I Heart Rich MIano

[bigislandkurt]

I do.
I am a fan of UH Football. Rich Miano will always be a legend in my UH Football book.
He was a warrior when he played. And he is as great as an ambassador of UH football as any UH legend named Sapolu, Noga, Satele, or Kafentzis.
For these and all other sentimental reasons, I am a huge Rich Miano fan.

But I can't seem to find myself gushing over any possibility of he being the next head coach. And these are for all practical reasons. I may be totally wrong. But for all practical reasons, does he have the body of evidence to warrant he being the next head coach? Does the evidence clearly indicate front runnership? What would we be looking for in the next head coach? One who is an awesome, legendary ambassador? Or one who has been a college head coach previously? Should the next head coach have established a resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii?

If we went with Rich Miano, that would be some roll of the dice.........again.

Just like when we hired Norm Chow. Rolled the dice. Went beyond the practical thinking of the then AD. And rolled snake eyes.

Same goes for the sentimental grab with folks suggesting Cal Lee as a possible next coach. My friends, let's not make this any harder than it is.

Whew. It's hard to listen to these post-loss fan phones on 1420.

[EITSwarrior]

Miano would've been a great choice the last hiring go-around.

[Egonator]

I don't seem to recall the Lee brothers being favorites when they were on Coach Mack staff. During their tenure i remember the fans on the fan phones wanting them to resign.

As for Miano...I just find it strange that UH didn't even bother interviewing him for the head coach position when he was already the interm head coach...

I also find it strange that he left after a championship at Kaiser. Was he hiding something? He said he quit because of "personal problems," but the Principal was fired which raises my doubts about that statement

[poidog]

I also find it strange that he left after a championship at Kaiser. Was he hiding something? He said he quit because of "personal problems," but the Principle was fired which raises my doubts about that statement

I don't think he was hiding anything. I think he was frustrated with the reality of coaching at the public high school level, especially when his peers complained to the media about "recruiting". Anyone who has ever been around local high school sports knows that recruiting is an unspoken reality and it happens all the time. but as soon as Kaiser and Kalani started getting high quality transfers people started having a problem with it. It's ok when it is the "name" schools getting players (especially when they are private schools), but when top athletes start transferring to small "townie" schools like Kaiser, it isn't ok. Miano's mistake was that he actually acknowledged his transfers publicly.

Plus, I think there was some fallout over that carnival they tried to do in Hawaii Kai and some other fundraising efforts around the program. Public school athletics is a hard arena to implement change.

[poidog]

Does the evidence clearly indicate front runnership? What would we be looking for in the next head coach? One who is an awesome, legendary ambassador? Or one who has been a college head coach previously? Should the next head coach have established a resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii?

The risk is that someone who doesn't understand and appreciate the challenges of coaching/recruiting/playing out here may not have success, either, regardless of head coaching experience. Coaching at UCLA and USC does not prepare you to be a successful coach at Hawaii. All it does is teach you how to win with a wealth of resources. Even though Norm is technically from here, The bulk of his coaching career was at places where the challenges off the field were minimal. I really think the next coach for our program has to have been around this program during the good years, where they've seen how it "can" work here and not focus on the things we don't have here and why it "can't" work.

[J-Rod]

Say no to Miano, say no to Rolo, say no to fan suggestions and committees made up of people who don't know what play action really is. Enough.

[Makana]

I'd rather the team get an offensive minded coach. Besides Miano's defenses sucked, yes I said it!!!

[EITSwarrior]

I'd rather the team get an offensive minded coach. Besides Miano's defenses sucked, yes I said it!!!

That's funny, I don't recall him being the defensive coordinator.

But yes, this next coaching hire must be an offensive minded one, so he can fix Chow's abomination.

[Makana]

I'd rather the team get an offensive minded coach. Besides Miano's defenses sucked, yes I said it!!!

That's funny, I don't recall him being the defensive coordinator.

But yes, this next coaching hire must be an offensive minded one, so he can fix Chow's abomination.

Oh my bad, secondaries.

[managerr]

I'd rather the team get an offensive minded coach. Besides Miano's defenses sucked, yes I said it!!!

That's funny, I don't recall him being the defensive coordinator.

But yes, this next coaching hire must be an offensive minded one, so he can fix Chow's abomination.

