The latest on the Miami Hurricanes search for an athletic director. It’s complicated
Everyone is wondering what is going on with the University of Miami athletic director search, why it is taking so long, and what is the fate of Hurricanes football coach Manny Diaz.
Answer: It is complicated.
Several sources familiar with the negotiations say there are differing opinions within the inner circle of decision-makers about which direction to go and what the priority should be.
There are some on the Board of Trustees who feel the more pressing concern is not replacing Diaz with a bigger-money coach, but rather hiring a business-savvy athletic director and allocating more resources to upgrading and modernizing the athletic department in the age of Name, Image, Likeness and the exploding transfer portal.
The new NIL rules allow collegiate athletes to make money and secure sponsors. The ever-relaxing transfer rules give athletes the freedom and mobility to leave for other schools. This past spring, more than 1,700 basketball players transferred.
Both of those trends in college athletics are paramount in the recruiting wars, as elite programs show up at recruiting visits with slick marketing plans tailor-made for each prospect. It is also imperative for athletic departments to retain the athletes they get, and these days, that requires more than just sunshine, tradition and small class size, which have been UM selling points for decades.
There are others in the inner circle who feel the UM football program has been mired in mediocrity despite three coaching changes in the past 10 years and with football as the biggest moneymaker, the solution is to invest in a high-profile coach, a proven winner such as Oregon’s Mario Cristobal or Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss.
If UM football gets back into the national conversation, those board members say, boosters and fans will return, and the university and athletic department will reap the financial reward, which will lead to the upgrades necessary.
Both the AD search and potential coach search have been complicated by an extremely fluid, fast-changing market for head coaches. The initial thinking was to hire the athletic director first and then hire the coach. There is a push now, from some, to hire a coach first, before the top candidates are gone and with enough time to recruit before the early signing period begins Dec. 15.
The uncertainty surrounding the department is a detriment for Diaz and his staff as they try to get recruits to commit over the next two weeks. If Diaz is to be retained, the sooner he knows that the better. If a change is going to be made, then the new coach needs as much time as possible to sign players.
New Mexico AD Eddie Nunez, a Miami native and former Miami High basketball player with deep local ties, was considered among the leading candidates for the Hurricanes AD post and has the support of some board members. He said in a news conference Wednesday that he was committed to New Mexico.
“Miami is a wonderful institution and those opportunities that may potentially come in the future, if they do, wonderful,” he said. “But this is where I am. I am committed to the job at hand. I really appreciate them expressing interest.”
The Athletic and Brett McMurphy of NetworkActionHQ reported that Nunez withdrew his name from consideration. It is unclear if that is the case, if he was told UM was going in a different direction or if he really still is in the conversation.
The other known AD candidates, Gino Torretta and Alonzo Highsmith, also have certain board members in their corners. Both have deep history with the UM football program and for years have been eager to get more involved with the athletic department. Highsmith also has strong allies among the South Florida high school football community.
According to sources, there are divisions among the decision-makers about whether to hire a “football guy” such as Torretta or Highsmith to work in tandem with an athletic director or whether to just have one AD oversee all sports.
There are also some who believe that the old guard Hurricanes, the heroes of the golden championship era of UM football, while passionate and well-intentioned, are not experienced enough in the modern business of college athletics.
On Sept. 30, UM president Julio Frenk released a statement explaining how decisions about athletics would be made going forward. He wrote: “Rudy Fernandez, in his capacity as my chief of staff, and Joe Echevarria, in his capacity as my senior advisor, will augment my own direct engagement with the athletics director by facilitating seamless alignment between the Board of Trustees, my entire administration, and the athletics department.”
The Turnkey search firm has been busy interviewing job candidates, Fernandez and Echevarria are gathering all the information and will advise Frenk. Decisions are expected in the coming days. In the meantime, the speculation will continue.
Tyler Van Dyke
Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year Award on Wednesday, was a Thursday radio guest with WQAM hosts Joe Rose and Zach Krantz.
▪ On if he’s talked to UM record-breaking receiver Charleston Rambo, a UM addition this season from Oklahoma, regarding if he’s going to enter the NFL Draft or return to the Hurricanes in 2022: “A little bit. A little bit. I think he could go either way with it — coming back or going to the NFL. I”m going to talk to him more about it but we’ll see what happens. I don’t think he’s wrong with either decision. Whatever best fits his career so.”
▪ On if he gets involved in recruiting now as UM nears the early signing period from Dec. 15-17: “A little bit. I’ve been texting or DM’ing some recruits just to try to get them to come here or stay or whatever. A little bit of it. Yeah, we’re excited where the future is going to go here. It’ll be good.”
▪ On the Manny Diaz/AD situation: “I’m trying not to pay attention to that as much. I’m trying to go with the flow of it. Coach Diaz has done a great job with us this year after the 2-4 start we had, just keeping everybody motivated, keeping everybody working hard throughout practice. It could have went the other way with a 2-4 start playing NC State and then Pitt the next week after that— two ranked teams. He did a great job of preparing us well for those. We ended up winning three straight and I think the NC State game right there really changed our season. It really could have went the other way.”
▪ On UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and how much he contributed not just as a coordinator but in terms of developing the young skill players: “He was a big part of it, just getting me prepared well for each and every game, just telling me he believes in me, trusts me with his play calling. I’m just really happy for him that he got the job at SMU. He’s going to do great things there. I know he’s always wanted to be a head coach. I’m very happy for him but he did a great job the whole year.”
▪ On who would win a foot race between all UM’s receivers: “That’s a tough one. I’ll go with Mike Harley, Key’Shawn Smith or Brashard Smith.
Transfer portal
Fifth-year redshirt junior center Corey Gaynor has entered the transfer portal. He had started 27 consecutive games — 28 in all — before Diaz announced Oct. 11 that Gaynor had season-ending knee surgery. Jakai Clark is set to be the starter next season.
This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 12:35 PM.
