play calling speaks volumes about his skills on the offensive side of the ball. This is a gamble well worth taking.

While not a huge difference, it could be enough to put Miami up another level on the offensive side of the ball, especially with Cristobal adding his expertise. Nevertheless, this is a great, great hire by Golden and his staff, and the South Florida recruiting implications are just ridiculous.

Of course, I would be remiss if I were to ignore that added bonus of stealing a lynch pin from the boys up north :)

Welcome, Coach Coley, to The U!

UPDATE:

The University made it official with this press release, which included the following comments from Al Golden:

“We’re excited about adding James Coley’s leadership, expertise and passion to our staff and Miami Hurricane Football,” Golden said. “I’ve been an admirer of his offenses output and execution, his commitment to student-athlete development as well as his relentless approach to recruiting Dade and Broward counties.

“Coach Coley will be a great asset to the University of Miami and we welcome him, his wife Kenia and their two children back to South Florida,” Golden said.