The Hurricane stemming from southern Florida transpired into nothing more than a passing breeze in the grand scheme of the 2024 CFB season. Miami’s missteps down the stretch had major repercussions. Losing 2 of their last 3 games meant the powers that be kept them out of the playoffs. However, there was a rather discernible Achilles’ heel for Mario Cristobal to contend with. Largely the reason why the Canes were even left to lean so heavily on their Cam Ward-spearheaded offense.

There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Miami’s defense was the reason they fell short of the CFP checkpoint. All season, the offense pulled more than its fair share of weight to even be a prominent team in the discourse. Eventually, the last-gasp heroics and comebacks caught up to them. Something had got to give. Whether the issues stemmed from his ineptitude or from the personnel at his disposal, defensive coordinator Lance Guidry got the proverbial boot. There’s no time to rue over the past, and Mario Cristobal has filled the void in his staff already.

The Canes have hired Corey Hetherman as their new DC. Hetherman occupied the same capacity with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. A role he only took up last season. Naturally, Hetherman had a relatively long amount of time left in his contract. In order to uproot from this disposition, Cristobal stared in the face of a gaudy $2.4 million buyout. For a D-coordinator, that sum is quite unprecedented and bordering on unjustifiable. However, one stipulation in Hetherman’s contract means he’s going to be in Miami after all.

Miami insider Alex Dunno leveraged intel on how Cristobal made this happen. Speaking on the “Locked on ACC” podcast, he confirmed the presence of the aforementioned buyout. Although there was a caveat. If the program pursuing Corey Hetherman was outside the Big 10, this buyout diminished drastically. By a full 75%, to be exact. This allowed Mario Cristobal and his Canes to land their man for $600,000. Still not exactly a bargain, but tenable to fulfill a very requisite need.

In fact, Dunno also shared insight on how the buyout deterred one B1G team who was weighing the move themselves. “My understanding is that [Greg] Schiano was actually interested in bringing Hetherman back to Rutgers as defensive coordinator,” he said. Hetherman was a linebackers’ coach at Rutgers prior to his short-lived stint in Minnesota. This wrinkle actually opened up a tangible reason why Mario Cristobal could’ve handpicked Hetherman in particular to solve his woes.

Mario Cristobal and Corey Hetherman share common footballing lineage

By all accords, Corey Hetherman has the makings of a home-run hire. The Canes were the 69th ranked defense in the country last season in terms of points allowed. Coincidentally, Minnesota was ranked the exact same before Hetherman walked in. The difference he made is resounding. The Golden Gophers went from 69th to 9th in points allowed last year. They were the 9th best passing defense, 12th best rushing defense, and 5th overall in total yards allowed. If you offered Mario Cristobal this exact upturn, he’ll snap your hand off for it.

The data speaks for itself, but that is not enough to hand the reigns of your defense over. Especially to a coach coming off his first coordinator job on the FBS level. Cristobal needed to be sure, and he did his due diligence. Both Hetherman and Cristobal are branches of the aforementioned Greg Schiano’s coaching tree. Once Schiano had to pivot due to the buyout clause, it’s possible he gave Cristobal conferred with him about a first-hand evaluation.

When this season ended, there was a certain level of concern reverberating within the Canes’ faithful. They were losing their best player to the NFL. No QB1 in sight and the defensive directive was unclear. Within a fortnight, they signed Carson Beck and Corey Hetherman. What prospectively seemed like a stagnant or even backward-traversing season could actually be progressive. It remains to be seen if this fabled program will reach the CFP this time around, but the make-up of the team is definitively more complimentary. That’s a great foundation to build off.