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Editor's note: this is not the consensus opinion of the staff, and we will be profiling many other candidates.
On Sunday, Miami fired fifth-year head coach Al Golden after an embarrassing 58-0 defeat to Clemson. Golden, who was just 32-25 during his tenure, was relieved of his duties due to underperforming with a talented roster over the past two seasons.
Cam wrote about how Miami must hit a home run with this next hire, and the Canes have plenty of potential candidates to choose from.
Let us bring to you the right man for the job, the sought-after "savior" of the Miami program, Greg Schiano.
Who Is Greg Schiano?
Schiano is currently not coaching football, but do not let that deter you from thinking the man can coach. He is currently an NFL analyst and has been looking to get back into coaching if the right opportunity presented itself.
- Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach
- Former Rutgers head coach
- built Rutgers into reputable program
- 68-67 while at Rutgers, but went 49-28 in his final six seasons
- 5-1 bowl record
- 2006 Walter Camp Coach of the Year
- 2006 Big East Coach of the Year
- Best record was in 2006, coaching Rutgers to an 11-2 record
Strengths
Schiano is known to be a disciplinarian, which is sometime Miami desperately needs. He is a tough, hard-nosed coach who will get the best out of each and every one his players. Schiano virtually upstarted a Rutgers program that was a college football laughing stock. He definitely will have minimal issues trying to upstart a Miami program with a talented roster.
DEFENSE!!! Schiano is a former defensive coordinator at Miami and has spent his coaching career on the defensive side of the football. As stated before, Schiano's defenses at Miami finished in the top-12 in both of his years as DC. Miami needs a major defensive overhaul in regards of the scheme and play calling, so this seems like a match made in heaven.
Preparation - He is known to be a great coach in terms of discipline and getting his players ready to face competition (hence the 5-1 bowl record). During Golden's tenure, Miami never really seemed prepared for the teams that would challenge them the most, and often time the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed. His discipline-styled nature, his knowledge of defense, and his preparation skills are what I admire and want the most.
Weaknesses
Schiano's coaching style, although admired by some, has rubbed others the wrong way on different occasions. Recently, Seattle Seahawks DE Michael Bennett referred to Schiano as "a stiff." There is no denying what he can do as a coach, especially at the collegiate level, but you want a coach that players will respect and fight for.
Schiano's overall coaching records, in both leagues, are just meh. He barely finished about .500 in his tenure at Rutgers at 68-67 and never won more than five conference games in the Big East. The Big East lost credibility during the final stages of the football conference's existence, but did have quality competition during Rutgers' initial rise to prominence. He also finished 7-9 and 4-12 in his two seasons in Tampa Bay, both good for dead-last in the conference. By no means did he walk into a good situation in both cases, but at some point a coach needs to start winning.
Summary
Greg Schiano has everything the Canes are looking for. He has the moxie, the drive, the experience, and the DEFENSE!!! I don't think that we can stress that aspect enough.
Miami is expected to have some sort of recruiting fallout/change sometime soon, and plenty of the offensive talent will begin to think otherwise if the offensive staff is let go due to an offensive-minded head coach coming in and calling the shots. Schiano is considered by many to be the #1 candidate for the job because of all of the attributes and variables that allow him to be the best fit.
Schiano is the right man for the job. Bar none.
Stay tuned for more articles on potential candidates for the position in 2016, right here on SOTU. Feel free to leave plenty of comments below on who you think should be the next Hurricanes Head Coach.