Ask University of Miami football players how Larry Coker has changed since being named the team's head coach in February and most everyone will give you the same answer: The Cadillac.
Instead of the small, sporty Mercedes Benz that the 53-year-old toiled around in last year, Coker has upgraded his mode of transportation to a Cadillac SUV.
"The school has some sort of contract with a Cadillac dealer," Hurricanes running back Najeh Davenport explained. "Coach (Butch) Davis had an Escalade. Now Coach Coker does. And he's always joking, 'I have the big car now.' "
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Miami is coming off of an 11-1 season, they have a lot of talent coming back, and a lot of people are still arguing about whether or not the 'Canes should have played for the national title last year. Expectations are sky-high for Coker and this team.
Mike's complete analysis |
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It's a peculiar site, the players say, seeing this low-profile, small-town guy with a southern drawl scooting around in a ride that even Shaquille O'Neal would envy.
After all, late last January, when Butch Davis suddenly bolted for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, this was the man the players wanted. The school courted Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez and Dave Wannstedt of the Dolphins, but after a group of players who wanted Coker lobbied athletics director Paul Dee, UM's offensive coordinator got the job.
"We were all scared that somebody else was going to come in and change the whole system around," senior offensive lineman Martin Bibla said. "We said that we've got to keep this in the family if we want to be No. 1."
So they did just that. And now, a man that hasn't been a head coach since 1978, at Claremore High School in Oklahoma no less, is in charge of arguably the most talented team in the country, a team that finished 11-1 last year and ranked second in the national polls to Oklahoma.
In both preseason polls this year, the Hurricanes are ranked No. 2 behind Florida.
"It is a little unusual, I suppose. You've got a team that just missed playing for the national championship last season, has so many talented players and you're at a school with a tremendous history," Coker said. "To tell you the truth, these kinds of jobs aren't the ones that usually come open."
Coker, who came to Miami as Davis' offensive coordinator in 1995, has spent 22 years as an assistant, with stops at Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. At Oklahoma State, he coached Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas. At Miami, his offenses produced three of the school's four 1,000-yard rushers, six first-team All-Americans and one Big East Player of the Year.
But it wasn't enough to get him a job as a head coach. Until now.
|  | | Miami coach Larry Coker is quiet and soft-spoken -- unlike his predecessors. |
At Miami, he's a different breed of head football coach than what Hurricane fans are used to. Each of the schools last four coaches -- Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Davis -- were intense, fiery coaches who motivated their players by demanding perfection. Coker's, on the other hand, has a quiet confidence and an aura of understanding about him.
"He definitely comes out of a different mold than the typical high-profile coach," said Dr. Clyde McCoy, who has worked at Miami as its faculty athletic representative since 1973. "It certainly isn't the image that some people portray as Miami. And I'm not sure that's such a bad thing.
"You find a more evenness of personality with Larry. What you see is really what you get. He's not someone who is going to struggle with, 'How am I going to present this?' He's just himself."
That was true this summer, when an $8 million expansion of the Hecht Athletic Center kept Coker from moving into his new office. What many coaches would have perceived as an inconvenience, Coker turned into a positive, setting up shop inside the tight quarters of the team's tutoring office.
There, he not only kept a close eye on the team's academic needs, but visited with players to help ease the transition from Davis.
"The symbolism of the head coach working out of the tutoring office is perfect," McCoy said. "He loved it. And I knew a number of times, players had questions about class work and they would take it right to him."
And that, right there, could be the biggest change of all between Davis and Coker -- approachability. Though much of Coker's coaching philosophy is derived from his work with Davis, the personalities of the two coaches couldn't be more different.
Davis is controlling and business-like during practice. Coker likes to joke around so the players feel he is on their level. The change is welcomed to some.
"A lot of guys had trouble dealing with coach Davis' ego," Hurricanes lineman Joaquin Gonzalez said. "They really feared him and were intimidated by him. Coach Coker is one of those guys you can relate to a lot better. He relates to everybody -- from the walk-ons to the top stars. He's just one of those guys you get along with, and we love him for that. We don't want to let him down."
Players say Coker has been known to crack jokes about opposing cheerleaders during film study, poke fun at players egos and all but humiliate himself in an effort to inspire the team. Such was the case little more than a year ago when Coker, in an effort to motivate the offense for early morning agility drills, got on the locker room floor and began doing seat rolls.
"He comes into the room and he yells, 'Ready to go, guys?' And we're all like, 'Ohhhh, yeahhhh! Can't wait!' " Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey said. "All of the sudden he goes, 'C'mon, we gotta get going,' and he gets down on the floor in a four-point stance and starts doing these seat rolls back and forth. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen."
But don't mistake Coker's comedy act and even-keel approach for a coach who isn't entirely committed to winning. Though he might not wear his emotions on his sleeve, Coker's competitive nature is as strong as anyone's.
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Larry is the type of guy that seems all nice and cuddly on the outside, but if he has a chance to beat you by 50, he'll beat you by 50. He won't think twice about it and then you'll think, 'Where did that come from?' ” |
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— Miami RB Nejah Davenport |
"He might not seem like he has that Miami ego, but don't you dare push him against the wall or he'll scrap with you," Art Kehoe, the Hurricanes' offensive line coach, said. "He's a scrapper. He prepares hard and goes to war and takes losing personally. It's just that with that, he's got this entertaining, dry personality."
Said running back Najeh Davenport: "Larry is the type of guy that seems all nice and cuddly on the outside, but if he has a chance to beat you by 50, he'll beat you by 50. He won't think twice about it and then you'll think, 'Where did that come from?' "
That quiet confidence is what has kept Coker comfortable in his new job. His first real test will come Sept. 1, when Miami travels to Penn State. Coker will be looking for his first victory as a head coach. Joe Paterno will be shooting for No. 323.
"I know I'm good, and that's why it doesn't all intimidate me," Coker said. "I think Butch did a great job. He put his stamp on this team. But I know the direction we need to go and I'm ready."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.
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