Does anybody else think its SO MIAMI that after not really giving a damn about college football for 20 or so years, that when we finally decide to put serious money into the program we try and replicate the formula Georgia/Alabama have used for the last 20 years, going and signing a 10 year 8M per year contract with a coach that’s probably the best recruiter in the nation who then went out and spent TOP DOLLAR to put a staff of the best recruiters in the nation…at the exact moment when NIL is going to drastically change how you succeed in the sport. NIL is completely evaporating staff’s ability to recruit based on relationships and that top recruits are going to chase who is willing to give them the most money… which means these top recruiters are going to matter one iota for these top recruits who have money being thrown at them.
Aka, we spent a shit load of money getting recruiters when in reality what we needed to do is go get the best practitioners in the sport (XO guys and developers) and instead save most of our budget to spend shitloads of money on buying recruits.
It’s becoming pretty clear to me that the best salesmen in the industry aren’t going to matter now or in the future. It’ll be who has the best NIL packages. Hell, even keeping kids on roster is just going to be about their NIL package versus what other teams can/will pay them or they’ll just leave.
We literally hired, AND PAID A SHITLOAD OF MONEY FOR, the best recruiting staff in the nation at the exact time when that’s not going to matter… laughing emoji
So Miami… we’ve got to be administratively one of the dumbest schools in the country.
I mean…we literally just hired the best swordsman in the world right as the musket is entering as the main weapon of war… LOL
It’d be like hiring Mario Cristobal in the NFL thinking that’s going to do something. “Hey man, I’m great with relationships…come play for me” and the NFL players is like…“Uh, that’s now how this works, how much are you offering to pay me?”.
College football is going to be a salary industry starting NOW. How good you were at recruiting isn’t going to matter.
Can Mario still succeed? Sure, assuming we didn’t spend all of our money on staff/facilities and Miami has enough juice to compete with some SERIOUSLY RICH PROGRAMs for top kids (we just lost Rashada, there will be more as these schools get their NILs together). But it isn’t going to be about the guys ability to recruit which is hilarious as that’s why we hired him and mostly why he actually had success in the past.
Aka, we highly overpaid for a skillset that isn’t going to matter. LOL
There is something to be said for organizational skills, and being one of the best offensive line builders in the nation.
And I would still say there is something to recruiting acumen and more importantly identifying talent (CMC, Highsmith, Steele, etc…ARe a nice trio in that aspect)
I still believe it will make some difference, but I agree…Another teacher or two, and an ace OC/QB guy should be priority #1…I think DT Coach Big Joe can be viewed as a teacher.
Basically, in today’s landscape with Ruiz (and remember Ruiz was ONLY going all-in with Cristobal)…To put it in really dumb simplistic terms…I think Diaz +Ruiz could net us a top 10-15 class…Diaz +Cristobal…Is capable of obtaining top 3 classes. Now you just can’t have coaching so incompetent your top 3 classes look like shit.
What is discouraging is how poorly our present team has performed this season. You’ll recall we had a great deal of debate prior to the season about whether Miami would win nine or ten games this season. Moreover, we expected a better rushing attack, and what we got was a worse one. IMO Gattis has been a huge failure, and he should be jettisoned. I have zero faith in Gattis. Losing no doubt has a significant effect on recruiting, and Rashada may not be the last to decommit .
Of course NIL will be THE most important consideration of top recruits. Yes, Miami’s timing in putting together an expensive coaching staff seems somewhat foolish in retrospect. However, recruiting is based on salesmanship and Miami has a venue advantage, great climate, and environmental glamour, over much of the competition. Given appropriate NIL funds, Miami looking forward should do exceedingly well recruiting. It seems to me recruits would greatly favor a strong NIL deal at Miami over a high paying deal in Tuscaloosa, Athens, Ga, or Columbus, OH.
Even Saban has been affected by NIL as exhibited in his recent arguments on the topic with Jimbo at A&M. Saban has lost two games this year, both in the last seconds by a total of four points, but already it’s predicted in Alabama that he may retire since he’s 70 years old and the most successful collegiate coach in history.
I think Catagory 6’s premise in this thread is both valid and prescient. NIL will separate the fiscally wealthy institutions from others with lesser pocketbooks. It seems to me Miami’s likelihood of prospering improves with the addition of NIL.
