Miami hires Shannon Dawson as new offensive coordinator. Is the air raid coming to UM?
The Miami Hurricanes are hiring a new offensive coordinator for the fifth time in six seasons. And this time they’re hoping he sticks around long enough to spark a more productive era of UM offense.
Shannon Dawson will replace Josh Gattis, the Miami Herald confirmed on a day filled with coaching news. Coach Mario Cristobal fired Gattis, who won the Broyles Award with the Michigan Wolverines in 2021, last month after just one season in Coral Gables.
Before Gattis there was Rhett Lashlee (2020-’21), Dan Enos (2019) and Thomas Brown (2016-’18).
The Herald also learned through two sources Tuesday that Canes running backs coach Kevin Smith is leaving the program to return to Ole Miss, where he spent two seasons before being hired last year by Cristobal.
Also Tuesday, the Herald learned that Cristobal is expected to hire recently hired Cincinnati inside linebackers coach Derek Nicholson, who coached at Louisville the past three seasons, as the Canes linebackers coach to replace Charlie Strong.
Dawson, 45, spent the past four seasons with the Houston Cougars, working as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the last three years. He was previously Houston’s tight ends coach for one year and spent the prior three seasons as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles’ offensive coordinator.
The Hurricanes were in dire need of a productive offense last season, in large part to a litany of debilitating injuries at key offensive spots, including starting quarterback. Dawson brings with him a prolific passing attack.
In Dawson’s three seasons as the Cougars’ offensive coordinator, Houston ranked 13th in the nation with 87 passing touchdowns and 21st with 10,008 passing yards. Last year, Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune set an American Athletic Conference with 40 passing touchdowns and ranked fifth in the nation with 313.4 passing yards per game.
The Hurricanes finished 2022 ranked 96th of 131 FBS teams in rushing offense (128.1 yards a game), 60th in passing offense (239 yards a game), 86th in total offense (367.1), 87th in red-zone offense, 97th in scoring (23.6 points a game) and 109th in sacks allowed (three sacks allowed a game and 36 total).
After former coordinator Lashlee’s up-tempo, no huddle, passing-heavy scheme that turned out to be a successful fit for accomplished quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, Gattis, as well as Cristobal, made it clear that the Canes needed a significant running attack. But little went right. Van Dyke missed most of the last six games with a shoulder injury, running backs went down with season-ending injuries, the receiving corps sustained multiple injuries that kept integral pass-catchers out for several weeks and several offensive linemen were out for weeks. The offense was basically a mess.
In the end, Miami attempted 413 passes and ran 414 times last season.
Dawson’s hire is a major shift from Gattis’ a year ago. Gattis implemented a power spread in his lone season in Coral Gables — the same type of offense his Wolverines used to reach the College Football Playoff in 2021 — and it did not suit Miami well after the Hurricanes played the previous two years in Lashlee’s spread system. Dawson’s pass-heavy system is even more extreme — Dawson began his coaching career with the FCS Southeastern Louisiana Lions, learning from former coach Hal Mumme, who is one of the inventors of the air raid offense.
Gattis was one of five UM assistants to leave the program after this past season. The others: quarterback coach Frank Ponce, who returned to Appalachian State as offensive coordinator; defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who returned to Alabama as its new defensive coordinator; linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator Strong, who left recently after he told ESPN he was passed over for the defensive coordinator opening; and Smith.
UM begins spring practice March 4, and has announced its spring game for April 14 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 12:44 PM.
