I try to be objective on all topics on this board.
I think there’s several things to consider when it comes to last yr and our 5-7 record that needs to be addressed on both ends:
1. Culture: I know those who don’t really roll w/ Mario as HC think this is a buzz word, however if u listen to any coach on any level that’s taking over a new team, that’s one of the first things that’s mentioned. Miami’s #TNM culture was deplorable.
2. Scheme: The scheme didn’t fit the personnel. It was painful to watch
3. Personnel: It was clear some guys on the roster were not Miami material either mentally or physically.
4. The Program: There was a reason why Herbstreit called us out on Nat’l TV. The program have rested on its laurels for yrs now, not completely vested in any of its athletics, particularly football.
HOWEVER, w/ that being said, here’s what works against Mario:
1. Coaching: If u go back & watch those games, Mario as a HC made several rookie mistakes that hurt the team, namely in the TAMU game:
-Bleeding the clock in the 4th when we were down 17-6. We had the first possession in the 4th w/ 14:20 to play. We took **** near 6 minutes to score 3 points to make the game 17-9.
-Our defense holds & we get the ball back w/ a little over 7 mins to play. We then bleed the clock, AGAIN, to 3:20 JUST to give the ball back to TAMU; mind u, we only have 2 T.O’s at this point.
-We kill all of our T.O’s on TAMU’s next possession & get the ball back w/ 0 TO’s and 1:16 on the clock. At this point u would think we would speed up the game; NOPE. Not only r we slow, but in TAMU’s territory w/ 58 secs to play, JK4 is stopped short on 3rd and 10 in bounds, and there’s confusion! No one knew what to do and we bled another 25 secs just to throw an incompletion! Ball game.
That TAMU lost was on coaching, period. TAMU was a depleted team w/ suspensions & key defensive players getting DQ’d for targeting; yet, we were the team that looked disorganized, & Mario looked very uncomfortable in the tight moment.
2. Predecessor: Mark Richt took over the Wefense era, & had to use his own $$ to help push us in to the 21st Century of Athletics. This program was 3 yrs removed from the cloud, & he also took over a program who suffered its most embarrassing home loss in program’s history, while firing its HC mid season. Yet, Richt quickly turned around Miami in 2 short yrs being a shell of himself.
3. Peers: Elko took over a worst program than Mario, yet Mike had Duke, DUKE, immediately as not only a formidable opponent, but a winning team. Here’s what’s even scarier about what Mike did at Duke; not only was he a 1st time HC, but out of Duke’s 4 losses, their avg. margin of defeat was 3.8 points! Then u have a veteran coach in Dykes who takes over a TCU program that went 5-7 the season prior & 23-24 over the last 4 yrs & IMMEDIATELY turns them into a CFP contender.
So to me, I think it’s reasonable to have cautious optimism. Yes, we can say Mario had/have a lot of work to do to change the culture here, but the counter argument will be 5-7 was not necessary b/c there were minor coaching adjustments that could’ve been made to change the outcome.
If u’re going to say, “we need to give him 5 yrs” and use Butch as a guideline, well the problem is apples & oranges. Butch took over a NCAA Scandal team that received **** near the death penalty. With that said, only The 1997 saw the true devastation. He still went 8-3, 9-3, 5-7, 9-3, 9-4, 11-1 w/ one hand tied behind his back. Was it at the Nat’l Championship level the previous coaches created? No, but we were still competitive w/ limited scholarship players. Mario did not walk in to the same situation; further that situation was 25 yrs ago; the game has changed, & no program’s coach need that long to turn around culture, today, & the data proves that.
Let’s see how the season plays out for 2023-24. Let’s see how recruiting plays out for 2023-24. No need to throw dirt on Mario b/c he was successful at UO, but there’s also no need to excuse, rationalize, circumvent 5-7 last yr, either. Nor, can Mario continue to see in every interview what he did at a previous stop. That’s old news & will eventually fall on dead’s ears. I will say this, & I stand by this:
If 2023 is a season in which we find ourselves struggling w/ identity, struggling against inferior opponents, getting blown out, then it’s completely justifiable to start ?ing the complete direction. If we fulfill the “lofty” expectations of winning at least 8 games this season, then we should all feel much better moving fwd.
