Mario and Talent Acquisition

[FuriousStyles]

Talent acquisition isn’t a huge concern for me…

As others have pointed out dropping 3 of our last 4 and again not getting better (as a team) as the season went on is a huge issue for me. If we are being honest teams were able to figure us out. And we did nothing about it. The way UF was playing at the end of the year compared to how we were playing… if we played them again that game doesn’t look the same for us.

I watched a good amount of teams… many are the same teams we expect to be on par with get better in November. Kicked it in another gear. We didn’t show that and that’s not a good feeling because the things that were an issue for us in November were prevalent in EARLY OCTOBER and we didn’t do anything to fix because we won right?

Not a good long term plan.

 

[TheATLCane]

UGA NIL isn’t as deep as other programs

 

[Alex_Dynamix]

I wanted to wait until after we got a quarterback because at this rate, we are going to end up re-recruiting Poffenbarger.

But there were waaaay too many people on here talking about how Mario isn't elite at talent acquisition anymore. Fast forward a few weeks and despite almost no momentum to end the season, he has beaten out a lot of brand-name schools with lots of money to land at least 7 surefire contributors (wait and see on Karnley) and overhauled a secondary with no defensive coordinator in place and a current secondary coach that is likely a lame duck.

He also retained almost every key player from a 10-win team (Horton and Williams are the exceptions) with almost none of the drama that FSU had with Payton and DeLoach and others last season. He even snatched a well-respected personnel and talent evaluator away from Bill Belichick of all people.

I think it is time to put the narrative that Mario can't acquire talent to bed once and for all.

Yes, these evaluations still have to pan out and there is PLENTY to criticize him for and we will see what happens at quarterback and defensive coordinator.

But he deserves credit for not resting on the laurels of a 10-win season and identifying and addressing areas of weakness in the offseason.

Next year will be a huge litmus test for how we end up thinking about his tenure here, but good things are in motion at the very least.

The lane/lanning bros ain’t gon like this one

 

[ben]

This one goes out to Mario cristobal

 

[jrock2332]

The most recent recruiting class says he isn't a great recruiter. We went 10-2 and have money.

The way we look when we play matters. Mario isn't a good football coach and his teams show it. That negates his recruiting as much as NIL evens the field. The way we ended our season was horrible.

He's also failed tremendously at certain position groups since arriving. He took Emory as his QB. We have minimal talent on the defensive side of the ball.

If he was this fantastic accumulator of talent, then year 4 should be a great year and we should win our very weak conference. However, we will not. We will likely regress in year 4.

Mario is not really good at anything. He's passionate and he tries, but he just doesn't have what it takes

I think you look at QB. We haven't had much stability outside of ward at that position under Mario. You look at the regression of the defense this year. I think the most damning thing is hiring multiple coordinators in a short period of time. Elite coaches normally have ga or position coaches that move up and eventually become decent coaches themselves. That is the Hallmark of an elite coach. Mario has shown he can't evaluate coordinators and the guys he brings in do get to select their own guys. I think Cristobal will need a coming to Jesus moment to change. I don't currently see him doing anything of significance here and if he gets fired from his alma mater he may not get another relevant p4 job. It may be that Mario is another lame duck coach in a lond list of lame duck coaches over the last 20 years.

 

[GojiraCane]

The most recent recruiting class says he isn't a great recruiter. We went 10-2 and have money.

The way we look when we play matters. Mario isn't a good football coach and his teams show it. That negates his recruiting as much as NIL evens the field. The way we ended our season was horrible.

He's also failed tremendously at certain position groups since arriving. He took Emory as his QB. We have minimal talent on the defensive side of the ball.

If he was this fantastic accumulator of talent, then year 4 should be a great year and we should win our very weak conference. However, we will not. We will likely regress in year 4.

Mario is not really good at anything. He's passionate and he tries, but he just doesn't have what it takes

The ranking was less about quality and more
about quantity. It was very lopsided towards blue chip players, moreso than almost any class in twenty years.

 

[MikeyCanez]

That's highly debatable. South FL vs Metroplex recruits? Based on production on field this century ...

