them as a 6th-round pick and rosters were cut from 49 to 45 adn the
USFL was collapsing which flooded the market with available players,
Rich MIano said:
"I report to camp and there are 120 guys out there and I'm sixth
string. I remember the first week we were in a dormitory and almost
the whole floor got cut. I was like the only one left." (HSA)
About how he was told that he was cut on the final day of camp, the
day before his birthday, Miano said:
"I get home that night, and there were only three TV stations at the
time, and they were all reporting that I had gotten cut. But the next
day my dad woke me up and said, 'Happy birthday, son. The Houston
Oilers just picked you up.'" (HSA)
About how the Jets called him to let him know they were reclaiming him
a few hours after the Oilers claimed him, Miano said:
"They made me fly back that day because they had a game with the
Raiders in Los Angeles. I flew something like 18,000 miles that
weekend, and The New York Times wrote a story about how even pilots
aren't allowed to fly that much. I flew back to New York, then to Los
Angeles, then back to New York. But in our second game I had two
interceptions and now I'm leading the American Football Conference in
interceptions 14 days after getting cut. Amazing." (HSA)
Asked if the team's performance surprised him after they were picked
to finish near the bottom of the WAC before the season, Miano said:
"As a coach, you always want to be optimistic about your opportunities
every year, and you want to think that you can win every game -- even
though things don't always work out that way.
I will say this: Coming into this year, we as coaches knew we had
tremendous, skilled athletes and that (quarterback) Bryant Moniz was
going to be really, really good -- much better than most people
probably anticipated. We also knew the receivers and the running backs
had a lot of potential, so if the line could hold together and come
along -- and that was what we thought could take some time -- then we
could be an explosive offense.
Defensively, we were excited about actually having guys coming back
because the previous year we had 11 new starters. I had never seen
that happen at any level of football, where you had to replace the
entire defensive team. So we knew we'd be better defensively, but
again, there are so many intangibles that you can't control. So while
the pundits and prognosticators have been surprised by how the team
has performed, it hasn't been a surprise to us. We're extremely
pleased, but we're not surprised." (HSA)
Asked what he felt about UH renewing rivalries in the MWC that he
competed against when his UH teams were in the WAC, Miano said:
"I think about our fan base, the loyal fans from the '70s and '80s,
when this program was just starting to get going. We had some great
games against teams like BYU, of course, and Air Force and Wyoming and
San Diego State. ... It was a great time to be a football player at
UH, and I think it was a really exciting time for the sports fans in
the state.
Now we've come full circle ... different name, same teams. I think
it's a great conference. I really believe we had to (leave the WAC)
from a football and an Athletics Department standpoint. This gives us
credibility and stability. I think the old fans will appreciate the
rivalries we'll be renewing and enjoy continuing the rivalries we now
have with Fresno State and Nevada and Boise State.
I also think it was important to the state that we remained a
Division-I program. I really don't believe the people of Hawaii want
or would support a I-AA program, and right now we have a saturated WAC
that seems to be not adding ... you know ... I'm sure (Denver,
Texas-San Antonio and Texas State will) be quality members eventually;
they could be the next Boise States and Nevadas that were I-AA at one
time. But I really believe our program needs to be in a strong
Division-I conference at this time." (HSA)
Asked what was going through his mind during the speculation about
what UH should do after Fresno State and Nevada joined Boise State in
leaving the WAC, Miano said:
"I think there was tremendous trepidation in not knowing if this
program was going to exist anymore on the level it had.
As a coach, obviously, you have to be thinking if this league doesn't
become stronger and we have no possibility of moving, everything from
attendance to television rights to sponsorships ... it could possibly
be the end of everything we have here.
As an assistant coach you're always on a one-year contract anyway, but
this was more important for me because I bleed green. This is my home.
This is my alma mater. This is where I've worked for the last 12
years. Even as a professional football player, I always wanted to
eventually come back and coach and help the youth of Hawaii.
I also thought back to those doomsday scenarios during the Fred
vonAppen days (UH head coach, 1996-98), when people were asking, "Do
we really want a Division-I team?"
I just couldn't see how that would succeed." (HSA)
Asked if he felt there was a real danger that their football program
could have ended, Miano said:
"Oh, most definitely. And you have to give credit to the powers that
be -- the president (M.R.C. Greenwood), (Vice President) Rockne
Freitas, (Board of Regents Executive Administrator) Keith Amemiya,
(Athletic Director) Jim Donovan, the chancellor (Virginia Hinshaw) --
all the people who made this thing work.
It was getting scary, especially in recruiting. It was tough, because
you had to sell the recruits on scenarios. Other (teams') coaches were
telling the kids: "Well, look who's in their conference. Look at who
they'll be playing. Are they ever going to be on ESPN again? Are they
still going to be relevant?" So we're out there and we're having to
create these scenarios where maybe we're going to the Mountain West or
maybe we're going independent and be able to play whoever we want. So
the timing (of joining the Mountain West) couldn't have been better."
(HSA)
Asked how the UH football program changed from when he played, Miano said:
"One thing is that when I was a senior, our average attendance was
47,000 ... and I'm not saying we haven't been able to captivate the
fans as much because I think they're still there. It's just that they
have a lot of different avenues available to view us. But that (2008)
Sugar Bowl year ... it was something else, something we haven't seen
since maybe the Fabulous Five in the way it just captivated the whole
community.
Back in my days we played some big teams like USC, and we had a couple
of big victories, but we didn't get to play in bowl games. There
wasn't a proliferation of bowl games, so unless you went 11-1 or 10-2,
you weren't going anywhere.
But this has always been a successful program. It's had ups and downs,
but right now, if you're a recruit, why wouldn't you want to come
here? It's the most beautiful place on the Earth, we have great
facilities, great fans, we're going to be playing great competition in
our new conference.
But it's our job -- it's Coach (Greg) McMackin's job, it's our job as
assistant coaches -- to be the stewards of this program and continue
to move it forward.
People think getting to a BCS bowl game is once in a lifetime, but why
couldn't we do it again? Boise State's done it. Utah's done it. If we
had won that (Sugar Bowl) game, it would have transcended anything
that happened before in Hawaii sports. People would still be talking
about it 20, 30, 50 years down the line.
But we didn't get it done, so the way I look at it, we still have some
unfinished business." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20101210_Rich_Miano.html
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