He and Lumpkin were co-defensive coordinators in what was the worst defense in the JJ-era.

But I agree with the original poster. He's done a lot for sports/athletics in Hawaii and I loved him as a player and assistant--and he should definitely apply. But it would be hard to believe that he would be the most qualified candidate. He would at the very least be an underdog to get the position. But maybe he'll interview well and get a plan.

[bigislandkurt]

Does the evidence clearly indicate front runnership? What would we be looking for in the next head coach? One who is an awesome, legendary ambassador? Or one who has been a college head coach previously? Should the next head coach have established a resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii?

The risk is that someone who doesn't understand and appreciate the challenges of coaching/recruiting/playing out here may not have success, either, regardless of head coaching experience. Coaching at UCLA and USC does not prepare you to be a successful coach at Hawaii. All it does is teach you how to win with a wealth of resources. Even though Norm is technically from here, The bulk of his coaching career was at places where the challenges off the field were minimal. I really think the next coach for our program has to have been around this program during the good years, where they've seen how it "can" work here and not focus on the things we don't have here and why it "can't" work.

I'm not necessarily calling for the next coach to come from some high profile program like SC or Bama. My last question explains it further -- should the next head coach have an established (successful) resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii? Let's play a quick game of "who would you choose?"

1- Highly successful Division 1-AA head coach in California. Spent majority of his career in the JUCO, NAIA, D2, D-AA ranks, and was highly successful in each of his stops. His teams reached the national semifinals in D1-AA in each of the past 3 years. Long history of working with Polynesians and Hawaii players. For the past 5 years, his teams have been among the best in the country.
2- Successful up and coming offensive coordinator from a peer-level school. Hmmm, someone like Rolo.
3-Miano

Just for fun, who would you chose?

[RedZone]

1.

[Old Diver]

I also find it strange that he left after a championship at Kaiser. Was he hiding something? He said he quit because of "personal problems," but the Principal was fired which raises my doubts about that statement

Miano resigned out of the frustration of trying to work with an unsupportive administration. Even after the all the nonsense created by a few comminuty members and the Kaiser principle Rich still donated about $8,000 to the school. What you get with Miano is a straight talker who doesn't minch words. He is goal oriented but understands to reach them the goals must be realistic. Those traits don't always rub people the right way but the guy is a winner.

[Palolo_2LA]

I'm not necessarily calling for the next coach to come from some high profile program like SC or Bama. My last question explains it further -- should the next head coach have an established (successful) resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii? Let's play a quick game of "who would you choose?"

1- Highly successful Division 1-AA head coach in California. Spent majority of his career in the JUCO, NAIA, D2, D-AA ranks, and was highly successful in each of his stops. His teams reached the national semifinals in D1-AA in each of the past 3 years. Long history of working with Polynesians and Hawaii players. For the past 5 years, his teams have been among the best in the country.
2- Successful up and coming offensive coordinator from a peer-level school. Hmmm, someone like Rolo.
3-Miano

Just for fun, who would you chose?[/quote]

I think some of those D2 programs in Ohio or in the south (GA, FL, Miss, LA) would be a good start in finding a good HC that is cost effective. Also, it would open that link to recruit those areas. Some of the best coaches in the Big 12 cultivated their coaching skills in Ohio's D2 programs. Reality is we are dependent on skills players from the mainland and need roots in key states.

[Irse]

I'm not necessarily calling for the next coach to come from some high profile program like SC or Bama. My last question explains it further -- should the next head coach have an established (successful) resume of coaching beyond the shores of Hawaii? Let's play a quick game of "who would you choose?"

1- Highly successful Division 1-AA head coach in California. Spent majority of his career in the JUCO, NAIA, D2, D-AA ranks, and was highly successful in each of his stops. His teams reached the national semifinals in D1-AA in each of the past 3 years. Long history of working with Polynesians and Hawaii players. For the past 5 years, his teams have been among the best in the country.
2- Successful up and coming offensive coordinator from a peer-level school. Hmmm, someone like Rolo.
3-Miano

Just for fun, who would you chose?

I want someone who understands what hurdles they have to scale before they get here instead of after then complain about it. They don't have to had played or coached for UH but at least has talked to former coaches to understand our unique problems.