Report: Miami parts ways with athletic director Blake James

The University of Miami has parted ways with athletic director Blake James, per a tweet from AP reporter Tim Reynolds. James has been the AD for the Hurricanes since 2013.

The decision came Monday, a mere two days after the Hurricanes football team blew an eight-point lead against Florida State.

Miami is on its third head football coach since James took over. The team is currently 5-5 this year under coach Manny Diaz, who is 19-15 in his tenure.

After entering the season at No. 14 in the AP poll, the Hurricanes opened the year by getting blown out against Alabama. They quickly fell out of the poll following a second loss to Michigan State and have yet to return.

Jim Larranaga has led the basketball team for the entire time James has been AD, though that program has struggled recently as well. The Hurricanes have missed out on the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons.

The move indicates that Miami is considering more changes in athletics, such as the future of Diaz.

James was part of the decision-making group that hired Diaz in 2018, luring him away from a job at Temple that he’d held for less than a month. Diaz had been Miami’s defensive coordinator under Mark Richt, and when Richt resigned on Dec. 30, 2018, the Hurricanes needed only a few hours before completing a deal with Diaz.

James took over the Miami athletic department in trying times, as the university was facing an NCAA investigation into the actions of booster Nevin Shapiro. Shapiro allegedly provided football players cash, goods, prostitutes, assorted favors, and purchased a yacht on which parties with prostitutes were held.

The former athletic director helped the Hurricanes through scholarship limitations and probation that followed the Shapiro decision, and completed a number of facilities projects. That included a baseball player development center, an indoor practice facility for football, a nutrition center and many more.

Still, football reigns king in Miami, and the program’s recent struggles were likely the deciding factor on Blake James. Diaz has been on the hot seat since the season began, and his performance so far hasn’t helped. Considering James already whiffed on one coach, this was the final straw.

The Hurricanes will take the field for the first time since the news broke at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday against Virginia Tech.