"Don Treadwell To Miami" Upgraded From Rumor To Factual

If Miami fans are ever puzzled why anyone else in the MAC might have some extra resentment for them, it's because of jealousy, but for a specific envy. MU is the most athletically well-connected institution in the conference. They have more clout in high places than do some Big Ten schools. Much like Michigan, Notre Dame, and USC have famous alum that salivate at the thought of returning to their homeland, Miami is also seen as that way, but in a much more entry-level sense. You go to Miami to become a recognized coach, then head somewhere else, and a cradle is born.

Don Treadwell being hired as the new RedHawks football coach suddenly becomes the splashiest hire of the MAC out of the five, snatching that unofficial title away from Steve Addazio's new office door at Temple. The offense you saw that came back against Notre Dame and Northwestern, beat Wisconsin and Michigan, and finished as co-Big Ten champs ... that was Treadwell's doing. He's also known as the guy who took over as the head coach when Mark Dantonio needed some hospital bedrest after his heart attack. He's done a lot. You'd think he would be the type of person to trade up and assume the head role at another AQ conference school.

But Treadwell's "a Miami man."

He probably doesn't come to Miami had he not been a wide receiver for them in college, or their RBs/WRs coach in the early 90s. Of course, this is just speculation. But the ties immensely help, don't they? It must be nice to have guys like John Harbaugh, coach of the Ravens, weigh in about his former Miami teammate.

Treadwell may be a lifer assistant, but his miniscule head coaching experience is nothing to snort at. See, he was sort of the head coach — and I do mean sort of, since it wasn't official and he shared the duty with others — when MSU had their marquee victory: the 10-point victory over heavily-favored Wisconsin to start the Big Ten season. Without that win, the Spartans would be an overinflated 10-2 team.

The foundation left behind by Haywood is ironclad. He's inheriting a champion instead of trying to throw buckets of water out from a breached hull. The defense is sensational, and against Northern Illinois it was proven that MU has the potential to also be an offensive machine.

Nobody stays at Miami forever, and I suspect Treadwell's no different. It'll either go north or south for him, and to see what he'll do with this existing winner, we might know the trend by as soon as next year. Don't worry. They'll find someone else after him.