Stewart Mandel at SI.com devoted part of his College Football Overtime column to the firing of Miami's Randy Shannon. Below is a snippet: full text here

"There are any number of X's and O's reasons behind Miami's struggles. Quarterback Jacory Harris was often either injured or interception-prone. The running game was often non-existent. The defense didn't dominate like it did when Shannon was coordinator. But really, the Hurricanes' single most notable trait under Shannon was losing their famed swagger. They did not remotely resemble their brash, relentless predecessors who won those five national championships.

The question then becomes whether a new coach can reignite that swagger and win titles at Miami without sacrificing the academic and off-field progress Shannon made. I believe so. And the one overwhelmingly obvious candidate is Mike Leach. The former Texas Tech coach pushed hard for the job the last time it came open. (Friend Donald Trump lobbied to president Donna Shalala on Leach's behalf.) He graduated players in Lubbock. He'd give the program an unmistakable identity. And we're all curious to find out what his Air Raid offense is capable of with access to the type of athletes Miami can recruit.

Who knows whether Shalala and Hocutt will give Leach another chance. Hocutt has retained decorated search consultant Chuck Neinas, who will no doubt attract a bevy of interested national stars. Think Georgia's Mark Richt (an alum), Mississippi State's Dan Mullen and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, among others. All would be excellent hires."

I think Leach will get an interview for this job. I also think Miami is a good fit for him, though I'm not 100% sure he's a good fit for Miami. But to not give him a call would not be doing proper due diligence. I believe the lingering litigation will give a lot of potential school's a reason to steer clear of him.  My question, and I posed this on another thread...If Miami goes to Leach and say's, "Mike, we want you as our next coach. But for us to make this happen, you need to drop all legal proceedings against Texas Tech and ESPN and anyone else named. Our BoR does not want to inherit that publicity. Call your lawyers up and let's get 'er done." ... Would he do it?