Report: Ex-Miami booster Nevin Shapiro names Lane Kiffin as potential Manny Diaz successor

Former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro, who was sentenced to prison in 2011 for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme, believes he knows who the next Hurricanes head coach will be.

With Manny Diaz on the hot seat, that apparently was enough for Yahoo!’s Dan Wetzel to reach out to Shapiro for his take on the situation.

“I texted my best Miami source — or certainly the most interesting Miami source— in Nevin Shapiro,” Wetzel said on the College Football Enquirer Podcast

. “Nevin is claiming that the top candidate is Lane Kiffin with Randy Shannon as the defensive coordinator.”

In some ways, Kiffin makes sense. He’s had success as a head coach in the state of Florida before and has quickly returned Ole Miss into being a top 25 program. Miami historically doesn’t provide the same institutional support that Ole Miss does, but the Hurricanes do have a much clearer path to the College Football Playoff.

While the Rebels are set to face Alabama, Auburn and LSU each season, Miami’s division is a much easier h

ill to climb in most years. It’s possible that would be alluring enough to get Kiffin out of Oxford.

The Shannon speculation makes less sense. Shannon, of course, was Miami’s head coach from 2007-10. He also served as a defensive assistant for the Hurricanes from 2001-06. He’s currently a defensive analyst for Florida State.

Regardless, it’s unclear whether or not Miami will even be conducting a coaching search this offseason or not. Diaz’s job was thought to be safe after three consecutive wins earlier this year, but a last-second loss to Florida State may have changed things. Miami also parted ways with athletic director Blake James earlier this week.

Miami hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday.