Shannon said that he holds no grudges against the University. After all, he was a child of Miami, spent his college years playing football at the "U" and served as head coach.
Said Shannon, "I needed this year to sit out. I needed to learn something new..."
I will be the first to admit that I was somewhat saddened when Shannon was let go. He genuinely cared about each and every one of his players well-being. He strove to keep them out of trouble and education always came first. How can you not applaud him?
The thing is, Shannon could relate to most of his players. They had more similarities than they did differences. Shannon lived the rough life. He saw his family members die from drugs and AIDS. He wandered the streets.
And he clearly didn't want his players to take the same path that he could have taken. To some of these kids, football is a way out of the streets. It is a way to make a substantial amount of money in order to provide for their families.
Nevertheless, Shannon said that he did everything possible to lure his kids away from people who were capable of bringing them down--i.e. Nevin Shapiro. Although he wouldn't elaborate further on the current scandal. He did note that, "I left the place [Miami] in a whole lot better shape than I found it."
I admire Shannon for staying in Miami following his release, and continuing to support the team and the University.
Randy Shannon, you are everything that is Miami.
For more on Randy Shannon, the article can be seen here.
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