Shannon Dawson’s rise has put him in the conversation for bigger jobs, and Baylor looks like the cleanest landing spot.
After what Miami’s offense has done the past few seasons, and after the quarterbacks who have piloted it, Dawson has made himself into one of the most sought-after offensive coordinators in college football. In a sport where elite offensive minds are currency, that matters. With openings now at Baylor and NC State, it feels likely that Dawson’s time with the Hurricanes will end when this season does.
There’s a reason his name keeps coming up for these kinds of jobs. Dawson is the sort of coach players gravitate toward, and that reputation has only grown. He has been tied to success since Clayton Tune was at Houston, and the idea around him is simple: fundamentals, execution, and offense that works.
Baylor makes sense on a few levels. The Bears have made it clear they want an offensive-minded coach with real Texas roots, someone who can help push the program back toward the level it reached under former head coach Art Briles, but without the baggage that ended Briles’ career.
Dawson fits that description through his time at Stephen F. Austin in the late 2000s and Houston from 2019-2022 before he joined Mario Cristobal’s staff.
NC State, meanwhile, feels less defined in its search. The one thing the people around Wolfpack football knew for sure was that Dave Doeren would not be part of the next chapter. The program has shown support in recent years, and keeping quarterback CJ Bailey in the fold cost a pretty penny.
For Baylor and NC State, the quarterback angle matters too. Dawson would have a chance to coach talented but imperfect passers, and that could be a major selling point.
Bailey has had his highs and lows in Raleigh, while DJ Lagway brings the profile of a former five-star recruit with a big arm. Neither has had a long stretch of coaching that fully maximized the upside they carry.
Dawson also arrives with real credibility because of what Miami has done on offense. Cam Ward became the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft after one season with Dawson.
Darian Mensah looks like he’ll be Heisman finalist. Malachi Toney is one of the top five players in the sport.
The Hurricanes have been built to score, and Dawson has been at the center of it.
That is why he looks like such a strong fit for Baylor now. The Bears have made their direction clear, and Dawson checks the boxes they seem to care about.
He works well with quarterbacks, his offense is easy on the eyes, and his track record gives him real pull with talented passers. Whether it’s Lagway, Bailey or even Maryland’s Malik Washington, quarterbacks with ability will be nudging their schools to give Dawson a hard look.
In Other News...
BYU Faces A Complicated Ranking Drop After Costly Upset
Miami had no trouble staying put at No. 1 in the AP college football rankings after handling Pittsburgh, with quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney again helping set the tone. The Hurricanes keep looking like the standard at the top, while the rest of the national picture got a shakeup behind them.
BYUs double-overtime loss to unranked UCF is expected to send the Cougars tumbling after they entered the weekend at No. 2, and Ohio State appears poised to move up into the No. 2 spot. What happens after that is less clear, with Notre Dame, Indiana and Georgia all in the mix for the top six and the final order depending on how pollsters weigh a messy weekend around the country. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces One Growing CFP Problem Despite Holding No 1
Miami held onto the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Top 25, collecting 59 first-place votes and keeping its place atop the sport as the College Football Playoff picture continues to sharpen. Ohio State moved up to No. 2 after overtaking BYU, while Texas made the weeks biggest climb among the contenders after its win over Ole Miss. Elsewhere in the poll, USC and Iowa fell out after losses, and Oklahoma State and Wisconsin moved into the rankings.
For Miami, the ranking is a reminder that being first is only part of the equation at this stage of the season. The Hurricanes are still in position to control their own path, but every shift around them matters as the field tightens and the margin for error shrinks. With Ohio State surging and Texas now pushing upward, Miamis hold on the top line may be secure for the moment, but the broader CFP pressure is only getting heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Raised The Stakes For Everyone Chasing Them
Week 8 turned into a shakeup weekend across college football, and Miami came out of it with even more momentum than it had going in. The Hurricanes rolled past Pittsburgh to improve to 7-0, then moved to No. 1 in the AP poll as several teams ahead of them stumbled around the country, from BYU and Texas Tech to Iowa.
For Miami, the ranking is only part of the story. The bigger takeaway is how quickly the chase group is thinning out, with Indiana and Alabama escaping their own scares while others fell outright, and that kind of chaos tends to sharpen the spotlight on a program that has suddenly made itself the standard everyone else is trying to catch. [Read more 🡒]