Rick Petri is the new Defensive Line Coach at Miami. Although Clint Hurtt will be missed, this should be considered an upgrade at D-Line Coach. Petri has 33 years of college coaching experience. He was at UM from 1993-1995 when he coached Warren Sapp, Kenard Lang, Kevin Patrick and other star players.



This is a very good hire by UM. The Canes have so much talent on the Defensive Line and having a Coach with this much experience and accomplishments should help the players realize their potential. The Defensive Line is lead by All-ACC star Allen Bailey (a potential 1st rounder next year), along with former freshman All-Americans Marcus Robinson and Marcus Forston (who red shirted last year). The Canes also get back Adawale Ojomo who missed last year with a broken jaw. Oliver Vernon was a terrific freshman Defensive End last year and will look to continue his growth. Petri inherits a load of potential and talent. He was successful in the SEC with Kentucky and comes to a team in Miami with a lot more to work with.

The recruiting coordinator vacancy still has not been filled. I expect that Randy Shannon will assume that role until after National Signing Day (Wednesday February 3rd).

Rick Petri is on Miami’s radar to be the next Defensive Line Coach. Petri was Miami’s Assistant Defensive Line Coach from 1993-1995. He is currently Kentucky’s Defensive Line Coach were he has built up a strong Line in his time there. Remember when his DE knocked out Tebow?

Petri was up for Defensive Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008. While at Miami he was the Assistant Coach of a Defensive Line that featured Warren Sapp, Kevin Patrick, Kenard Lang and Kenny Holmes. He has been coaching in the SEC since leaving Miami at South Carolina, Ole Miss and Kentucky. Petri has 33 years of coaching experience in College Football.

This looks like it may come down to Kevin Patrick and Rick Petri to become the next Defensive Line Coach. Both have UM ties with Petri having much more accomplishments and experience. At this point Petri may be Miami’s #1 guy.

Unfortunately, Clint Hurtt has left the University of Miami for Louisville. Hurtt is a former player at the University of Miami and was the Defensive Line Coach as well as the Recruiting Coordinator. This is a blow for UM to have a position coach, the top recruiter and even more importantly the Recruiting Coordinator leave just weeks before National Signing Day. Hopefully Miami is able to act quickly and fill the holes in the coaching staff.

Kevin Patrick would be a logical choice to fill the Defensive Line Coaching vacancy. Patrick is a former star from UM who played Defensive End from 1989-1993 (he played with Shannon as a player and under him as a coach). He was a starter for the 1991 National Championship team. After his UM days he had a brief career in the NFL. He is currently the USF Defensive Ends Coach. USF’s Defensive Ends have been extremely productive specializing in sacks in recent years. Patrick is also a very good recruiter at USF. We have no knowledge if Miami has reached out to Patrick yet, but this would certainly be a great fit. Hopefully Kevin Patrick will be coaching at Miami next year.

The Recruiting Coordinator is a little tougher to figure out. My guess is that either Randy Shannon will take over for now or he may pass the duties over to Michael Barrow. Barrow has been a great recruiter at the University of Miami. Barrow is a Defensive Assistant but is not a position coach, so he could potentially spend more time to focus on recruiting efforts. There have been a number of commits in the past who have cited their relationship with Barrow as their reason for choosing the University of Miami.

Clint Hurtt always has been and always will be a true Hurricane.