There’s a popular thought in college sports that those who run major programs should always be prepared with a list — one tucked deep inside a drawer, a password protected file or in the recesses of their mind — with the names of the five coaches they would pursue if they ever had to make a change in their program.
Blake James says he doesn’t quite believe in that theory, but divine intervention? That’s a possibility.
That’s because the Miami Hurricanes athletic director was sitting in church of all places when his phone buzzed on the Sunday after Miami’s football team had wrapped up its regular season. James discreetly took a look at the screen and saw a text that alerted him to the fact that Mark Richt had been fired at Georgia.
“I was like, ‘Boy, this Mass has to get over in a hurry so I can call his agent,'” James chuckled recently.
That call was made not long after. By the end of the week, Miami had its new football coach, filling the void left after Al Golden was fired in October.
Back in October, Richt had told James he intended to stay at Georgia. A month later, everything changed.
Now, nine months into Richt’s tenure in Coral Gables, the coach and seemingly everyone around Miami’s program — from players to fans, boosters to high school coaches — are rejuvenated.
Yes, honeymoon periods are the norm when a school hires a new coach. But when that coach happens to be an alum with deep ties to the university, and a resume glittering with a 145-51 career record in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference, that honeymoon seems just a touch more magical.
“As an alum, this couldn’t be sweeter. When you’re a graduate that’s dedicated to the program, your dream is to have someone that’s been highly successful — that also graduated from the university — come home, do what he’s done somewhere else and bring it home to South Florida,” said Dr. Michael Gleiber, a Golden Hurricanes booster and a Miami graduate himself.
Gleiber, who has been at several booster events with Richt this year, is hardly alone in his thinking.
Though the coach has yet to lead his new team onto the field through Miami’s famed smoke, the school has sold more than 11,000 new season tickets since his hiring on Dec. 4. According to James, existing season ticket renewal rates are at an unheard of 87 percent. And membership in the Hurricane Club — Miami’s program for athletic donations and giving — is through the roof, with several boosters stepping up their donations in the months since Richt was hired.
This spring, as Richt met with alumni groups across the country during Miami’s “Building Champions” tour, there were long lines as fans waited to snap a quick picture with him or share a few thoughts. And for the most part, Richt spent as much time as he could with fans, thanking them for their support and encouraging them to continue their involvement with the program.
He’s also made it a point to reach out to those who maybe couldn’t be in that kind of setting, spending much of his summer meeting with youth football coaches and players at parks throughout South Florida. There, too, there were requests for pictures and autographs and coaching tips.
“He has the ability to inspire people,” said Jesse Marks, Miami’s senior associate athletic director for development. “Every time he’s in front of someone, that someone wants to get better personally and you want to help him and help the program. You can’t find a better individual in that regard.”
Richt, for his part, understands the challenge in front of him. And he has embraced it. He’s tried to put his fingerprints all over his new program, most notably by resuming play-calling duties, a responsibility he shed in his later years at Georgia.
But he’s been quick to point out getting Miami back to where it wants to be in college football isn’t something that can only fall on his shoulders.
“It makes me feel great,” he said in July about the welcome he’s received from the community. “I’m a former alum. I’m a former football alum as well. I’m one of the guys, so to speak, in a lot of ways. … I think what everybody understands is that it takes everybody — it takes our administration, it takes our athletic department, it takes our former players, it takes our current players, it takes recruiting, it takes our coaches, it takes … our fan base. When everybody works together, we’ve got a chance to be great, and I think people see that.”
Along with fans throughout South Florida, there’s another distinct group of alumni Richt has reached out to since his return to Miami, and that too, reflects a change.
Since his hiring, Richt has stressed the importance of welcoming former Hurricanes players to campus, something that seemingly happened less and less in recent years, in part because the school wanted to be cautious of any potential violations in the wake of the Nevin Shapiro scandal and in part because some former players were vocal in their criticism of Golden.
But during spring practice, Richt hosted former players for an event on campus. Many were on the sideline during the Hurricanes spring game at Lockhart Stadium. And in July, some of the biggest names in Miami football history — including Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin, Gino Torretta, Warren Sapp, Duke Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Antrel Rolle and Phillip Buchanon — were on campus for Paradise Camp, a Miami recruiting event that hosted some of the nation’s top high school football prospects.
And like fans, the former Hurricanes players are thrilled one of their own now leads the storied program.
“It was toxic the last two years, longer than that because it was toxic during the NCAA investigation,” Torretta said. “Then there was not having success and whatever feelings were there toward the former staff. I think people just want to see the connection. And he’s a guy that played here. That never leaves you. . . . That’s our guy and we’re going to be behind him.”
While Richt’s community outreach, his $1 million donation to the school’s future indoor practice facility and his effort to mend broken fences have all made an impression in South Florida, ultimately, his biggest accomplishment since arriving in Coral Gables has been inspiring the current crop of Hurricanes.
After all those players are the ones that will be executing his game plan, bearing the brunt of his discipline when needed and spending more time with him than anyone else. And they seem as happy with their new coach as everyone outside the football building is.
“When he came in here, since the first day, he’s set the tone of how he is, and he’s a class act in everything he does,” center Nick Linder said. “He tries to instill in us to be a class act, to be professionals in school, on the field, whatever it may be. In the summer, we did all those community service events that were a big deal. . . He puts his own money into the indoor facility. It shows his commitment to us. It’s good energy. Everything is going the right way.”
As for the coach himself? Well, those who know him best say Miami has had an effect on him, too.
And at least before the season starts, it seems all the ingredients are there for a long and happy marriage.
“He’s loving life again,” said Jon Richt, his son and the Hurricanes quarterbacks coach. “Not just football, he’s loving life. He’s having a great time down here in Miami. He’s back home. He’s got the rejuvenation of being able to go out there and coach and get after it every day with the guys. He’s competing with the guys in drills. He’s involved the whole time and the team gets to see him compete. He’s enjoying it.”
ccabrera@sunsentinel.com; On Twitter @ChristyChirinos
