Miami Hires Former Kentucky Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson

Mario Cristobal is taking a gamble on a former Kentucky football play-caller. Ross Dellenger reports Shannon Dawson will be Miami’s next offensive coordinator, replacing Josh Gattis who was fired after only one season in Coral Gables.

Dawson spent the last two seasons calling plays for Dana Holgerson at Houston. The Air Raid disciple got his first big break in similar fashion. He worked with Holgerson for four years at West Virginia before Mark Stoops hired him to succeed Neal Brown at Kentucky in 2015.

The Shannon Dawson tenure at Kentucky was a disaster. The Cats went just 5-7 and finished 79th in adjusted offensive efficiency. In response to his play-calling critics, he uttered the infamous line, “If it worked, you would’ve loved it.”

Dawson ultimately got the last laugh over the Cats a year later. While calling plays for Southern Miss, future pros Nick Mullens and Ito Smith helped the Golden Eagles erase a 15-point deficit by scoring 34 unanswered points in a 44-35 upset over Kentucky in Lexington to kick off the 2016 season.

Mario Cristobal arrived at his alma mater with plenty of fanfare, only for the former Oregon head coach to go 5-7 in his debut. Last fall the Hurricanes lost to Middle Tennessee State at home with an offense that finished ranked 77th in offensive efficiency. Cristobal can recruit, but his offenses have consistently failed to produce. He’s now leaning on Shannon Dawson and the Air Raid to right the ship.

More Offensive Coordinator Turnover in the SEC

The move from Miami wasn’t the only big offensive coordinator news of the day. Todd Monken is leaving Georgia to become the play-caller for the Baltimore Ravens. Scoring points was a struggle for Kirby Smart until Monken arrived. Under Monken’s leadership the Dawgs won back-to-back National Championships, averaging more than 500 points and 40 points per game last season.

Smart did not waste time to find a successor. Monken will be replaced by Mike Bobo, a former teammate of Smart’s who served as an offensive analyst for the Dawgs last year. Georgia will be one of seven Kentucky Power Five opponents with a new offensive coordinator this fall.

• Georgia: Mike Bobo
• Mizzou: Kirby Moore
• Tennessee: Joey Halzle (Josh Heupel will call plays)
• Mississippi State: Kevin Barbay
• Alabama: Tommy Rees
• South Carolina: Dowell Loggains
• Louisville: Jeff Brohm