Wednesday evening, the University of Miami announced it had extended the contract of head football coach Randy Shannon, as he signed a new four-year contract with a reported raise from his previous $1.2 million-a-year deal. Shannon released a statement saying there's nowhere else he'd rather coach and that he'd be happy to discuss the deal Thursday.
Since Shannon's first season, the Hurricanes have made steady progress over the following two seasons, as a 5-7 record became a 7-6 record and then grew to 9-4 last season. This season, the 'Canes are expected to take the next step and be one of the powers of the ACC and could very well return to national prominence.
More important than the performance on the field, however, is what Shannon has done with the program since taking over.
As the Larry Coker era concluded, there were more than a handful of off-field incidents that furthered the perception the Miami football team was a breeding ground for trouble. Since Shannon has taken the helm, there have been minimal off-field disciplinary issues and the team has begun to excel in the classroom. In fact, it was cited Wednesday morning for a public recognition award by the NCAA -- and look at that list for football, it is in great company.
All in all, this move is a great one for the school in terms of both football and in producing true student-athletes of whom it can be proud. And Shannon is obviously pleased to stay at the school where he's already won a national championship as a player (he was a linebacker for Miami's 1987 title) and as a defensive coordinator (2001).
Might he complete the trifecta and add one as a head coach? He'll have at least four more years to give it a shot.
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