Will Jon Gruden land in Miami?
But with whom -- the Hurricanes or Dolphins?
Media speculation in south Florida has quickly escalated to an inferno, only hours after UM fired coach Randy Shannon. The decision came Saturday night after the Hurricanes' 23-20 overtime loss to South Florida at Sun Life Stadium, a game which attracted less than 30,000 fans.
The Hurricanes finished the regular season 7-5. Shannon, who received a four-year contract extension before this season, was 28-22 in four seasons at his alma mater.
CaneSports has reported that UM is prepared to pay Gruden $3 million annually -- that is if the former NFL head coach and current ESPN Monday Night Football television commentator wants to return to college football for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Gruden's name has been linked to a number of openings -- college and NFL -- since he was fired by the Buccaneers in January 2009 after seven seasons, punctuated by a Super Bowl win in 2002.
Which leads us to even more speculation.
The Hurricanes may also be competing with the Dolphins for Gruden if whispers that Miami coach Tony Sparano's job might be in jeopardy are accurate.
After initial success in 2008, the Dolphins have floundered in mediocrity. They are currently 5-5 and will likely face another offseason of restructuring if they can not turn it around. Hello Jon Gruden?
This much is certain:
The Hurricanes have scheduled a team meeting for Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will serve as interim head coach for the team's bowl game. Shannon was promoted from defensive coordinator two weeks after Larry Coker was fired following a 6-6 regular season in 2006.
Other list of potential candidates include Texas Tech's Tommy Tubberville, Georgia's Mark Richt -- he's a former quarterback at UM -- TCU's Gary Patterson and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, among others.
Gruden started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1986. He also coached at Southeast Missouri State, the University of Pacific and the University of Pittsburgh..
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