Miami Hurricanes speak with Dolphins legend Jason Taylor about a job in football program
Miami Dolphins legend Jason Taylor has had discussions with UM coach Mario Cristobal about joining the Hurricanes’ football staff, according to two people briefed on the matter.
A role as an analyst or consultant are among the potential options.
Taylor has juggled high school coaching and Dolphins broadcast duties in recent years. He served as St. Thomas Aquinas’ defensive coordinator last season, while working Dolphins preseason games on television and regular season games on radio.
Taylor couldn’t be reached Saturday.
It’s uncertain whether Taylor would continue doing Dolphins broadcasts if he takes an off-field job at UM.
If Taylor returns to St. Thomas Aquinas, this would be the first time he would be coaching without a son on the team.
Safety Isaiah Taylor was a freshman at Arizona last season, playing in four games. Tight end Mason Taylor committed to LSU this year, choosing the Tigers over offers from UM, Alabama, UF and others.
The fact that Taylor’s sons have moved on from Aquinas to college has led Taylor to consider other options.
Taylor did not pursue a position on Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel’s staff and it’s unclear if he would have interest in a full-time college coaching job at this point.
Taylor was a six-time Pro Bowl player, the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. He’s seventh on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 139.5.
THIS AND THAT
▪ UM, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington are finalists for UCLA edge player Mitchell Agude, who had 78 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in two seasons for the Bruins. Agude entered the transfer portal earlier this offseason.
The 6-4, 265-pound Agude, who had two sacks last season, could play defensive end in Miami’s 4-3 defense. He also has considerable experience at linebacker.
▪ UM, which sold just under 30,000 football season tickets last season, is on pace to top that. New Canes season ticket sales are up 500 percent over this time last spring.
▪ In its case to make the NCAA Tournament, the Hurricanes’ basketball resume should withstand Saturday’s disappointing home loss to Virginia Tech, a game in which UM blew an eight-point lead in the final two minutes.
But the Canes (20-9, 12-6) likely cannot afford losses in both their final two games (at Boston College on Wednesday, at Syracuse on Saturday) and an early exit in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Before Saturday’s loss, the primary national media outlets that project NCAA fields – ESPN and CBS - listed UM firmly in the tournament, not among the last four bubble teams to make it (in other words, “the last four in”).
The Canes will be favored at BC, which is 6-12 in the conference and 11-17 overall. Syracuse is 9-8 in the conference, 15-13 overall.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 7:02 PM.
