Should Miami Bring Back Former Players As Coaches?

Due to the horrendous track that the Miami Hurricanes season is on, it has caused several former players to speak out about the school they attended, and give their insights on what’s wrong down in Coral Gables. Most notably, former offensive linemen Bryant McKinnie and Brett Romberg voiced their frustration with the current Canes OL on Romberg’s podcast.

The University of Miami football team is known for its rich abundance of former players who have made it a point to come back and visit whenever they can. The pride and bond that they have with the current program is something that makes The U what it is.

Former players, like McKinnie, have expressed interest not just in coaching, but coaching at Miami. The idea and thought of bringing back these former Hurricane greats to the coaching staff isn’t new, and is something that has been talked about by fans for sometime now.

Could this idea actually work though? Say Ed Reed comes back to coach the defense or even just the safeties. McKinnie or Romberg oversees the offensive line. Andre Johnson takes over the wide receivers and Jeremy Shockey coaches the tight ends. Just because they once wore the U on their helmet and are former players, would that automatically result in Miami winning games?

Here’s my opinion, and I guarantee that I’ll probably be of the minority here. But just because someone is a former Hurricane player, doesn’t necessarily mean that he’d be a good fit to coach the Hurricanes. That doesn't mean I don't think they should be on the sidelines at games, giving pointers and what not.

There are several cases where I wouldn’t mind a former player coming back to coach. For instance, quarterback Ken Dorsey, he’s had experience with coaching since his playing days ended. He was the QB coach for the Panthers and Cam Newton, helping him win MVP honors and reaching a Super Bowl, and now he’s in the same position with the Bills, mentoring Josh Allen.

In that case, I could understand UM bringing Dorsey back to be an offensive coordinator, or just have some role in the program, he’s had proven success in coaching. Don’t load the coaching staff with old Canes just because they’re simply old Canes.

Yes, having these guys on the staff would no doubt help with recruiting, building hype around the program, but it doesn’t mean they’re fit to jump right into big time coaching. I mean, McKinnie and Romberg said it themselves, they went back to UM recently to try and help the OL, and players were laughing at them.

Following the Miami loss to Georgia Tech this past weekend, former Canes running back Clinton Portis took to Twitter, and actually made a really point, even though Portis himself doesn’t have coaching experience.

No, Portis hasn’t done any coaching, but I like said he brings up a solid point, how his experience as a player trumps that of many current coaches who didn’t play to the level that Portis or many other UM alumni played.

I can understand the frustration that comes from former players, seeing the school they helped build into a household name, now stand as the laughing stock of college football. Trust me, as fans we’re steaming mad as well. Though, let’s hold the phone on bringing everyone back as coaches.