I meant kids in the transfer portal. SMU is adding kids that Chris Johnson. We are competing for an entirely different level of talent.

 

[MikeyCanez]

I think you look at QB. We haven't had much stability outside of ward at that position under Mario. You look at the regression of the defense this year. I think the most damning thing is hiring multiple coordinators in a short period of time. Elite coaches normally have ga or position coaches that move up and eventually become decent coaches themselves. That is the Hallmark of an elite coach. Mario has shown he can't evaluate coordinators and the guys he brings in do get to select their own guys. I think Cristobal will need a coming to Jesus moment to change. I don't currently see him doing anything of significance here and if he gets fired from his alma mater he may not get another relevant p4 job. It may be that Mario is another lame duck coach in a lond list of lame duck coaches over the last 20 years.

Not that I totally disagree, but hiring coordinators is not as easy as it might seem. I agree that he put himself behind the eight ball with the Gattis/Steele/Strong group, but everyone in the fan base was fired up for that group.

Last year, we were all worried that Guidry would leave and go to LSU. Adam Fuller from FSU was considered one of the best coordinators in the country coming into the season...now he is fired. Blake Baker was criticized at Miami, praised at Missouri and now he is getting criticized again at LSU.

 

[Groz73Cane]

Cubbards, my guy???

Those are poets that drink tea from cups, .. look it up.

 

[Groz73Cane]

Those are poets that drink tea from cups, .. look it up.

But they’re young poets, Cubs,.. like Cub Reporters for newspapers. Haven’t you ever watched Superman.

 

[CANESCANES]

We lost Singleton, we lost Concepcion and now we likely lose Branch, not surprising to me

Massive whiffs

 

[Dghustla]

I don’t really agree with the premise of this thread for most people who criticize Mario on here. Mario is the same very good recruiter he’s always been. The negative that many are noting is that NIL removes a lot of that advantage acting as an equalizer to his best skill - recruiting. It is what it is. That’s why, in my opinion, and the opinion of a number of us, the skills of evaluation, development and coaching prowess have increased in relation to recruiting prowess. A lot of it just comes down to money.

Here’s where I disagree with that because the teams that people on this site want Miami to emulate don’t have some type of magical secret, evaluators or developmental process the Georgia’s Alabama‘s Texas Ohio State. They just diversified their risk by bringing in the best of the best every single year and then just letting the cream rise to the top within the structure of their organization that the expectations are to lift hard, practice hard and train hard. The rest takes care of itself.



It’s why you’ve never heard someone say Kirby Smart and Nick Saban obsess over development. They obsess over talent acquisition and recruiting. for example we signed Leonard Taylor five star tackle we didn’t sign another five star tackle until like four or five years later with Justin Scott. That’s not diversify our risk enough and essentially we’re putting all of our eggs in the basket and hoping that a guy like LT Wants to work hard and wants to be committed to actually be in the best so that his talent can match his potential and then when that doesn’t happen the sites blames the coaches or the development or whatever.



Georgia in that same time span every year they sign four guys that are of equal potential of Leonard Taylor and if one of them doesn’t wanna work, then he’s processed out (I.e. Marvin Jones Jr.)



Now the advantages of having a recruiter, yes, we all know that money is important but anybody that’s in sales or negotiation will tell you that the ability to create a relationship and build value when all things are equal or close enough will allow you to win so Mario being a great recruiter being great at building relationships, selling the value of what he and Miami have to offer means that if all things are equal (you’re not lowballing the prospect) you have a great chance of that prospect choosing you.


it also means that you probably don’t have to overpay to get prospects because they just flat out don’t like you. (Which is what we clown the gators for doing all the time.)


On the flipside because you’re competitors are overpaying it then limits the resources that they have to allocate towards other potential prospects.


TLDR: it’s about getting as many top end players as possible. That’s why the top teams spend more money on talent and talent acquisition than they to do on training and development.

