Running Backs Coach becomes fifth Assistant to depart Miami this offseason

Ole Miss poached a member of Miami's staff on Tuesday.

There was a lot of hype surrounding head coach Mario Cristobal's first season leading his alma mater in Coral Gables. 

Then the football kicked off and reality ended up hitting harder than a brick wall.

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The Hurricanes only scored nine points in a loss to Texas A&M (who missed the postseason) on the road before losing back-to-back home games to Middle Tennessee State (45-31) and North Carolina (27-24)

There was never a true bright moment for Miami, who fell to Duke in the middle of the season and eeked out a 14-12 four-overtime victory against Virginia. The team ended up coming up short in three of its final four games of the season, including a 45-3 loss to primary rival Florida State and a 40-10 defeat at Clemson.

Following the worst campaign for the program since 2007, there's been a lot of turnover on Miami's coaching staff. The Hurricanes fired offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis following one year under Cristobal but there have also been plenty of unexpected departures.

On Tuesday, Miami lost another assistant coach when running backs coach Kevin Smith was hired by Ole Miss, according to ESPN. Smith is reuniting with Lane Kiffin, who he previously worked with at Florida Atlantic.

In total, he becomes the fifth assistant to depart from the Hurricanes this offseason. Outside of Smith and Gattis, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele (Alabama), quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Frank Ponce (Appalachian State), and linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator Charlie Strong (TBD) have all moved on from Miami.

At this time, the wide receiver and running back coaching positions remain open ahead of Cristobal's second year with the program.

Miami has hired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry (Tulane), offensive coordinator Shane Dawson (Houston), and linebackers coach Derek Nicholson (Cincinnati) as replacements for Steele, Gattis/Ponce, and Strong, respectively.

The Hurricanes have also had at least 19 players enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

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