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AFM Magazine


Randy Shannon

The eye of the Hurricane\'s Storm is focused on Miami\'s Defensive Coordinator
by: David Purdum
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Ray Lewis, Phillip Buchanon, Ed Reed, Duane Starks, Warren Sapp, Vince Wilfork, Sean Taylor, Jonathon Vilma ... the list goes on and on ... and on and on. Clearly, the University of Miami wins because of one reason – talent. Actually, there are 36 reasons, as in 36 NFL first-round draft picks since 1984, the most of any college or university. With all that talent, Sebastian, the ‘Canes mascot, might as well grab a headset and waddle onto the Orange Bowl sidelines; he’d probably run off 10 straight.

But if that’s the case, and talent is the only reason Miami wins, then why aren’t its recruiting classes unanimously ranked No. 1 every year? And why aren’t the Hurricanes always in the running for the nation’s top recruits? Could it be that the Miami coaching staff is underrated? Could their ability to develop talent be overlooked? Fourth-year defensive coordinator, Randy Shannon, knows the answers.
The Shannon File
1991 University of Miami (graduate assistant)
1992 University of Miami (defensive line)
1993-97 University of Miami (linebackers)
1998-99 Miami Dolphins (defensive assistant)
2000 Miami Dolphins (linebackers)
2001-present University of Miami (defensive coordinator)

“Everybody in the country is afraid of Miami. Frank Broyles and Dick MacPherson told me that. And it’s true,” said Shannon, whose defenses have been among the nation’s elite every year since he took over in 2001. “First, we’re down here on the bottom of the United States, so everyone thinks it’s a diffrent domain. It’s not. They told me that everyone thinks we get the greatest players in the country ... the best athletes. We don’t.”

Miami isn’t exactly picking out of the bottom of the barrel, either. The Hurricanes’ recruiting classes are mainstays in the top 10. According to Rivals.com, Miami’s last three recruiting classes have been no worse than No. 5.

“Miami’s never at the very top, though. So, why, three years later, do we suddenly have the absolute best talent in the country?” asks Shannon. “Jonathon Vilma, coming out of high school, was 6-foot, 190 (pounds). Is he going to be on a list as a top linebacker? No.

William Joseph was 6-foot-6, 255 ... nobody really looked at him. Is it talent, or are we doing a good job of coaching?”

Isn’t evaluating talent a major part of coaching, especially on the Division-I level? Not only is Miami’s staff good at pinpointing talent, but they’re also good at developing it.

Honors as a Player
• Starting linebacker on Miami's 1987
National Championship team.

• Winner of the Christopher Plumer
Award for Most Inspirational Player
as a senior in 1988.

• An 11th round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, became the first rookie to start at OLB for Dallas since 1963.

“Santana Moss was only recruited by Miami and Eastern Kentucky ... that’s Santana Moss. For Reggie Wayne, it was Miami and Tulane. Dan Morgan, it was Georgia Tech and Miami. Sean Taylor, it was Clemson and Miami. Are we recruiting the best players in the nation, or are we recruiting players that can play in our system?

“They always say that we just have talent. But you have to be able to coach talent and be able to make it perform.”

In three years, Shannon has had 12 defensive players drafted, four in the first round. He has a knack for installing Miami’s talent into his pressing 4-3 defensive scheme. The result is a stingy, hard-hitting, opportunistic defense that is constantly making big plays and creating turnovers.

In his first year as coordinator, the ‘Canes defense, featuring Buchanon and Reed in the secondary, led the nation in turnover margin, setting school records with 27 interceptions and 45 turnovers. It resulted in the Hurricanes’ fifth national championship and a Frank Broyles Award for Shannon, as the nation’s top assistant.

“We lost the whole entire secondary from the national championship team,” Shannon said. “People said we were going to be awful. The next year we led the nation in pass efficiency defense. Is that coaching or is that talent? Because five guys left.”

The 2002 ‘Canes, who lost to Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game, lost six defensive linemen from that nationally ranked defense. In 2003, Miami was No. 2 in overall defense and No. 1 in passing yards defense. Again, does Miami get the most talented kids each year, or does the coaching staff do a good job of teaching and developing players?

Every player that comes to Miami has the physical abilities, so what separates the superstars? “The best players I’ve coached were very, very competitive, but they would take coaching. They would line up and say, ‘I’m going to make this guy next to me physically quit. They maximize their efforts, therefore making their teammates better. The players that would take pride in the results of the test we gave them were the best. Those were always the best players I ever coached.”

With stars like Sapp, Taylor and Wilfork, Shannon says it’s important to avoid the tendancy to treat players differently. “Sometimes as coaches you get in the little comfort zone. You’ve had three great guys for the last year, and you forget about the other guys behind them. Jimmy (Johnson’s) mentality was always treat everybody as they’re a starter, and they will become a starter. If you treat starters one way and second team guys another, the second-team guys are going to play to that level. He always wanted the coaches to coach that way. Coach everybody like they’re going to start and then they’ll play that way. But if you don’t then that’s when you’re going to have a problem.

“We need every member of the team in some way or fashion,” he added. “Whether you’re a starter or not, or even a scout team member we need you. If the scout team member doesn’t work hard, he’s not going to give the starters a good look to get ready for the game. Everybody’s on the same ground.”

