ISRAEL GUTIERREZ | IN MY OPINION
UM football coach Randy Shannon doesn't score points with his argument
Posted on Wed, Sep. 10, 2008
By ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
UM coach Randy Shannon shouts instructions to his players during last Saturday's game against Florida in Gainesville. Florida won 26-3.
This is why Hurricanes-Gators should be on the football schedule every year.
Because then we might have something else to talk about for the next five years other than a late, rather meaningless field goal.
And maybe then Randy Shannon would have felt compelled to bite his tongue on the subject rather than shove his foot directly into his mouth.
That's just what the UM coach did when he waited until the morning after his team's 26-3 loss to Florida to question the character of Urban Meyer and claim Miami is actually better off for losing by more points.
Let's reexamine the incident in question:
With the Gators leading 23-3, 1:56 left on the clock and starting a drive at the UM 16-yard line, the Gators ran a screen play to a running back for 9 yards. Then Florida made the one questionable decision, attempting a pass to Louis Murphy in the end zone. You will recall Murphy was the player who got the weeklong trash talk started by saying he doesn't recognize UM as ''The U.'' One unsuccessful running play later, Meyer called for a field goal with 25 seconds remaining that seemed to have no significance in the game other than to assure the Gators covered the 21 ½-point spread.
HAND SLAP STINGS
After the final whistle, Shannon darted to midfield and, in full stride, attempted a half-hearted hand slap of Meyer before making a sharp left turn toward the locker room, leaving Meyer standing and staring, wondering what just happened.
After the game, Shannon avoided the subject of the late scoring attempts, choosing to delay comments until Sunday morning, when he offered this now unforgettable gem: ``Sometimes when you do things and people see what kind of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off. Take from that what you want. It helped us more than you will ever know.''
OK, let's first admit that Meyer can't escape this unscathed, but not for the reasons Shannon suggested. Meyer should have kept Tebow on the bench for the final drive. If Tebow drops back to pass and gets injured in that situation, Meyer is not only deeply regretting his decision but he would still be getting slowly dragged over the coals for that mistake.
It was a mistake of perspective, really. But a question of character?
Need Shannon be reminded that this is the subjective world of college football, and scores actually matter when your championship hopes hinge just as much on votes as total wins. A 30-3 score would've looked better two months from now, especially if the Canes remain unranked the rest of the season and perceived as an easy opponent for Florida.
And then there's the dirty secret that head coaches will never openly admit but is an absolute truth in college football: When you cover the spread, you keep your boosters happy. And when you keep your boosters happy (how many faithful boosters would really bet against their team covering the spread?), you improve your job security.
That one final fling into the end zone showed Meyer's support of his mouthy receiver Murphy. And the final three points was Meyer making sure he gets the proper support from boosters when he needs it.
Shannon probably knew as much. And he should have known better than to attack Meyer a day later.
It would have seemed whiny-but-excusable had Shannon called out Meyer immediately after the game. The heat-of-the-moment argument would have held up just fine.
But for Shannon to sleep on it, then come back and insult Meyer is of questionable character in itself. The hasty handshake wasn't exactly classy, either.
RECRUITING SUPPORT
And then to suggest that those final seconds will help recruiting is almost insulting to his audience.
How many recruits would grow fonder of a program through pity? If the Canes gained any attention from recruits Saturday it was because they proved they are two or three players from truly competing with a team like Florida, not because Meyer looked to be pouring it on.
If that were the case, then Western Carolina should have a top-five recruiting class in place after getting pummeled by Florida State 69-0.
''Yeah, we're going to try to score the whole game,'' Tebow said Monday in defense of his coach. ``I don't think [scoring] has anything to do with the type of person you are.''
Yet Shannon tried to make it sound that way, hoping to get a small victory in the wake of defeat.
Unfortunately, he'll have to wait until 2013 for his next real shot at the Gators. His most recent shot at Meyer can only be considered another loss.
