The Rundown Take
Larry Frank Comes Home: A Grieving Co-Host Returns to a Program Already in Freefall Before Kickoff
Larry Frank Jr. rejoined Devin for the first time in weeks on this Friday hype show, opening up about losing his father roughly 30 days after the hurricane hit the family — and thanking the U Talk community for the prayers that got him through it. From there the show turned back to business: Miami heading into Chapel Hill 2-3, a coaching staff in visible disarray, and a preview of Saturday's 3:30 kickoff against North Carolina.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Frank breaks down from the Virginia loss: Manny Diaz "iced his own kicker" late in a winnable game, and the panel puts the decision-making failure on the coaching staff, not the missed field goal.
- Recruiting is bleeding out — a tight end prospect picked Alabama over Miami, a defensive back was seen in a Texas A&M hat and another recruit in a Gators hat, all read as signs the staff has stopped fighting for 2022 commitments.
- Larry Frank goes on record: "Mark it right here, October 15, 2021 — Billy Napier will be LSU's next head coach."
- A long debate over promoting Ed Reed to head coach: the panel loves the idea in theory but argues he needs seasoning elsewhere first, drawing comparisons to Deion Sanders' path through Jackson State.
- Final score predictions split — Larry Frank goes 41-26 North Carolina, Devin stays loyal with Miami 28-21 — with Larry Frank flagging the bye week and a coach with no track record of winning off one.
The Coaching Carousel Speeds Up
With Manny Diaz's seat glowing hot, the panel worked through the market: LSU and USC both hunting for coaches gives Miami leverage problems, since neither Lane Kiffin nor Mario Cristobal is walking away from a bigger-money offer for a program in this state. Names debated included Luke Fickell (praised, but flagged as a likely Ohio State target down the line), Butch Davis versus Mack Brown as "old blood" options, and Hugh Freeze. Larry Frank's read: fire Manny now and Miami loses any real shot at the top of the market, so riding it out to season's end is the only realistic path.
Should Ed Reed Coach This Team?
The debate that ran longest wasn't about who's out — it was about who might be in. With T-Rob rumored to be on the way out of the defensive backs role, the panel floated Ed Reed stepping into that job, and then into the head-coaching conversation entirely. Devin argued Reed should "cut his teeth" somewhere smaller first, invoking Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Randy Shannon's inability to return to Miami after his run ended, while others countered that Reed's recruiting pull alone — "if a top-notch player and Ed Reed walks in your living room, how can you say no" — would be worth the risk.
"His downfall is his ego — he wants to call the shots, he wants all the credit. That's what egomaniacs and narcissists do."
The show closed on a personal note, with Larry Frank thanking the family for two years of support building the show from five people in chat to nearly 10,000 subscribers, before turning attention back to Saturday's must-watch trip to North Carolina.