Mario.

[aelmiami]

Mario has to do what none of his predecessors have done the last 20 years. Staff changes, recruiting, 10 wins all of that is great. But Shannon, Golden, Richt, and Manny all had an upward trajectory type year after year 2/3. All of them crashed, hard. Show me this thing wasn’t some crazy one year fluke and I’ll give him credit. Until then, I’m still wait and see.

 

[aelmiami]

Yeah, but most coaches at all levels don’t do what they get paid to do. These days just being borderline competent puts you in the upper 80th percentile.

Mario was brought in here to win championships. The changes and constant “improvements” are nice. But competent wasn’t why this program spent for the first time ever. Hundreds of millions dollars spent between salaries, NIL, face lifting facilities, etc. warrants criticism after missing the CFP this year. Especially since Cam would’ve given us a shot against any team that made that playoff.

 

[RVACane]

Brofense will never embrace a passing offense
Misused Herbert will never get another good QB again
Losing record after 2 years will never be able to land a top high school class again
One-hit-wonder with Cam, will never do that again
Control freak who will never hire coordinators that run their own staffs
Recruiting has-been whose one talent is neutralized in the NIL era
Processed-obsessed who isn't agile enough to bring in top new staff and top portal players at the same time
...
...
...

Control freak who will never hire coordinators that run their own staffs
I think he’s still a control guy but there’s improvement.

Recruiting has-been whose one talent is neutralized in the NIL era
I think his primary talent - recruiting savant - has been neutralized to an extent by the rise of open and massive NIL $$$. It still comes into play in his favor when all other things are equal but it’s not the advantage it was. In my opinion, you’re better off with an evaluator developer x and o’s gawd in today’s environment.

Losing record after 2 years will never be able to land a top high school class again
He went from the number 7 and 4 classes to 14 or 15 this year. I don’t think it’s his fault either as I said, it’s the nature of NIL. On top of it, it’s the ACC. It’s definitely hurting our recruiting. This past cycle all 5 stars went to BIG and SEC schools with the exception of 1 who went to ND, and they’re an outlier. So between NIL and conference, that’s a big hill to climb. And it’s not because he’s not a good recruiter if all things are equal.

 

[RVACane]

This coming year will be tougher absolutely, agree on the WR1 we need and I also think we need a LB1

Really think Fletcher isn’t an RB1 in year 3 and Lyle isn’t good enough for RB2? I think an RB3/4 would be helpful for depth though

I think Lyle is better than Fletcher yet they push Fletcher.

 

[RVACane]

Vacuum?
Win / Loss Record: 5-7 to 7-6 to 10-3
NFL draftees: 2022: 1 (Ford R7), 2023: 3 (Stevenson R2 / Mallory R5 / Ivey R7), 2024: 4 (Kinchens R3 / Davis R7 / Lee R7 / Williams R7). 2025: TBD but Ward is going R1.

Ward was s a big feather in the cap. Were those other guys Manny players???

 

[Ispyin]

I’m starting my own canes board miserable****sthatdrinkkoolaid.com

 

[RVACane]

I’m starting my own canes board miserable****sthatdrinkkoolaid.com

You’re either one or the other here, a koolaid drinking slurper or a miserable mope ****. There are some innocent bystanders in the middle I suppose.

 

[grover]

Control freak who will never hire coordinators that run their own staffs
I think he’s still a control guy but there’s improvement.

Recruiting has-been whose one talent is neutralized in the NIL era
I think his primary talent - recruiting savant - has been neutralized to an extent by the rise of open and massive NIL $$$. It still comes into play in his favor when all other things are equal but it’s not the advantage it was. In my opinion, you’re better off with an evaluator developer x and o’s gawd in today’s environment.

Losing record after 2 years will never be able to land a top high school class again
He went from the number 7 and 4 classes to 14 or 15 this year. I don’t think it’s his fault either as I said, it’s the nature of NIL. On top of it, it’s the ACC. It’s definitely hurting our recruiting. This past cycle all 5 stars went to BIG and SEC schools with the exception of 1 who went to ND, and they’re an outlier. So between NIL and conference, that’s a big hill to climb. And it’s not because he’s not a good recruiter if all thinks are equal.

All reasonable.

Mario has major flaws, deserves a lot of the criticism he's gotten. What irritates me is when he does something awesome, like landing Lucas, or Beck, or replacing Guidry with Mad Eyes, half this fan base has to post "yes but" right in the announcement thread, then run off and create another thread on how bad everything still is. I track the mope narrative to see how well it holds together over time because it irritates me to no end.

