Is There A "Perfect" Candidate To Replace Josh Gattis At Miami? | Donno Mailbag
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If you'd like to submit questions for a future mailbag, tweet them to @LockedOnCanes or email LockedOnCanes@gmail.com.
Q: In your opinion who would be the best OC hire of the options you mentioned on your Friday Locked On Canes? Considering play calling, recruiting, relationship building, etc. -Trent Lima
A: This is such a great question because many of the options we've speculated on have a clear strength in a certain area with a perceived weakness in another. The best solution might come in the form of two people. Remember, Miami has vacancies at WR coach and QB coach in addition to offensive coordinator.
My favorite combination would come in the form of former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen as OC / QB coach with Texas A&M TE coach and former Canes OC James Coley serving as Miami's WR coach. On paper, they compliment one another perfectly.
Mullen is a proven offensive mind who enjoyed tremendous success as an OC in the past with a great reputation of developing quarterbacks. However, he has stated in the past that he does not enjoy recruiting. Coley, meanwhile, is a relentless recruiter but perhaps not the best play-caller, so Mullen can handle that while Coley picks up some of Mullen's recruiting slack.
Q: Donno, If Coach Mario doesn’t hit a home run with the next offense coach hire could it be the beginning of the end for Mario. - H. Garcia
A: Yes, this is a very important hire for Mario Cristobal, since he already got it wrong once. We can praise Mario for making a change that needed to be made but we cannot forget that he is the one who hired Josh Gattis in the first place. He can't get it wrong a second time.
Ideally, Miami's next offensive coordinator will stick around for at least three years for the sake of continuity and stability. The Hurricanes will be hiring their fifth OC in six years, and the next coordinator will be the third for starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke in four years.
I say three years because if the next OC absolutely crushes it, it will be hard to keep them for accepting a head coaching job somewhere else after a few seasons. Three years would allow them to help Van Dyke thrive at the end of his Miami career and hopefully improve his draft stock. Then, the OC can lay the foundation for Van Dyke's successor, whether it be Jacurri Brown or Emory Williams.
The importance of this hire makes me wonder if Cristobal will favor someone he already knows. I believe Marcus Arroyo, who served as Cristobal's OC at Oregon in 2018 and 2019 could be a preferred candidate. During those seasons, Oregon won the PAC 12 twice and won a Rose Bowl.
At this time, there does not appear to be much hard evidence as to who Miami is considering to fill the job. The next several days should be very interesting.
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