Shannon Keeping It Real as Gators Interim Coach

Interim head coach Randy Shannon took over the program on Oct. 30 and held his first practice inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Shannon Keeping It Real as Gators Interim Coach

Saturday, November 18, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

The former University of Miami head coach replaced Jim McElwain and makes his home debut as UF's head coach on Saturday against UAB.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Outside the small room where he was about to hold his postgame press conference a week ago at Williams-Brice Stadium, Gators interim head coach Randy Shannon took a moment to chat with one of his former players at Miami.

In typical Shannon fashion – rapid, lean and to the point – he offered a quick synopsis of Florida's 28-20 loss to the Gamecocks, the Gators' fifth consecutive defeat and second in a row since Shannon replaced Jim McElwain.

"We played hard,'' Shannon told his ex-player. "We've just got to find a way to win."

The Gators' performance was an improvement from Shannon's debut and first game as a head coach since his four-year tenure at Miami ended seven years ago – a 29-point loss at Missouri on Nov. 4, six days after UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin named the 51-year-old Shannon to replace McElwain.

The former Hurricanes offensive lineman Shannon spoke to at South Carolina knows him well. He transferred from Florida International for graduate school at Miami and spent his final year of eligibility in 2008 as a veteran presence in Shannon's second season as head coach at his alma mater.

In fact, Xavier Shannon's scouting report on his dad is as good as any.

Xavier grew up around Miami's program and watched as his father climbed the coaching ladder, first as a young UM assistant in the early 1990s, then during a three-year stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, and later as Miami's defensive coordinator and head coach.

35780 — Randy Shannon, in his third season at UF, was 28-22 in four seasons as head coach at the University of Miami, his alma mater. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Now an assistant director of academics in South Carolina's athletic department, Xavier saw the connection Randy developed with Miami's pipeline of exceptional players such as Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp and many others who went on to NFL stardom. When Xavier finished his prep career at Coral Gables High, Randy, then Miami's defensive coordinator, steered his son away from the Hurricanes to avoid any perception of favoritism.

By the time Xavier transferred to Miami for his final season, Randy had taken over the program and his son got a glimpse of what it was like to have a coach-player relationship with his dad.

"A player's coach who cares about the well-being of the players,'' Xavier described his dad's style. "He was always honest and real with them. He'll always do what he can for his players, not only to succeed on the field, but later on in life. That's always been him since I was a child."

Shannon makes another debut on Saturday when the Gators host UAB: his first game as Florida's head coach at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. His last game as a head coach at The Swamp remains memorable for the way it ended.

On the way to their second national title in three seasons, the Gators defeated the Hurricanes 26-3 early in the 2008 season. With 25 seconds left, Florida head coach Urban Meyer sent kicker Jonathan Phillips out to kick a 29-yard field goal, pouring salt in Miami's wound as the Gators snapped a six-game losing streak to the Hurricanes dating back to 1985.

Shannon ran to midfield, gave Meyer one of the quickest postgame handshakes in college football history, and jogged away. The next day Shannon expressed his dislike of Meyer's decision to pad the score with the game long-settled.

"Sometimes when you do things and people see what kind of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off,'' Shannon said without naming names. "Take from that what you want. It helped us more than you will ever know."

Nine years later, Shannon is in his third season at Florida and his third game as head coach. Who saw that coming?

"Being a University of Miami person, you never like the University of Florida,'' Xavier said.

Even so, Xavier Shannon said that between his father's time as an assistant at Texas Christian and Arkansas prior to joining McElwain's staff in 2015, Randy's 20-year run as a coach in his hometown fades deeper into the rearview mirror with each passing season.

Randy Shannon has repeatedly breezed past questions about his deep roots in Miami since taking over the Gators. Instead, he prefers to focus on the now and see where it leads in the future as he tries to lead Florida to its first win since Sept. 30 against Vanderbilt.

While Shannon is not expected to take over permanently, he is signed through January 2020 and offers a new head coach vast experience as a recruiter in talent-rich South Florida.

He has made a favorable impression on the players, tweaking practice details and just trying to be a trusted confidant during a difficult transition midseason.

"I really wish they would just stop looking and just give him the head coaching job,'' senior running back Mark Thompson said. "He knows what he's doing. He got put in a tough spot. I really like him as a coach and as a man. Hopefully, his future is good with whatever he's going to do."

Sophomore linebacker David Reese said Shannon helped open his eyes to becoming a leader, which prompted Reese to speak out publicly about the team's lack of unity in their effort at Missouri. The Gators responded with a more passionate performance a week ago against the Gamecocks.

"He's like a great mentor overall. I feel like he's teaching us how to be young men,'' Reese said. "He's really taught us a lot of things that kind of set with me in my heart. Makes you want to know how you want to be remembered. Why you came here. What is being a Florida Gator all about. Things like that just make you think about life."

Meanwhile, Shannon has offered low-key answers when asked about his future, other than to say he views it more as an opportunity in the coaching life than an audition for the job.

He has stressed repeatedly that the program has a roster full of talent if not for all the injuries. The Gators enter Saturday's game against UAB with 29 players either on the injury report or suspended list, more than 30 percent of the scholarship roster.

A win Saturday won't be easy, nor will it be on Nov. 25 in the regular-season finale against Florida State. If Shannon has any emotions about his first home game as Florida's head coach, he is not sharing.

"Hey, it's not about me, it's not about anybody on this team, it's about the University of Florida,'' he said this week. "It's about the Gator brand. You want to come to the University of Florida because you want to play at a high level. You want to get a great education. You want to get a family atmosphere."

Sounds familiar to one of his former players.

"He's been doing for over 20 years, so he's seen it all,'' Xavier Shannon said. "He knows the good, the bad, the ugly – the ins and outs. He's handling it the best way he can."