University of Miami cornerback Ryan Hill was on a team bus that included his head coach, Randy Shannon, as it pulled into Sun Life Stadium for the regular-season finale Saturday against South Florida.
Linebackers Colin McCarthy and Sean Spence pointed to the giant banner flapping behind an airplane, and ``the whole bus immediately turned and looked,'' Hill said. Here is what they saw: ``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,'' Hill said.
Things only got worse.
Far worse.
After fighting back from a 10-0 deficit to go ahead 17-10 with 3:54 left, UM lost 23-20 in overtime -- plagued once again by an interception-throwing quarterback.
This time it was Jacory Harris, Saturday's backup to freshman Stephen Morris. And this time it put Shannon's coaching future in question.
Two sources told The Miami Herald that UM president Donna Shalala convened a meeting Saturday night with UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt and her closest advisors to discuss Shannon's future. Shannon has three years left on his contract that was redrawn this past offseason.
Shalala is expected to call for a vote as early as Monday from the board of trustees on whether to retain or fire Shannon, a source close to the athletic department said.
``You guys will discuss that like they did the last six weeks, so . . .'' was all Shannon would say when asked if he was worried about his future. ``Record-wise, we're not where we need to be. Sad to see the seniors go out on not a good note.''
Shannon, who pointed to the frustration of recurring breakdowns by the Hurricanes -- a lack of red zone scoring and pivotal turnovers among them -- said he felt ``just down right now. The players are down. The seniors are down. Tough one. That's about all.''
Before the game, Hocutt told The Miami Herald that the banner was ``very disappointing.'' When asked before kickoff how the game would affect Shannon's future, Hocutt said, ``This game has no impact. . . . It's just the next game on our schedule and happens to be the last game of the [regular] season. . . . You don't get too high with the highs, and you don't get too low with the lows.''
However, the shock of the loss to the 11 ½-point underdog Bulls (7-4) changed all that. After the game, Hocutt did not respond to a text message asking whether Shannon would return as coach next season.
Not only was the result ugly and the effort lethargic, the crowd of 26,369 was the smallest this season.
Harris threw the interception on UM's final play of regulation, ruining its opportunity for a go-ahead field goal -- and leading to its demise in overtime.
Miami (7-5) finished with a 3-3 home record, its worst home showing since 1997. UM is 28-22 overall under Shannon since his first season in 2007. The Canes will play in a bowl game, possibly the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on New Year's Eve.
``I don't have any words to explain it,'' Hill said. ``Everybody seemed to be all in, playing for the seniors and playing for Coach Shannon. We wanted to end the season on a positive note.
``If you had told me it was going to end like this, I would have thought you were crazy.''
Miami drove to the USF 31-yard line and called a timeout with 14 seconds left. UM figured it had one last chance to get the 5 or 6 yards for Matt Bosher to kick a game-winning field goal.
Instead, USF free safety Jerrell Young got the interception, and after one USF running play, the game went into overtime.
UM had possession first on the USF 25-yard line, with four chances to score. Lamar Miller ran for 1 yard, Harris completed a pass for no gain, Harris completed a 3-yard pass to Leonard Hankerson, and then Bosher kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 20-17 UM lead.
USF then got its chance from the UM 25. On the first play, Demetri Murray barged 15 yards down the middle for a first down at the UM 10. On the next play, USF freshman walk-on quarterback Bobby Eveld, who had replaced injured starter B.J. Daniels in the second half, threw a quick 9-yard slant to Joel Miller.
Demetri then ran 1 yard for the winning touchdown, though there was a long delay during which officials reviewed the television replay.
``After review, the ruling on the field stands,'' the official announced. ``Touchdown.''
By then, most of the fans had already exited and many of the ones who stayed were booing.
(source:miamiherald.com)
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