MIAMI GARDENS — As the buses transporting the Miami Hurricanes to Saturday’s game against South Florida pulled into Sun Life Stadium, players pointed to a plane circling the stadium with a banner flying behind it.
The message?
“4 YEARS 0 ACC TITLES LOTS OF EXCUSES FIRE SHANNON.”
“To see that before the game, it’s not really something you want to see because if you’re motivated, that’s obviously going to deflate you a little bit,” senior cornerback Ryan Hill said.
Deflated and lifeless, the Hurricanes (7-5) closed the regular season with 23-20 overtime loss to USF (6-4) that is likely to turn up the heat on Shannon.
Speculation surrounding Shannon’s job security was already raging on message boards and sports talk shows following an upset loss to Virginia and two blowout defeats against Florida State and Virginia Tech. Saturday’s loss to USF, an 11 1/2-point underdog, on UM’s Senior Day is likely to kick the subject of Shannon’s future into high gear.
The website CaneSport.com, citing unnamed sources, reported that UM President Donna Shalala has called a Saturday night meeting of close advisors to discuss the state of the football program and the status of Shannon.
“You guys will discuss that like they did the last six weeks,” Shannon said in the only comment he made about his status.
UM Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt has kept mum on Shannon’s situation, declining interviews to discuss the coach’s immediate future. Shannon signed a four-year contract in May that is believed to pay him around $1.5 million annually. Details regarding the contract, including the amount of its buyout clause, have not been revealed.
Shannon’s four-year tenure has been a rocky one. Saturday’s loss dropped Shannon’s record to 28-22. The 22 defeats are the most by a UM coach since Charlie Tate finished a six-year run from 1964-70 with a 34-27-3 mark.
Under Shannon, the Hurricanes have yet to finish better than second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division and are 16-16 against league opponents.
“Any coach across the nation won’t be satisfied,” Shannon said. “I’m not satisfied. You’re only going to be satisfied when you win it all.”
After USF’s Demetris Murray ended the game with a 1-yard touchdown run, the Hurricanes left the field showered with boos and catcalls from the crowd of 26,237, one of the smallest audiences to watch Miami in years.
UM bounced back from a 10-0 deficit to take a 17-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter behind quarterback Jacory Harris, who rallied the Hurricanes after replacing starter Stephen Morris early in the second half.
Trailing by seven with 4:54 to play, the Bulls marched 81 yards on nine plays to tie the game on a Bobby Eveld quarterback sneak with two minutes remaining in regulation.
Miami had a chance to win the game before overtime, but Harris threw an interception with five seconds left.
Matt Bosher gave the Hurricanes a 20-17 lead in overtime with a 38-yard field goal, but USF used a 15-yard run by Murray and a 9-yard catch by Joel Miller to set up Murray’s game-winning touchdown.
USF improved to 9-0 in overtime games.
“A lot of guys haven’t even gotten in the shower yet to be honest with you,” defensive end Adewale Ojomo told reporters more than a half-hour after the game’s conclusion. “They’re just sitting there distraught right now.”
Hill and Ojomo admitted that the Hurricanes came out flat on Saturday despite spirited pre-game ceremonies to say good-bye to UM’s 16 seniors. Miami punted on its first six possessions and Damien Berry fumbled on the USF 1-yard line on the Hurricanes’ seventh possession.
Hill said he “sensed a little bit of flatness” from his teammates prior to kickoff.
“Before we even stepped on the field, guys were kind of quiet,” Hill said. “Guys were kind of, you know, they had a sense of being unmotivated.”
Asked about his team’s lethargy early in the game, Ojomo responded: “I felt that too. I felt like the defense was playing pretty hard. I felt like the offense needed to pick it up a little more.”
The Hurricanes will be off for a couple of weeks before resuming practices in preparation for a bowl game. UM appears headed to the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Dec. 31.
In the meantime, UM will try to pick up the pieces of what has been a disappointing season.
“There’s going to be a lot of heads turning, finger-pointing but … we just have to figure out what’s going on,” Hill said.
Damn fool UM didnt waste no time to fire Randy Shannon!!!!!!!