How it became "The U"

No matter where you go, College football fans automatically know what you mean when you say "The U". For the fans it sends chills down our spines because we know "The U" is our team and is synonymous with greatness, pride, and championships. For the non-fans they think of thugs and criminals being allowed to run free on the football field. Started with the days of Jimmy Johnson,  that I believed created the swagger for Miami and we the players and fans still feed off that swagger.



Jimmy Johnson replace Howard Schnellberger as Miami's Head Coach in 1984 one year after Schnellberger had won Miami's first National Championship. I am sure if you were around those days you can still remember the fans having the "Jimmy Who?" signs being held up and asked by media. Jimmy was on the pro verbal hot seat after his first year going 8-5 and people wondered if they had made the right selection for the new head coach. Jimmy Johnson though I think unleashed the beast out of it's cage when he gave free roam to his players, encouraging his players to taunt, showboat, take penalties, and play as hard as the life they had grown up in, in the inner city of Miami. This is where it started to form, where the snowball started to roll down hill and get bigger and bigger to become what it has become today.


After Jimmy Johnson left to go to the Cowboys, Dennis Erickson was named Head Coach for "The U". Not the most popular pick at the time being that they passed over Gary Stevens to hire Erickson but looked to be the right choice. In his second year Erickson had taken Miami back to win the National Championship and from 1990-1992 had a 29 game winning streak that was tragically lost to Alabama in the National Championship game. In 1994 Miami set a record for most home wins in a row at 58 a record that had started back in 1985. Erickson during his tenor tried to get away from the image of "Bad Boys Of College" but with big personalities and big talent it seemed that Jimmy Johnsons big personality had stayed even though he was gone. Players like Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis during this time fueled the Miami fire giving future Miami prospects big shoes to fill and even bigger swagger to compete with.






The mid-90's with Butch Davis were a hard time with school being on probation and losing scholarships, it is fair to say that Davis did one of the better coaching jobs in Miami for what he had. For those thinking that the coaches were doing the wrong doing you would be wrong, they were sanctioned for Pale Grant fraud from the players being done by Tony Russell an academic advisor for a kickback from the Student Athletes he helped. The person that ratted them out though was handled the Miami way and that is all we are going to say about that. When things we thought could not get any worse in 1997 "The U" posted a 5-6 record and everybody was thinking that Miami had their run and now it was over. Under the surface though it was bubbling and even though it looked like all the ashes had settled there was going to be an explosion that nobody could see coming.


In 2001 Butch Davis had left Miami to go coach the Cleveland Browns, taking his coaching skills to the NFL, who was going to take over Miami? The answer was the beloved Larry Coker. In 2001 their were question marks about Coker's ability to be a head coach but everybody knew the talent was there. In first game of the season Miami busted out like a Phoenix into the sky beating Penn St 33-7 at Beaver Stadium. I believe at that point the whole nation went uh-oh...their back! The swagger that was thought to be dead and gone was resurrected in players like Willis McGahee, Jonathan Vilma, D.J Williams, Andre Johnson, Ken Dorsey, Clinton Portis, Ed Reed, Bryant McKinnie, Jeremey Shockey, Sean Taylor, Frank Gore, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Kellen Winslow Jr, and much more through the 2000's. Miami went to go on and win their 5th National Championship beating Nebraska with ease. The swagger was back. In 2002 we were right back in the National Championship game and I will call it the biggest snub in history, with a pass interference called in the endzone that would of ended the Buckeyes hope of winning but a horrible call was made. I was always told to be the champs you have to beat the champs and I'm sorry but a  no call should have been made and the Buckeyes should of had to beat them not get it handed to them. After that season things started to go back on a slide enjoying moderate success but finally end of 2006 season changes had to be made and came in Randy Shannon.


In this Randy Shannon era he has been able to do one thing no other coach had been able to do and that is relate with his players. Randy Shannon being from Miami and having siblings die from AIDS and his own brother stealing his identity knew how it was to fight adversity. He is no nonsense, clean act, and does not tolerate insubordination's. The impressive thing though is he does this without killing the swagger. He lets his players know you can play like a gladiator but still be a good citizen as well. Shannon's first 2 seasons were mediocre but his recruiting classes have been strong and from the start of the 2010 season he looks like he is going to have them back on track.


All these coaches have helped make Miami "The U" by allowing their players to be themselves and play with the warrior attitude that they possess. Former players still hold current players to a high standard and show their disapproval with they struggle and offer advice to the young players to keep "The U" what it is "The U". It still gives me shivers when I hear it, I see the players running out of the tunnel with the smoke filled it up, and know that they their opponents are already intimidated by the history of "The U" and if their not they will soon find out why they should of been. So we have started off the season with a 45-0 win over FAMU in 2010, and can't wait to see what the future holds, but I will know no matter what, It will be all about "The U"