Podcast: How does 2019 compare to worst Miami seasons? And can Manny Diaz right the ship?
The Miami Hurricanes’ loss to the FIU Panthers somehow might not have been the low point to the 2019 season. Instead, the year ended with one of the worst performances in Miami history.
It was always going to be hard for the Hurricanes to be the more motivated team at the Independence Bowl. It was hard to imagine something as bad as Thursday delivered, though. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs shut out Miami, 14-0, in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was only the Hurricanes’ third shutout loss of the century, and it was the first time a team from outside a power conference shut out a power-conference opponent in a bowl since the now-defunct Bowl Championship Series began in 1998.
Just 33 days after the Hurricanes hit rock bottom under coach Manny Diaz, they dug even deeper. David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, try to figure out what’s next for Miami on the latest episode of the Eye on the U podcast.
Everything for the Hurricanes (6-7) starts with the offense, which was only marginally better than last season, which ended with former coach Mark Richt retiring and Diaz firing the entire offensive staff a day after Miami hired him as Richt’s replacement. Now changes could be coming again after the Associated Press reported offensive coordinator Dan Enos and the Hurricanes have agreed to part ways. Who knows if it will be enough for the Hurricanes, but it’s at least a starting point — even after it’s another reset less than a year after Diaz picked him as his offensive coordinator in January.
The problems with the program are more deep-seated than just the coaches on one side of the ball, though. Degnan has been around the program longer than anyone on the beat, so we dive into comparisons between this Miami team and some of the other worst ones of the past 15 years.
We wrap up by putting a final bow on Diaz’s first season as coach. Less than two months ago, the future potentially looked bright for the Hurricanes, but three straight losses make it impossible to remember any of the positives which dotted the season until the end of November.
