The Rundown Take
Fatigued and Still Fighting: U Talk Braces for the A.D. Decision
Friday night before the Virginia Tech game, and Larry Frank Jr. opened by describing a week that ran the full emotional gamut — the Florida State loss, a Corey Flagg comment controversy, and then the high of Blake James finally getting fired. Devin and the panel tried to look ahead to Saturday's game, but the show kept pulling back to the same question hanging over the program: who's making the call on Manny Diaz, and when.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Frank walks through the week's emotional whiplash — the Florida State loss, a sideline controversy, then Blake James's firing.
- Manny Diaz could still technically be retained; a group of boosters, the president and the incoming athletic director have to formally evaluate him first.
- Lane Kiffin's name resurfaces with reports he'd take the Miami job if available, while LSU's reported pursuit of Lincoln Riley looms as the biggest threat to Miami landing a top-tier coach.
- A second alumni round table — Brett Romberg, Lamar Thomas, Earl Little, Jesse Armstead and others — hammers the same message: bring former players back around the program.
- Score predictions for Virginia Tech: Devin goes 28-24 Miami, Larry Frank goes 30-21.
The Manny Retention Loophole
Larry Frank was careful not to bury the lede: nothing is finalized. A handful of Manny-backing boosters, the university president and whoever becomes athletic director still have to sit down and evaluate him, and if Miami can't land Mario Cristobal, Lane Kiffin or another top name, the panel worries the administration might simply keep Diaz rather than gamble on an unproven hire.
The Coaching Chess Board
The bigger threat, in Larry Frank's read, isn't Miami's own indecision — it's the calendar. With reports that LSU is set to pursue Lincoln Riley, and Florida a live threat to fire its own coach and jump into the market, Miami risks losing out on its top targets while it waits on an athletic director. Lane Kiffin's situation gets its own debate: the panel is skeptical he can out-recruit Alabama while stuck at Ole Miss, sharing a division with Nick Saban every year.
"Ray Lewis said it best: Alabama is the new Miami — how Miami used to be."
Fraternity, Not Just a Team
Larry Frank recapped a second round table sit-down with former Hurricanes, describing hours of former players — Brett Romberg, Lamar Thomas, Earl Little, Jesse Armstead among them — pushing the same idea: today's players don't know the program's history because alumni have been kept off the sidelines and out of the building. The comparison that stuck with the room: a college fraternity where the older members are supposed to come back and mentor the next class, something the panel says Miami has been missing for years.
Looking Ahead
With the emotional AD news behind them, the panel turned to Saturday's game against Virginia Tech, calling it a chance to lock up bowl eligibility even amid all the uncertainty at the top of the program.