Ive always said this. All it takes is a solid staff. Wake forests coach clausen would have miami top 25 every year.
We're blessed w/ rich recruiting grounds; so is USCw.
Being in So. Cal for majority of my life, I remember SC fans in the 90's converting over to Nebraska, Colorado, U Dub, and UCLA. Then a guy named Pete came on board. People clowned the hire b/c of his past stint in the NFL. No one wanted Pete. Within 2 years, all these fans flocked right back. All the recruits stayed home, but it started w/ Pete convincing Carson to stay home. We're in the same boat man. Both Miami and Los Angeles are two of the most touristy, fun cities you can visit. Rabid sports fans that can be fickle b/c it's too much to do, plus it's a melting pot of other fan bases.
I like to give my brethren a different perspective on matters, b/c I know most on here know Cane football and Cane football only. I hate hearing, "we're dead." I certainly don't think we're dead b/c we have recruits that still have love for us, and they jump on board with hopes and faith in what they're being told. THEN the season plays out. lol. I was just reading about Francois' de-commitment, and the first thing he said was
'they told him it was going to be TNM, and he was excited to be apart of it, but then we started the season 0-2, so he decided to open back up his recruitment.
Just like we think we have So. Fla divas, So Cal does to and every other school that has a hot bed for recruiting. You don't think Texas didn't feel that way during the lean years after Mack Brown? Texas kids who were born UT fans were flying the nest to UGA, OSU, and Bama. USC fans are absolutely ****ed at Flowe and his family, calling him a diva for not evening considering them. (btw, my boy just saw Flowe and said that dude is beyond good.) He's not going to USC b/c he wants to win. If USC didn't have so much uncertainty about them, he would be there....big facts. If Texas didn't hire Herman, they would be in the same boat.
But like Texas, we can make our way back w/ the right coach.
All is not lost, we just gotta do one of two things:
1. Hire a competent, proven AD with a good track record and allow him to work autonomously w/o any outside interference from the admin
or
2. Reorganize our entire athletic department entirely, including only involving BOT members with direct knowledge of the pulse of the program.
I think #1 is easier than #2 simply b/c of egos. Either way, we're not dead....pressure just needs to be kept up, and like USC, the best pressure is to start retracting any funding (donations, ticket sales, season tickets, parking passes, merchandise, etc.)