Randy Shannon Randy Lennard Shannon ( born February 24 , 1966 ) is an American football coach , currently the linebackers coach at Arkansas . He previously served as the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010 , the defensive coordinator at Miami from 2001 to 2006 , as well as most recently the linebackers coach at TCU . In the 1980s Shannon played linebacker at Miami and then with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL . Early life . When Shannon was three years old , his father was murdered . His older twin brothers , who became addicted to crack cocaine when Shannon was 10 , both died of aids , as did his older sister . Shannon attended Miami Norland High School , where he earned all - state for playing football at the position of linebacker in his senior year . He also excelled at basketball , averaging 19 points a game , and was a member of the track and field team . He played college football for the University of Miami , starting at outside linebacker for the 1987 national championship team . After graduating in 1988 , Shannon played briefly as a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys , having been drafted by Jimmy Johnson " in order to teach his bigger , faster linebackers how to play the position . " Coaching career . Early years . Shannon was first hired by Miami coach Dennis Erickson in 1991 to be a graduate assistant . He later became the team ' s defensive line coach and linebackers coach . Shannon worked as linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and as a defensive assistant in 1998 and 1999 . In 2001 , Miami coach Larry Coker hired Shannon to be the defensive coordinator . That year Miami won the National Championship and Shannon received the Broyles Award given annually to the best assistant coach in college football . The 2001 national championship team is widely considered to be one of the greatest college football teams of all time . Over the next five years Shannon ' s Miami defenses consistently finished among the top in the nation . During Shannon ' s six years as UM ' s defensive coordinator , his defenses ranked as follows in total defense nationally : University of Miami head coach . Shannon was officially introduced as the head coach of Miami on December 8 , 2006 , replacing Larry Coker in the position . Shannon reportedly agreed to a four - year deal worth over $ 4 million . He was the sixth black head coach at the time in Division I - A NCAA football , the others being Sylvester Croom ( Mississippi State ) , Karl Dorrell ( UCLA ) , Tyrone Willingham ( Washington ) , Ron Prince ( KSU ) , and Turner Gill ( Buffalo ) . Coker stayed on to coach the team to a 21 – 20 MPC Computers Bowl victory over the University of Nevada ; Shannon assumed all other functions , including recruiting , immediately upon his hiring . 2007 season . Shannon ' s first decision as head coach was to remove the players ' surnames from their jerseys . Fans found the decision made the game more difficult to follow . The season opened with a victory over Marshall in his first game as head coach . The second game was a 51 – 13 loss to # 6 University of Oklahoma . Miami rebounded by defeating Florida International , Duke , and then - 16th ranked Texas A & M , but then lost close games to unranked North Carolina , Georgia Tech and North Carolina State . One highlight was Miami ' s fourth quarter comeback against rival Florida State . However , this was offset by a 48 – 0 loss against # 21 University of Virginia in the team ' s final appearance ever at the Orange Bowl , the worst loss for the program in the history of its play at the Orange Bowl and the worst overall loss since 1998 . Miami finished the season losing to # 16 Boston College 28 – 14 . Under Shannon , the team lost 6 out of their last 7 games , finishing with a losing record and failing to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in over a decade . Two days after the season ended , one of Miami ' s former players , Sean Taylor , was shot in his home in Miami . Shannon expressed frustration over the media ' s handling of such incidents , stating that the coverage made it appear as though the University of Miami is a haven for crime . 