Shannon was a four-year letterman at linebacker for the Hurricanes and a starter on the 1987 National Championship team. He was drafted in the 11th round by the Dallas Cowboys. After a two-year stint playing in the NFL, where he became the first rookie to start at outside linebacker for Dallas since 1963, Shannon returned to Miami to become a graduate assistant under Butch Davis. He would rise quickly through the ranks, but he insists his present success comes from his willingness to learn at every level.

“Some guys take being a graduate assistant as a demotion,” Shannon said. “They like to hurry through it and try and get a job. I got lucky and was only a graduate assistant for six months, but I learned from it. I learned how to breakdown film, call offenses, defenses, terminology. I learned about the schemes we were running.” Even as a defensive coordinator, Shannon still finds time to spend with the graduate assistants. “Go and make sure your graduate assistants know how to grind, breakdown film and take pride in it,” he said. “They break down the film, then I’ll go back an break it down with them. That’s how you make grad assistants learn to coach.

“Even when I was a position coach, I was always responsible for the grad assistants. If you’re helping them out, they’ll be able to spend more time in the meeting rooms learning how to coach. If you just put them on all paper and film work, they’ll never learn how to coach. They’ll just be paper guys.

“It takes a graduate assistant about an hour and a half to breakdown a game; it only takes me about 35 minutes. They get caught up in watching the game, instead of just getting it in the computer for the assistants to look at. When you get in staff meetings, that’s when you start picking up tendencies.”

Shannon became the Hurricanes’ defensive line coach in 1992, followed by a five-year term as linebackers’ coach. He then joined the Miami Dolphins as a defensive assistant. He coached the Dolphins’ linebackers in 2000, before returning to the University of Miami as defensive coordinator in 2001.

“Some coaches don’t have the ability to take suggestions from the head coach,” he said. “They get defensive. If I see something, the D-line’s not doing, I may mention it to that coach. I don’t try to take over what they’re trying to do; it’s just something that I want to bring to their attention.

“If you don’t have an ego in coaching, you’ll be successful. But once you think it’s all about you, you’re going to fail. That mean’s you’re not going to listen to anybody.”

Shannon has listened and learned from some of the best in the business.

“Dennis Erickson was more of a players coach,” he said. “He wanted us to educate the players when they did something wrong; not just throw him in the doghouse, educate them when they do something wrong; Sonny Lubick was more of a down to earth, truthful guy. He’d tell you how it was, and he always wanted to be honest. You may like it and you may not like it, but he’d be honest with you and tell you how it is. (Tommy) Tuberville was the get it done type. He didn’t have time for the small talk; get it done – that was his mentality; Butch Davis always wanted to be in a frenzy. He wanted guys to think they were always in a panic situation; Jimmy Johnson was more about the mental aspect of the game. His mental aspect was unbelievable.”

But Shannon has become his own coach with his own style. He’s demanding and has one thing on his mind each day – improving.

“Before the national championship game in 2001, I told the guys not to worry about seven days from now, just worry about today’s practice,” he said. “What can you get better at that day, that practice? That’s what I’m worried about.

“I’ll get to Sean Taylor and say, ‘the only thing I want you to work on is getting in good football position and breaking down. You don’t have to hit anyone, but just get in good football position, get your feet under control. If you do that, you will be a better tackler in the game this week. “Or I’ll go to Vince Wilfork. He was 360 last year in spring ball. I told him that he needed to be 335 come two-a-days. He looked at me like I was crazy. But I said, ‘Vince, that’s only two pounds a week.’ He thought about the total not about what he could do each day to shed a little weight.”

Discipline is also a big part of Shannon’s style. “If you go to class, you can play at the University of Miami,” he said. “If you fullfill your study hall requirements, you’ll be able to play; If you work hard in the weight room, physically you’ll be able to play. If you work hard on your conditioning, you’ll be able to play; and if you don’t get in trouble off the field you’ll be able to play.”

Clearly, Shannon has the abilities and mentality to become a head coach. So how long before he heads out of Miami?

Head Coach Larry Coker’s assessment: “Randy has been tremendous here at Miami. Our defensive success over the last three seasons is a clear indicator of that. His drive, intensity and teaching ability make him one of the finest defensive coaches in college football. We’re privileged to have him at Miami.”

“My name’s been surfacing for three years, but the one thing people don’t realize is I’ve never got an interview for a head coaching position,” Shannon said. “I’ve never even been contacted about a head coaching position. People are amazed when I tell them that. My name has been thrown out a lot, but it’s never happened.

“I tell the players on the team, ‘If I happen to leave and go to wherever next week, does it make a difference? Can you control it today? My name may pop up for a job here or there, but the only thing that makes a difference is what I’m doing at that particular time.

“There have been only three assistant coaches that ever got head jobs out of the University of Miami since 1984. There was Mike Archer at LSU, Sonny Lubick went to Colorado State, and Greg Schiano to Rutgers. That’s it. Mind you Dave Wannstedt’s been here. He never got a job out of college. Dave Campo never got a job out of college. Tuberville had to go to Texas A & M to get the head job at Mississippi. That’s just how it is in Miami. “I would like a head job, but if people can’t understand that if you can coach, you can coach.” But when he does get that interview – and it will happen – Shannon will be ready.

“I got a plan that I want to impliment. I got a package about what I want to do, how we’re going to get to the next level, different things.”






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