The University of Miami (UM) is intensifying its search for a head football coach by interviewing some premier candidates.
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Now, he’s about to return to his alma mater to try to push it to the top again.
Citing unnamed sources, ESPN reported UM officials interviewed Dan Mullen, Mark Richt, Greg Schiano, and Butch Davis.
Few if any SEC coaches of any era were known more for their above board, encouraging interactions with their “student-athletes” and support staff than Richt.
Does it help that Richt is a UM alum who played QB behind Jim Kelly? But the school has spent the last decade fruitlessly trying to recapture past glory, with the cloud of NCAA sanctions again hanging over the program in recent years. The Bulldogs finished the 2015 regular season 9-3. The four coaches since have won just 63% covering a span of 12 years and are only 5-5 in bowl games. Over the weekend, FootballScoop.com reported that the 64-year-old Davis, who coached the Hurricanes from 1995-2000, had an “extremely positive” meeting with Miami and the site cited an anonymous source as saying that meeting “cleared some hurdles” for Davis to return to Miami. While Richt’s tenure at Georgia may have gotten a bit stale, sometimes a change of scenery can be exactly what is needed. McGarity said in a statement released by the school the two “mutually agreed that he would step down as head coach”.
Georgia has planned a Monday news conference.
Richt, who played quarterback at Miami from 1979-1982, coached Georgia for 15 seasons starting in 2001 until he was sacked earlier this week.
Richt made $4 million a year, which makes you think he should drop the “t” from his name. Miami paid Golden just shy of $2.54 million a year ago. “Like when Howard Schnellenberger [was] there, if you can get the local stars to stay at home they can be as good as anybody”. Who knows. The latest in the rumor mill after Mark Richt’s dismissal at Georgia is that Houston HC Tom Herman is most likely to succeed him, according to SportsRadio 610 out of Houston. Still, given his track record, it’s reasonable to assume a re-energized Richt could finally get Miami over the hump in the ACC Coastal and compete for championships in the conference, if not nationally. He also led the program to six SEC East division titles and won SEC coach of the year in 2002 and 2005. He may not be as good a man as Mark Richt is, but are we really going to start judging coaches on that level? Richt flew across the country last month to see five-star quarterback Jacob Eason, and has a long relationship with him.
This coach was beloved and respected, and that’s understandable. Asked if she was excited about what may transpire in the coming days, Miami women’s basketball coach Katie Meier said “I hope to be” after her team beat IL to move to 8-0 on the season. While Durkin appears to be a solid hire, there had been rumblings that Maryland would break the bank for a marquee coach.
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The former Miami quarterback has reached a tentative agreement to be the Hurricanes’ next head coach, pending the completion of contract talks, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. If Mississippi State wins that game, it will be the first time the Bulldogs have ever posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons.
