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RIP to the great Schnelly

AtlAtty said:
Serious debate.
Would UM have been better served with Schnelly staying instead of going to the USFL, or was UM better served with Schnelly leaving and JJ coming in? I’m only asking about the JJ years, not beyond which basically requires that you pick between the 2 of them for the years 84-88.

I will give my position after a few responses but this maybe like choosing between Coke and Pepsi which is more about the flavor you prefer as opposed to an absolute right and wrong answer.
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You gotta believe the Canes repeat in ‘84 if Schnellenberger stays. Almost everyone was back from the ‘83 championship team. That squad was so talented, but the coaching upheaval got in its way. I mean, a lame BYU team that didn’t beat anybody ended up winning the title that year.

And as has already been pointed out, a Schnellenberger coached team doesn’t get out coached and lose that Sugar Bowl vs Tenn or that Fiesta vs PSU.

But we’ll never know.
 
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A Message from President Julio Frenk​
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Today, the Miami community lost a legend. Howard Schnellenberger stands out as a man who built us up, as a university and as a city. He understood the power of bold vision and hard work.

He is best known for leading the Miami Hurricanes to our first national championship in 1983—and the start of a college football powerhouse—and prior to that had been Don Shula’s offensive coordinator during the Miami Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season.

Coaches, players, and colleagues will miss his booming presence and the forthright way he called situations both for what they were and what they could be. In reporting on his passing, the Associated Press recalled the impact leading our program had on Coach Schnellenberger:

“Everywhere Schnellenberger coached, he envisioned a winning team as a unifying force, the way it was with the ’83 Hurricanes. ‘I think it all goes back to the day they had a parade in Miami for the national championship team,’ he once said. ‘I saw the people on the sidelines—black families, Cuban families, Hispanics and Anglo families—all there, 100,000 strong, celebrating their ball team and community. That football team was able to do something the federal government, city and county tried to do and couldn’t: bring the community together.’”

As we carry on through a time of palpable division in society, his passing draws us together in grief—and in hope. His spirit of believing in possibilities, chasing hard after ideals, and relying on unity through adversity will carry on forever at the U.

Felicia and I join generations of ’Canes around the world in wishing Coach Schnellenberger’s beloved wife, Beverlee, their beautiful family, and all of their friends strength and peace through this difficult loss.
 
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Rest in Peace Schnellenburger I can't say in enough words how much I appreciate following your team when I was 9 years old.

You made the Canes, and you helped many young men be the best they can be on and off the field.

Salute.
 
RIP Schnelly. I became a fan of the program January 1st 1984 when I watched the heavily heavily favored Nebraska Cornhuskers (who at that moment were considered the greatest college football team ever assembled) get beat by the Canes in the 1983 National Championship Game on National TV. I've been hooked ever since then.
 
Rip Rest In Peace GIF - Rip RestInPeace Candle - Discover & Share GIFs | Rest in peace gif, Rest in peace, Condolences
 
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ddann said:
You gotta believe the Canes repeat in ‘84 if Schnellenberger stays. Almost everyone was back from the ‘83 championship team. That squad was so talented, but the coaching upheaval got in its way. I mean, a lame BYU team that didn’t beat anybody ended up winning the title that year.

And as has already been pointed out, a Schnellenberger coached team doesn’t get out coached and lose that Sugar Bowl vs Tenn or that Fiesta vs PSU.

But we’ll never know.
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So you are taking Schnelly over JJ?
I’m biased because even though Schnely’s teams turned me into a UM fan, JJ’s teams put me over the top. In the end I wish Schnelly would have stayed because I think had he ignored the pro game, Schnelly would have remained with UM for 20+ years and given us a more consistent dynasty Like PSU or Bama who can have sustained excellence because of a great coach staying.
 
AtlAtty said:
So you are taking Schnelly over JJ?
I’m biased because even though Schnely’s teams turned me into a UM fan, JJ’s teams put me over the top. In the end I wish Schnelly would have stayed because I think had he ignored the pro game, Schnelly would have remained with UM for 20+ years and given us a more consistent dynasty Like PSU or Bama who can have sustained excellence because of a great coach staying.
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It’s hard to say. What JJ did with the defense once he got his own staff together was amazing.

But for ‘84, if Schnellenberger stays, I think UM has a great chance at repeating as champs instead of finishing 8-5.
 
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Sebastian should get his pipe back to commemorate coach Schnelly and all he has meant to the U. RIP
 
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The Franchise said:
I think he uttered the same words when he took the Oklahoma job.
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Chise, it's interesting that the one college job where he didn't succeed, was an established program. Ive seen interviews where he admitted that he should've gone into that gig with a different mentality.

But I wonder, how many programs had two coaches the caliber of Howard and Jimmy (and perhaps even Erickson) on a consecutive basis? Could you imagine if Schnells and Johnson were our version of Bear Bryant or Joe Pa and stuck around for a couple of decades?
 
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