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When Mark Richt was initially hired as Miami’s next Head Coach, he immediately hit the recruiting trail and began adding members to his new staff. In 2015, the ‘Canes were coming off a turbulent regular season and experienced a major coaching change. Now, with (almost) 3 seasons under his belt, he’s faced with a similar situation.
We’ve discussed who Miami’s next Offensive Coordinator should be quite a bit here at State of the U. Sadly, it’s apparent that Mark Richt will continue to call plays. The hiring of a true-Offensive Coordinator is something Miami desperately needs, but it’s something we may have to live without for the near future.
However, Mark Richt might be forced to hire multiple coordinators this off-season due to the departure of Manny Diaz. Mentioned is multiple coordinators, as it’s rumored that Diaz may take another assistant with him to Temple. Recent developments may have secured other important parts of Miami’s defensive staff, however, as Ephraim Banda and Jon Patke were just promoted to co-Defensive Coordinator, with Defensive Line Coach Jess Simpson being promoted to Associate Head Coach.
For this Miami team though, change may not be a bad thing. Despite the success that Manny Diaz had here, the talent still remains. Regardless, there’s a lot of pressure on Richt this off-season, and rightfully so. He needs to hire the best available — making sure this ‘Canes team gets back to the ACC Championship.
A major factor as to why Mark Richt took the job at Miami was due to the ability to call his own plays, as he was ‘bored’ at Georgia. While it’s great for him to be more enthused at Miami, it’s useless if it doesn’t result in wins. If Mark Richt truly wants to win a championship at the U, he has to adapt and compromise.
Leading into this season, Manny Diaz had lost many integral parts of his defense. Instead of regression, he crafted the best defense of his career. Whether it be with a new play-caller or not, Mark Richt should construct an updated playbook in order to rebuild the ‘Canes offense. Miami has the tools to be a top-40 offense at the very least — it’s time to climb to that level.
With Miami moving Banda and Patke to Co-Defensive Coordinators, there’s an open spot on Miami’s coaching staff. Will this spot be filled by a new Offensive Coordinator? All we can do is speculate and hope for such a move. Ultimately, Mark Richt will surely have his work cut out for him in 2019, as the players, fans, and alumni are all frustrated with how the 2018 season turned out to be.