Even if you assume that Jon Gruden is some sort of coaching guru, I still don’t get the interest Miami is rumored to have in hiring him as its next head coach, although it would evidently make Jeff Schultz’ task of recalling the names of ACC coaches easier. The two problems I see with his hire are first, he’s got little to no experience recruiting players, especially in this day and age when it takes virtually a year-round effort, and second, who’s to say he won’t be off like a shot at the first NFL head coaching offer he gets?
Personally, I think they’ve got better options out there, but don’t take my word for it. Take that of a certain unemployed head coach who is some sort of coaching guru on the D-1 level instead:
“They could hire me and we’d have one decade after another of success with students that graduate and don’t get into trouble,” said Leach, “or they can hire somebody else.”
And, best of all, considering their financial shape, at least one prominent supporter believes that Leach’s hire would be a bargain.
“You made a big mistake when you did not take my advice and hire Mike Leach of Texas Tech … and you can now get him for the right price,” Trump wrote to Shalala.
Connecting Mike Leach with the South Florida talent base is a truly scary thought. Especially if he can find a decent defensive coordinator. Plus, I bet Jeff can recall his name just as easily as Gruden’s.
Get The Picture 
Why wouldn’t Jeff Jagodzinski get a call from Miami? He’s won in the ACC at a tougher stop and surely he’s learned some sort of NFL lesson after the Tampa Bay episode. Twitter has him emerging at Minny, but Miami should be able to trump anything IU or Minny can offer, yes?
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The argument that the SEC title game is relevant because of the coaches is completely flawed. Gene Chizik is a name no one knew before this year besides SEC people. And Steve Spurrier is a name the national audience has hardly thought about in about 4-5 years. The SEC title game is compelling because the teams are good, and one has a chance to get to the BCS championship. He argues that the ACC title game has no-name coaches, and then proceeds to say Frank Beamer is legend.
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Hey…leave me outta this…
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Leach would be the biggest thing in Miami since Jackie Gleason.
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Bet he would get butts in the seats there, too.
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I heard Dan Mullen is on Da U’s short list as well. I’d still take Leach over both of those guys.
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The Dread Pirate Leach leading Miami would be a blogger’s dream. Please make this happen.
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My thoughts exactly
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The dude is like Jimmy Johnson, he lives in Key West, he would never leave. This is a no brainer hire at so many levels, you can bet Donna will screw it up.
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If Shalala is involved, it’s sure to be a social experiment instead of a football hire. Maybe she should hire Lou Holtz, just to prove that the retirement age should be raised.
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what about the fact that only time Jon Gruden ever liked a qb out of college was when he was doing those horrendous ESPN pieces before the draft. Gruden has avoided playing rooking QB’s as a coach like they had leprosy. What makes anyone think he’s going to have the patience to bring along an 18 yr old. Of course those senarios can all be avoided if he just mines the minor league baseball system for 28 yr old washouts ie Weinke and the kid at OSU. (A resonable approach but unlikely)
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Jon Gruden isn’t going to Miami.
My grandfather taught there for many years and I can tell you they don’t have the $$ it would take to sign him. Plus, a total control football freak like Gruden would hate recruiting and would hate being allowed only 20 hours a week to actually coach football.
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+1.
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Making an argument about his recruiting ability to exclude him from consideration is weak. He has spent a little time coaching at the collegiate level. The fact he has coached and won a Super Bowl is enough for most HS players. He can always hire a fantastic recruiter anyway.
The argument he “might” leave for the NFL is over-analyzing. How do you know their next coach won’t die of a heart attack next year? Should da U check the health records of any coach they hire? You hire the best you can afford and let the chips fall where they may.
I can guarantee Stanford didn’t worry about such things when they hired Harbaugh.
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Do you know how long it’s been since he coached on the college level? It’s a changed world since then.
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Yes I read his wikipedia article. You make it sound like some fantastic realm of wonder where only those with the secrets may enter and find recruits.
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That’s not it at all.
The level of effort that goes into recruiting now is totally alien to Gruden. And saying that he could slough the hard work off to a gifted recruiting assistant… well, let’s just say that if he tried that, guys like Kiffin, Saban and Meyer would eat his lunch every day.
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That is exactly what you are saying.
I don’t know how he would recruit, but your assertion that he lacks the ability is presumptuous.
You are placing a huge emphasis on recruiting. We see how well that worked out for the super-recruiter, Randy Shannon.
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It sure didn’t work for Larry Coker.
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I don’t think anyone was claiming Shannon was a great recruiter. He ran a clean program and graduated his players, and for that he should be commended.
For whatever reason, he couldn’t consistently win games, and with the south FLA recruiting advantage, that isn’t really acceptable. Most people seem to think he was a fine defensive coordinator but a crap head coach.
Kind of like Van Gorder. Some guys just aren’t meant to be HCs.
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If we didn’t just get TG, RS would have to be a short-list candidate for DC for us. He’s clearly top-notch at that.
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My list of candidates to replace Richt, should he hypothetically lose his job this year are:
(1) Dan Mullen
(2) Jon Gruden
If it scares you to think what what Mullen and Diaz would do with the talent in Athens, then you should be absolutely mortified with what they could do with that S. FL talent.
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Totally absurd. WE WANT MIKE!!!! C’mon, man…think how great it would be to have him as OC. Bobo goes back to QB coach, Grantham builds the D, and Richt….errr….ummm….does whatever he does, but now with two Coordinators to pull his rear out of the fire.
And we could even pull the black jerseys out of mothballs and play pirates!!!! UGA with an eyepatch!!! Yarrrrrrrrrr…..
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