Podcast: The spread finally comes to Miami, but can Rhett Lashlee save Manny Diaz’s job?
The Miami Hurricanes are finally giving the people what they want. The spread offense is coming to Coral Gables, and Rhett Lashlee is the system’s shepherd.
Miami made the news official Saturday, hiring the offensive coordinator away from the SMU Mustangs to give him another shot at running an offense in a Power 5 Conference. He’s no stranger to high-profile competition, though — Lashlee was the Auburn Tigers’ offensive coordinator from 2013 to 2017 and helped Auburn reach the 2014 national championship. It’s a splashy hire, just like when the Hurricanes brought in Dan Enos around the same time in 2019. The difference is this one has to work out for Manny Diaz to save his job.
Big news in South Florida means a quick return for the Eye on the U podcast this week, as David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, assess the hiring of Lashlee and explain why they each think the uptempo, spread system he’ll bring with him is such a good fit in Miami.
For Diaz, will it be too little to late, though? Quarterbacks Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry will now both be tasked with playing for their third different offensive coordinator — and quarterbacks coach — in three seasons in a make-or-break year for Diaz. The Hurricanes’ hiring of Lashlee is being praised all across the landscape of the sport, but will it be enough for the coach to save his job? How much can one hire mask over the larger systemic and structural issues which have plagued the program for years? Our consensus is cautious optimism about the new coordinator because there’s a lot to like about his resume, but we’ve learned our lessons by now.
We wrap up by running through a few other storylines still looming in Miami, including the ongoing flirtation with Cleveland Browns vice president of player personal Alonzo Highsmith and other potential position coach changes, which could follow Lashlee’s hiring.
