Randy Shannon:The Savior of Miami Footballl

When I first heard Miami hired Randy Shannon as their head coach I immediately asked, "Who?". However, over the next 4 months I did a little research(something I NEVER do) and found out that he's a fantastic defensive minded coach(Miami's defense ranked 6th,7th,2nd,28th,4th and 7th dating back to 2001). I also read a lot of his life story. He grew up in the Liberty City section of Miami(a very rough neighborhood). Life was tough for Randy as he lost his father at age 3 during a shooting and 3 of his siblings died in the 80's from AIDS contemplated from drug use.
Randy was a linebacker for "The U" playing for the 1987 Hurricane Squad that beat Oklahoma for the National Title in the Orange Bowl(Shannon was also part of the infamous 1986 Canes that lost to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl which was called by the announcers as "Good"(Penn State) vs "Evil"(Miami, who was being dubbed as "Thug U" for their behavior which qas made worse when they showed up to a dinner before the game in Camo fatigues). In 1989 Shannon was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys but was gone a year later.
Shannon returned to Miami in 1991 as a graduate assistant and eventually became the D-Line coach. He would later become a defensive coach with the Miami Dolphins from 1998-2000 before returning to "The U" once again as the defensive coordinator. On December 8, 2006, Miami named Shannon their head coach after a mediocre year by coach Larry Coker. Now while you all think "Meh" I think National Champions by the end of the decade and here is why.
Number 1, he can relate to most players. Some of Miami's players come from rough neighborhoods in the city which is the exact conditions that Shannon grew up in and unlike Larry Coker he can relate to their problems and help them. Number 2, he's changing the school. In the offseason Shannon has added new rules to discipline players and keep them out of trouble. Here are some of these rules:

1.Miss class no start
2.Fall below GPA can't leave campus
3.No hats or phones on Football facility
4.No hats at Dinner
5.No firearms
6.Have fun but any trouble will lead to suspension
7.You must be a Junior or Senior to live off campus

I see these rules as big and helpful for the school which players were said to have "No Discipline". Shannon has also helped Miami recruiting wise landing Guard Harland Gunn(No.2 in the country), Quarterback Robert Marve, defensive star Allen Bailey, defender Adewale Ojomo, along with Chris Perry and running back Lee Chambers. On September 8th Shannon will have his first test as the Canes go to Norman and face the Oklahoma Sooners. Keep an eye on the Canes because I see good things coming their way and that goes for Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel and other D-1 coaches.