2008 season . Shannon ' s squad finished the 2008 season with a 7 – 6 record ( 4 - 4 ACC ) and a loss to Cal in the Emerald Bowl . The regular season was highlighted by losses to eventual National Champion Florida and rival Florida State , and a surprising victory over eventual ACC Champion Virginia Tech . The ' Canes briefly returned to the Top 25 rankings for the first time since early in the 2006 season before surrendering 472 rushing yards to Georgia Tech in a 41 – 23 late - November loss that eliminated Miami from ACC Championship contention . Tech ' s 472 yards on the ground were the second most ever allowed by Miami . Miami then received an invitation to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco , where the Hurricanes fell 24 – 17 to Cal . Off - season turmoil . In the immediate aftermath of the bowl game , Shannon fired his offensive coordinator , Patrick Nix , over philosophical differences . Nix wanted to employ more of a spread attack , whereas Shannon remained committed to Miami ' s traditional pro style offense . Shannon eventually hired former Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles assistant coach Mark Whipple for the position . Nix ' s departure was followed by news that Robert Marve , a redshirt - freshman quarterback who had been suspended from the bowl game for repeatedly missing class , asked for a release to transfer to another school . Marve cited a strained relationship with Shannon , who had previously suspended him after his arrest for criminal mischief , as his reason for leaving . Marve was the only Hurricanes player to be arrested during Shannon ' s tenure as head coach . Shannon ' s staff suffered more upheaval when defensive coordinator Bill Young left to assume the same position at Oklahoma State , his alma mater , in late January . Young ' s departure made him the third coordinator to leave the program during Shannon ' s two seasons as head coach , joining Nix and former defensive coordinator Tim Walton , both of whom were fired . North Carolina assistant John Lovett was hired to replace Young in February . 2009 season . Randy Shannon ' s Hurricanes showed improvement in the 2009 season , in which the Canes finished with a record of 9 – 4 . The Canes were the first college football team in 9 years to face four consecutive ranked teams to start the season . They surpassed expectations by going 3 - 1 in those games , including wins over # 19 Florida State , # 13 Georgia Tech , and # 8 Oklahoma . The Hurricanes went 6 - 2 over the remainder of the regular season , then lost 20 - 14 against # 22 Wisconsin in the Citrus Bowl . Miami finished the season ranked # 19 in the country . It marked the second consecutive year that Shannon ' s team had shown a 2 - win improvement . Recruiting . Though Shannon ' s teams went through some struggles on the field , he consistently brought in recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 . Three members of his second recruiting class — Marcus Forston , Marcus Robinson , and Sean Spence — were recognized by " College Football News " as freshman All - Americans . 2010 season . The Hurricanes started the year with high expectations , ranked 13th in the Associated Press and Coaches Poll . However , after winning three of their first four games , they were beaten at home by # 24 Florida State , 45 – 17 . They went 4 - 3 over the rest of the regular season , with losses to Virginia , # 15 Virginia Tech and South Florida . Though they were ranked in the top - 25 until the final two games of the season , the season - ending loss to South Florida left them unranked heading into the Sun Bowl . Firing . After the South Florida loss , the university announced its decision to terminate Shannon immediately . On December 13 , 2010 , the University of Miami announced the hiring of his replacement , former Temple University head coach Al Golden . Texas Christian University . In July 2012 Randy Shannon became the linebackers coach at TCU . Shannon participated in his first game as a member of the TCU coaching staff on September 8 , 2012 , a 56 - 0 victory over Grambling . As of October 2 , TCU was undefeated and ranked 2nd in the nation in scoring defense , allowing only 7 . 3 points per game . They also rank 2nd in passing efficiency defense , 2nd in interceptions , 9th in rushing defense , and 7th in total yards allowed per game . Off the field . Although he left Miami with an unremarkable win - loss record by the program ' s previous standards , Shannon still left a significant legacy at the program . He guided the school to the third - best Academic Progress Rate in NCAA Division I FBS . In his four - year tenure at Miami , only a single player was arrested . Perhaps most significantly , he was apparently untainted by the scandal that engulfed the program in the 2011 season , as he avoided contact with Nevin Shapiro , the rogue booster who admitted to providing massive amounts of improper benefits to Miami players from 2002 to 2010 . " Sports Illustrated " writer Alexander Wolff , in an August 2011 open letter to university president Donna Shalala , noted that Shannon " seems to have been the only person in Coral Gables who wanted nothing to do with Shapiro , reportedly warning his players to avoid him and threatening to fire assistants caught dealing with him . " Head coaching record . < small > * Shannon was fired from Miami before bowl game . < small >