Corey Hetherman got a chance to coach one of the best up-and-coming programs in college football, and he took it.
It’s not like the Miami Hurricanes are some unknown, of course. They were at one time a powerhouse, and they’re certainly one of the biggest brands in college football.
Miami experienced some downs as of late, though, but head coach Mario Cristobal has the Hurricanes trending in a contending direction. He went 10-3 last season, and they were ranked as high as No. 4 in the AP poll at one point.
The Hurricanes want to take the next step to be a College Football Playoff contender, and firing Lance Guidry and bringing in Hetherman is part of that process for Cristobal.
Hetherman was the defensive coordinator at Minnesota last season, but he resigned that position to take the opportunity with the Hurricanes. Meeting with the media recently after getting a chance to his new players, he relayed that his message is simple. He wants the Hurricanes defense to be physical, and he wants his players to love playing the game.
“We’re going to talk about being physical, and we’re going to talk about swarming,” Hetherman said in his news conference (h/t On3). “You know, the three things I talked to them about — I want you guys to love football. Like when you walk in the building, I want you to be excited to be here. I want it to be the, ‘I can’t wait to get to the football building. I can’t wait to lift, run, eat,’ whatever it is, ‘practice, watch film.’
“I want them to enjoy being here. And then when we play, I want to be the most physical team, you know. We want to strike first. We want to strain all the way through. We want to finish on the ball-carrier or on the ball in the air. But we want to be a physical football team. And then we want to play fast, we want to swarm.”
That’s a wonderful message from a defensive coordinator, but now Hetherman has the challenge of making sure that message sticks and applies to the games next season.
Finishing strong is absolutely going to be the big thing for Miami’s defense in 2025, so Hetherman’s message couldn’t come at a better time. Miami blew a 21-0 lead against Syracuse in the final game of the season, which cost the Hurricanes a spot in the ACC Championship Game. The Hurricanes also had a 10-point lead in the third quarter against Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, but they ended up losing that game, 42-41.
