Four Candidates to Replace Mark Richt in Miami
By Henry McKenna
Miami Hurricanes and former Georgia Bulldogs coach Mark Richt announced his retirement on Sunday. Richt ended his tenure in Miami with a 26-12 record over his three seasons, after returning to his alma mater. In 2017, he won the 2017 Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award.
Here are four candidates who would make for a good replacement for the accomplished coach.
- Mario Cristobal, Oregon, head coach: He’ll only have one more year of Justin Herbert, which is the biggest draw for Cristobal to stick with the Ducks. Otherwise, he might be wise to make the move to Miami, where he once starred as a player and began his coaching career, where he could carry a higher profile.
- Kliff Kingsbury, USC, offensive coordinator: Earlier this season, Kingsbury was thought to be a potential head coaching candidate in the NFL, even after Texas Tech fired him this year. He’s currently agreed to be the offensive coordinator at USC, but the quarterback guru could make sense for the Hurricanes.
- Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic, head coach: He has held no shortage of head coaching gigs, with jobs at Oakland Raiders, Tennessee, USC and now FAU. His 2018 season wasn’t particularly impressive, but he did win Conference USA in 2017. And he has always been a good recruiter.
- Manny Diaz, Temple, head coach: He left for Temple on Dec. 13. Could he reverse course? He had a strong tenure as the Hurricanes defensive coordinator — they may want to explore the possibility of poaching him back from Temple.