Mario also has strengths despite all his weaknesses. You say an evaluator/developer/Xs & Os guy would be better. Who? I thought Herman was that guy at one point, Riley at another, Fickel at another. None looking so hot now. I honestly don't know who would do a better job here at Miami. There really aren't that many good HCs out there. And of those that are really good, very very few would leave where they are now and make good fits at Miami. So why crap on him all the time?

p.s., While I'm at it, here's another mope narrative -- he's paid $8M a year so is vastly underperforming his compensation. Well, as of now, he's the 16th highest paid HC, barely ahead of Fickell and Gundy. Mark Stoops makes $9M a year.

 

[mr.h]

He was considerably better in this area this season. Considerably.

But can he coach a game?

 

[grover]

Ward was s a big feather in the cap. Were those other guys Manny players???

My point was he had no dependable talent outside of Rique and Kinchens those first two seasons. Not coincidence that we're 10-3 and have a first rounder. Arroyo, Martinez, Rivers, X, Barrow will all get drafted, George and maybe even Brown, too. Big step up in wins at the same time we have a big step up in draftable talent... that's not operating in a vacuum.

 

[CaneinBroward]

I can see why Saban loved Mario and truly appreciated his recruiting prowess.

But I can also see why Saban continued to win without Mario.

Hopefully ‘25 is year where we can play both sides of the ball well.

To be fair, Saban won before Mario as well. I think the only thing you can say one way or the other is at least Mario didn't ***** it up while he was there.

 

[Ryanmilli]

Control freak who will never hire coordinators that run their own staffs
I think he’s still a control guy but there’s improvement.

Recruiting has-been whose one talent is neutralized in the NIL era
I think his primary talent - recruiting savant - has been neutralized to an extent by the rise of open and massive NIL $$$. It still comes into play in his favor when all other things are equal but it’s not the advantage it was. In my opinion, you’re better off with an evaluator developer x and o’s gawd in today’s environment.

Losing record after 2 years will never be able to land a top high school class again
He went from the number 7 and 4 classes to 14 or 15 this year. I don’t think it’s his fault either as I said, it’s the nature of NIL. On top of it, it’s the ACC. It’s definitely hurting our recruiting. This past cycle all 5 stars went to BIG and SEC schools with the exception of 1 who went to ND, and they’re an outlier. So between NIL and conference, that’s a big hill to climb. And it’s not because he’s not a good recruiter if all things are equal.

Recruiting is as important as ever IMHO. I’m not convinced that the majority of recruitments come down solely to NIL with one school offering vastly more. Funds are limited, there is a market, and good organizations will have discipline in spending. Competitive NIL gets your in the game, but relationships are still important. A coach is recruiting 100% of the time not only to bring in HS and portal talent over multiple windows, but also trying to retain the players on your roster.

Mario’s recruiting skill set is still very relevant in the NIL era. Evaluating talent and developing players are also very important. But you cannot succeed without putting significant energy into recruiting and managing NIL. Just ask Larranaga. Or Tony Bennet. Or Nick Saban. Or Jay Wright. Three of them won national championships, got a little taste of NIL, and said, “I’m out.”

 

[RVACane]

All reasonable.

Mario has major flaws, deserves a lot of the criticism he's gotten. What irritates me is when he does something awesome, like landing Lucas, or Beck, or replacing Guidry with Mad Eyes, half this fan base has to post "yes but" right in the announcement thread, then run off and create another thread on how bad everything still is. I track the mope narrative to see how well it holds together over time because it irritates me to no end.

Mario also has strengths despite all his weaknesses. You say an evaluator/developer/Xs & Os guy would be better. Who? I thought Herman was that guy at one point, Riley at another, Fickel at another. None looking so hot now. I honestly don't know who would do a better job here at Miami. There really aren't that many good HCs out there. And of those that are really good, very very few would leave where they are now and make good fits at Miami. So why crap on him all the time?

p.s., While I'm at it, here's another mope narrative -- he's paid $8M a year so is vastly underperforming his compensation. Well, as of now, he's the 16th highest paid HC, barely ahead of Fickell and Gundy. Mark Stoops makes $9M a year.

“…when he does something awesome, like landing Lucas, or Beck, or replacing Guidry with Mad Eyes, half this fan base has to post "yes but" right in the announcement thread, then run off and create another thread on how bad everything still is.”

