re: Per Thamel: Miami has fired Diaz

quote:

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Miami, Tennessee, Nebraska, Notre Dame...all products of a different era

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A bit simplistic

Miami was nothing more than what we'd call G5 level until the early 80's. They cashed in on the Schnellenberger/Kosar run- a very small university in a recruiting hotbed suddenly with lots of bowl money. Turned into a factory. The "U" persona stuck so well because until then, they were nothing.

Tennessee has been a prominent SEC school forever. Wasn't until Spurrier emerged at Fla, that Tenn slipped below a definite 2nd overall in the conference. Wasn't until post-Fulmer that they fell out of contention.


Notre Dame is "forward pass" underdogs vs Army back in the 40's, from the Heartland, has held on ever since. The ultimate Baby Boomers product.

Nebraska is the ultimate cautionary tale. I'm old enough to remember the Huskers, in the 90's you would NEVER have thought they would have fallen.
Their move to the Big 10, while they were down, was the worst mistake in history.
It would be like Alabama sliding to the middle of the pack in the SEC, then leaving the SEC for the Pac 12 when it's strong. No tradition versus anyone, no recruiting inroads, no influence in the conference at all.

It could be what happens to Oklahoma or Texas; lose that foothold and never get it back.