 

[RVACane]

Now the advantages of having a recruiter, yes, we all know that money is important but anybody that’s in sales or negotiation will tell you that the ability to create a relationship and build value when all things are equal or close enough will allow you to win so Mario being a great recruiter being great at building relationships, selling the value of what he and Miami have to offer means that if all things are equal (you’re not lowballing the prospect) you have a great chance of that prospect choosing you.

I’ve spent most of my working life negotiating deals so I understand the value of salesmanship and relationships and I’ve never said that wasn’t a desirable trait, in fact I have said it can be the difference when all things are equal. But what I am saying is that the skills of evaluation, development and coaching prowess have increased in relation to recruiting prowess. A lot of it just comes down to money.

Being a recruiting savant is no longer the advantage it was before NIL and as that’s Mario’s best trait, in my opinion, his area of advantage is more limited now so I would prefer to hire someone who is an evals/developer/coaching savant provided that the NIL is right.

 

[Groz73Cane]

Here’s where I disagree with that because the teams that people on this site want Miami to emulate don’t have some type of magical secret, evaluators or developmental process the Georgia’s Alabama‘s Texas Ohio State. They just diversified their risk by bringing in the best of the best every single year and then just letting the cream rise to the top within the structure of their organization that the expectations are to lift hard, practice hard and train hard. The rest takes care of itself.



It’s why you’ve never heard someone say Kirby Smart and Nick Saban obsess over development. They obsess over talent acquisition and recruiting. for example we signed Leonard Taylor five star tackle we didn’t sign another five star tackle until like four or five years later with Justin Scott. That’s not diversify our risk enough and essentially we’re putting all of our eggs in the basket and hoping that a guy like LT Wants to work hard and wants to be committed to actually be in the best so that his talent can match his potential and then when that doesn’t happen the sites blames the coaches or the development or whatever.



Georgia in that same time span every year they sign four guys that are of equal potential of Leonard Taylor and if one of them doesn’t wanna work, then he’s processed out (I.e. Marvin Jones Jr.)



Now the advantages of having a recruiter, yes, we all know that money is important but anybody that’s in sales or negotiation will tell you that the ability to create a relationship and build value when all things are equal or close enough will allow you to win so Mario being a great recruiter being great at building relationships, selling the value of what he and Miami have to offer means that if all things are equal (you’re not lowballing the prospect) you have a great chance of that prospect choosing you.


it also means that you probably don’t have to overpay to get prospects because they just flat out don’t like you. (Which is what we clown the gators for doing all the time.)


On the flipside because you’re competitors are overpaying it then limits the resources that they have to allocate towards other potential prospects.


TLDR: it’s about getting as many top end players as possible. That’s why the top teams spend more money on talent and talent acquisition than they to do on training and development.

Excellent eval. The top teams also have excellent evaluators,and a higher bar to reach. Mario is from that same tree. But, in addition to evaluating and recruiting players he also is tasked with the same for coaches. Getting that wrong and it tumbles to recruiting. And, here we are.

 

[jrock2332]

Not that I totally disagree, but hiring coordinators is not as easy as it might seem. I agree that he put himself behind the eight ball with the Gattis/Steele/Strong group, but everyone in the fan base was fired up for that group.

Last year, we were all worried that Guidry would leave and go to LSU. Adam Fuller from FSU was considered one of the best coordinators in the country coming into the season...now he is fired. Blake Baker was criticized at Miami, praised at Missouri and now he is getting criticized again at LSU.

I agree running a football program successful isn't easy. It takes a lot of work and a lot of cohesion.But It can be done and I'm not sure he is the one that can do it here. I understand why people are still optimistic but I have seen enough to say no more.He is the head coach and makes a lot of money. Honest question, as a whole is Mario better than Manny, Richt,Golden,Shannon, or Coker.

 

[jrock2332]

Here’s where I disagree with that because the teams that people on this site want Miami to emulate don’t have some type of magical secret, evaluators or developmental process the Georgia’s Alabama‘s Texas Ohio State. They just diversified their risk by bringing in the best of the best every single year and then just letting the cream rise to the top within the structure of their organization that the expectations are to lift hard, practice hard and train hard. The rest takes care of itself.