He’s on his way out. Given the Rashada news I could see this staff going all in on J.Brown for the remainder of this season. Ponce’ OC skillset is far better for that situation. I could see if that’s the case Cristobal looking to stem the negative recruiting before the season is out by removing Gattis soon to try and give his offensive recruits some positivity prior to December’s signing day.
Without Ruiz Miami’s mid-pack at best on its NIL offering. AKA, we’re in a very fragile situation as opposed to the Texas/Alabamas of the word that could lose their top few donors and not even feel it.
One day Ruiz will stop funding the way he is or cut back considerably. When that happens Miami is not competing with the big boys. We all need to hope the NCAA steps in and puts some kind of salary cap into place because if this persists long term Miami will not keep up.
At worst, Miami will have mediocre recruiting classes under NIL. How can you compare the glamour of Miami with Tuscaloosa, Starkville, Athens, or Baton Rouge. As the game changes, so does the funding activity of universities. Most universities have a Department of Development devoted to obtaining monies from corporations, private businesses, graduates, and from government.
After recruits are bought, then the task comes down to improving their skills to adjust to the college game. Mario does have the right idea. All coaches are recruiters as well as teachers of the game.
Catagory 6’s idea of the NCAA instituting a salary cap seems both rational and likely to happen. Storm’s comment about traditional power programs for years buying players is also a credible premise.
Sports is big business and as such talent commands payment. To me, this is a sad situation. It subverts both playing for loyalty and tradition. It also foments faculty discontent as coaches are paid far more than even Nobel Prize nominees or even laureates. I surmise that Major Athletics will be separated from other scholarly ranks and either made part of the Administration or become quasi-public corporations affiliated with universities.
As an old guy, I more appreciate the days of yore over those of today. It just seems more noble to me playing for glory rather than for dollars. Five hundred years ago, the Spanish poet, who today I think is under appreciated, Franciso Quevedo wrote: “A Powerful Man is Mr. Money.”
Not much of a free market take here Bikki. Why should any 18 year old be limited on who can pay them? They can buy an AR-15, they can die for our country, but they can’t be paid?
Miami lacks a true college gameday atmosphere and until that changes we will not be competitive again. We’ve relied too much on past glory and for 20 years have not kept up with the changing times. Build a stadium on campus or MUCH closer than Hard Rock, build in some college game day traditions and then we can be relevant again. Until then, I just don’t see why kids would want to come to Miami to black in a massive stadium that’s hardly close to being filled when they can go to Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson, etc…
We aren’t the NFL pipeline that we used to be. College football has changed and we have to change with it…
As a town, Miami does not support well losing teams, but Miami loves winners, and fans come out of the woodwork when teams are winning. Funding a stadium even near the campus is an expensive proposition, and there’s no way even to consider such a plan while we’re losing. Agreed Hurricane Kosar a closer stadium would heighten game time excitement.
While I have a nostalgic view of football, I understand well that the difference in compensation between coaches and talent represented a market imbalance and had to change. NIL is a huge step toward the professionalization of college athletics. It does eliminate the bagmen and under-the-table payments that were surely happening around the country. As I previously discussed, Miami is one of the better venues for potential NIL donors inasmuch as Metro Miami is almost tied with Atlanta as being the largest Metropolitan area in the South. Additionally, it is an area of considerable private wealth, and it’s this nation’s gateway city to Latin America and the Caribbean.
I watched Oregon lose a squeaker to Washington this evening, and to be sure Oregon is a fine football team, and Mario deserves credit as establishing the Ducks as one of the true West Coast powers. Their rushing game was certainly impressive, and it was a pleasure to watch a team for a change that wasn’t pass happy.
Winning is the only remedy for bringing Miami back. To this end, Mario has to continue recruiting successfully, targeting transfer players on opposing teams, actively mining the portal for positions of need, and recruiting NIL sponsors.
Lastly, you got to be impressed by the way Mike Norvell has improved Florida State this year. After suffering a rocky start in last year in which he made some really embarrassing coaching errors, he has the Seminoles on the right track. In two years, he took the Seminoles from being a rather sorry bunch into winners capable of playing respectable football even against top level opponents.