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I've always believed college football fans are happy three times during the years. The first is when their team is undefeated. The second time is when they see their recruiting ranking and feel like that is a big win. And finally, when their team has a coaching vacancy and they actually believe their job is the greatest in the game and that every big name will want to coach their team.
FSU and Miami fans have already moved on from the current season. The Seminoles are winless after three games and the Canes are 1-2. Instead of caring about the next game, it's more about who they can hire to replace the coach they want to get rid of.
In Miami, Manny Diaz seems to have lost support from fans who also believe the school has millions and millions to buyout Diaz and hire....Mario Cristobal. Cristobal has it good at Oregon with a good team, big salary and Phil Knight willing to spend and spend and spend- something Miami can't contend with.
MIke Norvell is dealing with a fan base who seems to have moved on and is more interested in who is next. They compare Willie Taggart's record to his start and the feeling is he's becoming bad for business and that's a bad place.
But fans hoping for a new coach often are delusional about who would be interested in a vacancy at their school. They fill message boards, social media, text lines and anywhere else with names that would never take the job but it doesn't stop the rumors.
The reality is most schools never get the biggest name to leave their current job for theirs and in Florida you might be surprised when you look at some of the hires and who got the job.
Florida got it right when it hired Steve Spurrier. The Old Ball Coach made Duke relevant; there was no better choice for the Gators and he proved everyone correct by an incredible run for 12 seasons. After that? Let's take a look:
--Ron Zook- the former Gator assistant was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints when Florida hired him. He wasn't a name people wanted and he wasn't a good head coach.
--Urban Meyer- was the most wanted coach in the country and he delivered two national titles
--Will Muschamp- no head coaching experience but one of the top coordinators in the country. It was a bad hire.
--Jim McElwain- wasn't the top choice. He was 22-16 at Colorado State and it didn't work out
--Dan Mullen- Chip Kelly? Scott Frost? Mullen may have been the 5th or 6th choice. He's 31-10 and been to three major bowl games in three seasons
Bobby Bowden's first season at FSU was a 5-6 season, his only losing season. Some may not remember that Jimbo Fisher was going to be the head coach at UAB until the state's Board of Trustees vetoed the deal. He would then turn down an offer to join Nick Saban's staff in Tuscaloosa and took the offensive coordinator's position at FSU with the idea he would replace Bowden eventually. That happened after three seasons. What has happened since Fisher left for Texas A&M?
--Willie Taggart- was never a thought among FSU fans and stunned most when he emerged as the choice. He was gone in 21 games.
--Mike Norvell- Bob Stoops rumors then led to several other names before Norvell emerged. It wasn't a crazy hire since Norvell went 38-16 in four seasons at Memphis. But he's 3-9 so far and people keep searching "Norvell buyout.":
Between 1971-1978 the University of Miami had three different coaches before hiring Howard Schnellenberger in 1979. He had been Don Shula's offensive coordinator and the hire made sense.The program was in deep financial trouble and Schnellenberger was the right personality to sell a vision of what the Hurricanes' program could be. By year five, Schnellenberger won a national title. He made one of the biggest blunders in coaching history when he opted to leave Miami for the USFL and never coached a game in the league when the new Miami team was relocated to Washington and then to Orlando. He would jump to Louisville in 1985. Who did Miami turn to when Howard left?
--Jimmy Johnson- the hire was brilliant when you look at the results but he was not the name the media talked about or who fans wanted. Tom Olivadotti was the defensive coordinator of the 83' title team and many thought was the perfect choice. Athletic director Sam Jankovich stunned many when he announced Miami had hired Jimmy Johnson from Oklahoma State where he was 29-25-3.
--Dennis Erickson- When Johnson left for the Cowboys every big name in college football was thrown around for the job. Erickson? No one mentioned the coach who had gone 12-10-1 at Washington State. He then went 63-9 at Miami
--Butch Davis- the hire made sense since he was a former assistant with Johnson and was also with him in Dallas.
--Larry Coker- got the job only when players pressured administration into staying within the program
--Randy Shannon- played and coached at Miami and made sense because of his recruiting ties to the area. The results were 28-22
--Al Golden- had to back-to-back winning seasons at Temple when he was hired but no one felt the move made sense and he won nine games once in five years
--Mark Richt- looked like a great hire as the former Cane was coming home but was he burnt out after the run at Georgia? After winning nine and 10 games he went 7-6 and retired.
--Manny Diaz- the national search landed on the guy who was a coordinator that just got hired by Temple. Miami paid the Temple buyout to get Diaz and three games into year three, it could be his last.
At UCF, many were stunned when George O'Leary was hired. The Notre Dame situation seemed to be a story that would prevent O'Leary from getting another chance. UCF's then-athletic director Steve Orsini worked with O'Leary at Georgia Tech and chose him over Gene Chizik, who had the support of many donors and fans. O'Leary's hire paid off for UCF as his era elevated UCF to levels it had never been. After a winless season in 2016, how did it work out?
--Scott Frost- the school hired a firm for a national search and then newly hired athletic director Danny White surprised many by hiring Frost from Oregon and it paid off.
--Josh Heupel- was not a name anyone had on the radar and the hire surprised many because of other names supposedly interested.
--Gus Malzahn- before Terry Mohajir was hired the media threw a huge list of sitting coaches and top coordinators. When Mohajir came aboard it was not a shock when he called an old friend who was Arkansas State when he was there. The hire drew national attention and gave UCF a veteran coach with a decade of experience from the SEC.
Some hires in the state were the right choice. Some hires came out of left field. Some hires were downright bad. There is no perfect formula or handbook when it comes to hiring. But usually the people who get the job are not on the list that the media and fans generate. So whoever Seminole and Canes fans think would be a top choice if their job comes open, there's a good chance that person and the second and third name on those lists are not getting hired either.
Final thought: The legend Lou Saban coached two seasons for Miami. He also coached UCF in 1983 and part of 1984 before he was fired. When growing up, Saban's first job was serving as a caddy for Al Capone's brother Ralph at a Chicago golf course.