How David Feeley, Miami have managed a culture change despite COVID-19 pandemic
In the earliest days of the 2019, Manny Diaz was starting to build his new staff. The Miami Hurricanes hired him as their new coach on the penultimate day of 2018 and he fired the entire offensive staff, plus Miami’s strength and conditioning coach, on New Year’s Eve. Less than a week later, he made his first formal hire: David Feeley.
The two briefly crossed paths in Philadelphia, when Diaz spent 17 days as coach of the Temple Owls. Feeley was the strength and conditioning coach there, and Diaz even gave him a promotion in those few weeks he spent at Temple. Immediately, it was evident they were kindred spirits.
“The line was, ‘If you help create a better person, he’ll naturally become a better player,’” Feeley said Tuesday, recalling his initial meeting with Diaz. “That was music to my ears.”
Save for the position coaches who served under Diaz when he was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator from 2016- to 018, no coach has been tethered to Diaz longer than Feeley. Together, they have tried to reshape Miami’s culture. As strange as 2020 has been, it has also been the year the coaches have finally seen some positive signs of progress.
Last season the Hurricanes went 6-7 and finished the year on a three-game losing streak with two losses to Conference USA opponents. Now they have a slim chance to reach the 2020 ACC Championship Game and a real chance to make a New Year’s Six bowl. In the chaos of 2020, Miami (7-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) has managed to thrive throughout all the remote workouts, unorthodox practices, short-handed rosters and COVID-19 cancellations.
“You find out who’s really in love with football when something gets in their way of training to get their job done,” Feeley said. “It’s really been a cool thing, and I think it’s reflective of how hard the guys are playing and how well they’re getting along together.”
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When Diaz took over, the Hurricanes had just been embarrassed by the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl to finish a disappointing 7-6 season. He vowed to root out whatever had been ailing Miami and lauded Feeley as doing “more to change our culture than anything,” and then the Hurricanes suffered through an even worse 2019.
Again, Diaz went out to change the culture. He landed quarterback D’Eriq King, a redshirt senior to help lead the offense, and defensive lineman Quincy Roche, a redshirt senior, to help lead the defense. He totally revamped the offense by hiring offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and then, as soon as Miami started to implement its changes in spring practices, the coronavirus pandemic hit. The Hurricanes’ rebuild moved from meeting rooms inside the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility to Zoom meetings on computer screens and FaceTime calls on iPhones.
“Since the start of 2020 it’s been crazy. Just the whole year in general, you’ve got to learn how to adjust,” King said. “It might be something one day and then the next day something totally different. Our coaches and everybody in the building does a great job of keeping us on track.”
Miami, like virtually every school, lost almost all of spring practice and summer conditioning, replacing them with virtual team meetings and suggested workout plans for players to do at home without access to sophisticated weight rooms.
Those four months apart ultimately served as an important lesson for the last month, when COVID-related issues ravaged the program and forced the Hurricanes to postpone two games and spend nearly two full weeks from their facilities.
For a directionless team, these only-in-2020 circumstances could spell doom. For Miami, it paved the way for a push into the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings as a group of veteran leaders have been conduits for Feeley even as much of the year has been spent working remotely.
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Feeley spotlighted King, running back Cam’Ron Harris, offensive lineman Corey Gaynor, defensive lineman Jaelan Phillips, linebacker Zach McCloud, punter Lou Hedley and long snapper Clay James as players who have stepped up to lead chunks of the team while coaches have less in-person oversight than in a typical year. Feeley said it begins with cultivating relationships away from football — talking to players about their families and life away from the game — to establish trust. Those leaders have bought in and passed their trust throughout the team.
“Connection,” Feeley said, is the word Diaz often uses to describe the culture he strives for in Coral Gables. In a year when humanity has been less connected than ever, the Hurricanes have started to find it.
“The more our guys are connected to each other, the harder they’re going to work for each other, the more they’re going to want to work for each other,” Feeley said. “Even if they’re not around each other for some weird reason this year, they find ways to communicate with each other.”