I get what gets in the collective MariBro slurper craw regarding the mopes. In those same announcements, many times, before a mope even shows up, you’ve got MariBros peacocking and taking shots at mopes and to the mopes, it looks stupid because the guy literally caused the issue he fixed.

But yes, when the mopes draw first blood, I’m sure it’s annoying for you guys just like it’s annoying to the mopes to see what I described.

Mopes here are inherently different than slurpers. Mopes are very bottom line matter of fact and clinical in viewpoint approach and a lot of half full glasses types as well. I think the slurpers mean well and are driven by hope but a number of them will prop the HC up and defensively point to a number of reasons besides Mario as to why things are how they are and that’s just a guaranteed conflict on here.

 

[Memnon]

You're right. Instead we should just **** on him all day long for every mistake he makes. smh.

The fact that you're so uptight about it proves my point.

You wouldn't have a reason to be irritated about Mario not being celebrated for barely being an above. 500 Coach if he actually delivered on what he was hired to do.

If we were winning the ACC & contending for the playoffs, you guys who worship Mario at every step would & could very easily laugh off all criticisms.

The reason why you don't & can't is because you know they're true, whether you decide to acknowledge them or not.

You have to force yourself to be in denial, make excuses & create moral victories in order to justify your blind faith, because you can't rely solely on the results.

I didn't say we should sh*t on him for every mistake he makes, you only interpreted it that way because you're hypersensitive to the fact that he does make mistakes & is the main reason why heading into year 4 its still a complete unknown as to whether or not he's going to fulfill what he was hired to do.

Yall doubt him more than I do, the difference is I'm just honest with myself about it

 

[RVACane]

Recruiting is as important as ever IMHO. I’m not convinced that the majority of recruitments come down solely to NIL with one school offering vastly more. Funds are limited, there is a market, and good organizations will have discipline in spending. Competitive NIL gets your in the game, but relationships are still important. A coach is recruiting 100% of the time not only to bring in HS and portal talent over multiple windows, but also trying to retain the players on your roster.

Mario’s recruiting skill set is still very relevant in the NIL era. Evaluating talent and developing players are also very important. But you cannot succeed without putting significant energy into recruiting and managing NIL. Just ask Larranaga. Or Tony Bennet. Or Nick Saban. Or Jay Wright. Three of them won national championships, got a little taste of NIL, and said, “I’m out.”

I don’t agree with how you are valuing the “recruiter” trait. The entire industry has changed significantly. Being a recruiting savant is a difference maker when all things are equal, as I’ve said, but all things aren’t equal all the time. If a team is offering more money in NIL and they play in the SEC/BIG, good luck coming from the ACC or Big 12. It’s not an even fight. We’re at a major disadvantage now with conferences. We pay a price for that.

Like I said not one 5 star landed anywhere but the SEC and BIG plus 1 to ND, who you know is an outlier program. So if we are in the ACC, and we aren’t going to be loading up on top classes against the top of the SEC and BIG then we better evaluate, develop and coach up the guys we get. I don’t think that’s Mario’s strength. His strengths are relationships and work ethic (he works harder, I’m not convinced he works smarter ). If I’m hiring a coach today, I’m looking for someone who has a track record of doing more with less through evals, development and coaching.

 

[ALLoverCANE]

it is refreshing, Manny was less qualified but would also make big changes but I feel his recruiting and just overall management of a program led to his downfall. Don't have to worry about recruiting with Mario. Richt and Golden were too stubborn to make changes

Mario has proven to be the type of recruiting / CEO type we need and is willing to cut ties with anyone and everyone who isn't helping us grow which I think is great. I'm not sure if we'll ever win one with Mario, my heart says yes, but my gut says it's too high of speak and we'll probably blow it - but no doubt in my mind that Mario can get us to perennial 10-win seasons and competing for ACC titles every year, which is honestly a necessary leap for a program like us that hasn't sniffed that in a long long time

also, a play caller HC hasn't won a title since Jimbo in 2013 so feel like we have the model that works

I think the question is whether any other experienced coach (not a literal first time HC like Manny), with the financial backing the program now has, could accomplish what Mario has. TBD.

 

[Caneadian]

I don't know, something is missing. Maybe that is simply fixable with much better players.

Something is slightly off with the coaching style. I think it has something to do with in week practices. ? I think that's a good diagnosis from 3000 miles away