Can Cristobal Replicate Schnellenber's Plan at Miami?
What’s it going to take for Mario Cristobal to get the Miami Hurricanes to get back to greatness? There are many points to consider for what may seem like a climb up Mount Everest after the loss to Middle Tennessee State. Overall, it’s a step by step process that must be executed.
Believe it or not, the 2022 Miami team is in no place near as bad of shape as it once was prior to Howard Schnellenberger taking over in 1979. Miami was barely even on the college football map when he arrived in Coral Gables. The prior ten seasons for the Hurricanes looked like this:
1969: 4-6
1970: 3-8
1971: 4-7
1972: 5-6
1973: 5-6
1974: 6-5
1975: 2-8
1976: 3-8
1977: 3-8
1978: 6-5
That’s a combined 10-year record of 41-67, or winning at just under 38%. The Hurricanes only produced two winning football teams during the 10 prior seasons before Schnellenberger. The five seasons under the legendary Canes leader saw Miami make enormous strides.
1979: 5-6
1980: 9-3
1981: 9-2
1982: 7-4
1983: 11-1 (National Champions)
Taking a closer look at Miami’s schedules, the Hurricanes did not move away from top competition during Schnellenberger’s time as head coach either. In 1983 alone, Miami played at Florida (only loss of the season), plus played and defeated ranked teams like Notre Dame and West Virginia, knocked off rival Florida State, and of course defeated heavily favored and No. 1 ranked Nebraska to win the program’s first ever championship.
Hard to believe that Schnellenberger helped Miami go through that schedule in just five years, culminating in the ultimate prize of the Canes getting their first ring.
What’s the magic elixir to get a program from near the bottom of Division I in 1978 and help it to its first national title?
Cristobal and his staff must continue to install their offensive and defensive philosophies, tweak them as needed, and recruit to that plan.
Here are three key ingredients that Schnellenberger utilized, and all of them can be utilized with Cristobal operating the current Miami program.
1) Trust in your plan. There’s always room for maneuvering along the way, but Miami cannot start being wishy-washy with just changing offensive and defensive strategies overnight. Schnellenberger figured out what he wanted to do and stuck with it. Iron out the glitches, stay on course, and execute better and better each day.
Miami is a run-first football team right now. On offense, that’s fine. Many successful teams operate that way. That’s especially true considering the wide receiver corps is struggling without Xavier Restrepo in the lineup. Defensively, Miami needs to clean up coverage busts. That’s as much mental breakdowns as anything. In Year 1 of Cristobal’s tenure, that’s not all the surprising. That leads to obtaining the talent to make the long-term plan work.
2) As an example, Schnellenber utilized a pro-style offense and recruited to it with local speed from South Florida high schools. When the Canes hit the field, few teams could run with them, and that’s a major reason why they quickly began to win big. That’s something that Cristobal is already trying to rebuild: recruiting Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to make Miami one of the fastest teams in college football. He’s having success as four key recruits in the class of 2023 hail from those three counties, and several more could be signed as well.
Overall, Cristobal and his staff need to recruit players that fit the plan for what they will operate on offense and defense. Sounds simple, but it’s really not. There’s the obvious talent on the field that Miami needs, but like with Schnellenberger bringing in players like Jim Kelly to be the quarterback, Cristobal also needs a few special recruits that are leaders as well. That also represents the third overall point.
3) Build upon that leadership that’s already on the team and bring in more to the program via recruiting. It’s an art, not a science. Not every five-star recruit is a leader. That’s the same for players on the roster already, too. That’s why Cristobal and his staff must monitor this situation closely.
During tough times like right now, it’s vital for players to hold one another accountable. When needed, members of the coaching staff will also need to push the right buttons.
Imagine some of the conversations that Schnellenberger and his team leaders went through during that first 5-6 season in 1979. It might have seemed like more of the same from the prior staff, then something clicked. The Hurricanes won nine games each of the next two seasons, and of course won it all in 1983.
Will this be an easy overall process for Cristobal and the Canes? No, it will not be. It needs to be a detailed plan that’s executed over time, piece by piece. Just like with Schnellenberger’s tenure, Cristobal and Miami can rise to prominence with the right plan that’s executed day after day.
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