It’s why you’ve never heard someone say Kirby Smart and Nick Saban obsess over development. They obsess over talent acquisition and recruiting. for example we signed Leonard Taylor five star tackle we didn’t sign another five star tackle until like four or five years later with Justin Scott. That’s not diversify our risk enough and essentially we’re putting all of our eggs in the basket and hoping that a guy like LT Wants to work hard and wants to be committed to actually be in the best so that his talent can match his potential and then when that doesn’t happen the sites blames the coaches or the development or whatever.



Georgia in that same time span every year they sign four guys that are of equal potential of Leonard Taylor and if one of them doesn’t wanna work, then he’s processed out (I.e. Marvin Jones Jr.)



Now the advantages of having a recruiter, yes, we all know that money is important but anybody that’s in sales or negotiation will tell you that the ability to create a relationship and build value when all things are equal or close enough will allow you to win so Mario being a great recruiter being great at building relationships, selling the value of what he and Miami have to offer means that if all things are equal (you’re not lowballing the prospect) you have a great chance of that prospect choosing you.


it also means that you probably don’t have to overpay to get prospects because they just flat out don’t like you. (Which is what we clown the gators for doing all the time.)


On the flipside because you’re competitors are overpaying it then limits the resources that they have to allocate towards other potential prospects.


TLDR: it’s about getting as many top end players as possible. That’s why the top teams spend more money on talent and talent acquisition than they to do on training and development.

Okay let's just take about Mario at Oregon fiu doesn't cost. If you go back and look at the talent he had and some of the bonehead losses they had for lack of preparation or just being out schemed and look at the first three season with Miami and you see the same thing you can still be very optimistic. On Jan 5 2025 with the way things have been the last three years can you see Miami win the acc and or compete for a natty?

 

[nycane]

We lost Singleton, we lost Concepcion and now we likely lose Branch, not surprising to me

Massive whiffs

you think singleton was worth 1 million?

 

[Dghustla]

Excellent eval. The top teams also have excellent evaluators,and a higher bar to reach. Mario is from that same tree. But, in addition to evaluating and recruiting players he also is tasked with the same for coaches. Getting that wrong and it tumbles to recruiting. And, here we are.

Our biggest issues have been the ability to sustain that level over at least a 4 year period. We have 1
Top 5 class, then a top 15ish.

 

[Groz73Cane]

Our biggest issues have been the ability to sustain that level over at least a 4 year period. We have 1
Top 5 class, then a top 15ish.

Agreed,.. but there in lays the problem. Quality coaches/coaching. And good recruiting. But is it sustainable. Any bump in the system could cause it to shut down if you haven’t stockpiled young replacements. Sustainability is at every level. Its program building 101.just sayin’

 

[Trav]

I wanted to wait until after we got a quarterback because at this rate, we are going to end up re-recruiting Poffenbarger.

But there were waaaay too many people on here talking about how Mario isn't elite at talent acquisition anymore. Fast forward a few weeks and despite almost no momentum to end the season, he has beaten out a lot of brand-name schools with lots of money to land at least 7 surefire contributors (wait and see on Karnley) and overhauled a secondary with no defensive coordinator in place and a current secondary coach that is likely a lame duck.

He also retained almost every key player from a 10-win team (Horton and Williams are the exceptions) with almost none of the drama that FSU had with Payton and DeLoach and others last season. He even snatched a well-respected personnel and talent evaluator away from Bill Belichick of all people.

I think it is time to put the narrative that Mario can't acquire talent to bed once and for all.

Yes, these evaluations still have to pan out and there is PLENTY to criticize him for and we will see what happens at quarterback and defensive coordinator.

But he deserves credit for not resting on the laurels of a 10-win season and identifying and addressing areas of weakness in the offseason.

Next year will be a huge litmus test for how we end up thinking about his tenure here, but good things are in motion at the very least.

Talent acquisition isn't the issue just like it wasn't with Butch. Mario can succeed if he stacks enough talent here. But that's the case for just about everyone. Sure every year a Boise St or Indiana sneaks through and surprises but the championship teams have the most talent.