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Florida interim head coach Randy Shannon knows all about facing Florida State. He played at Miami for four years (1985-88). After playing in the NFL for two seasons, Shannon returned to UM as a graduate assistant in 1991 and became a full-time assistant from 1992-1997. His second stint as a Hurricanes coach included a run as an assistant (2001-06) and as the team's head coach (2007-10). At Miami, he went 13-8 against the Noles.
Shannon has heard the war chant more times than most sane people can stand. Entering his third Florida-Florida State game, however, Shannon doesn't want to make the game personal.
"Just stay on track to what you're doing," Shannon said was the message to his team this week. "Don't make it personal. That's one thing that happens sometimes in life, you make things personal and you forget the real reason why you're here and the real reason why is to be competitive and win the football game.
"If me or any coaches or any players make it personal against a Florida State, well, you're probably going to make mistakes because you're going to try too hard and you're going to forget about your assignments and what you're trying to get done."
Speaking of coaches, Shannon's message is the complete opposite of the one his former used in his first showdown with the Seminoles.
It might be smart strategy for Shannon. In the "personal" game referenced above, Florida lost 27-2, the worst home loss of Jim McElwain's two-plus seasons at Florida.
Though Shannon doesn't want his players to make it a personal game, he acknowledges that the number of familiar faces add to the intensity of the rivalry clash.
"It's always important when you play a state game. Anytime you play Miami-Florida State, Florida-Miami, Florida-Florida State, it's always big," Shannon said. "It's a game that you have bragging rights.
"A lot of these guys on this football team have teammates that's at Florida State. So it's when they go home, who get the bragging rights on who won the game for a whole entire year. It's not just one day, it's the whole entire year. So it's big, it's big in recruiting and those are the things that you look forward to and being a chance to just be a part of."
With Shannon, the familiarity extends to the sidelines.
"I know a lot of coaches on that staff. Played against some of them. Some of them I coached with," Shannon said. "Bill Miller, I coached with at Miami. Me and Odell [Haggins] have been friends since we’ve played against each other.
"I’ve been knowing Jimbo [Fisher] since recruiting when I first started being a coach. Me and him recruited a young man when he was at Auburn. We know a lot of different guys. It’s coaching, that’s a part of it. You know a lot of different guys on the staff."
Counting the 2010 Miami-FSU game, Fisher has won his most recent meeting against the last four Florida head coaches he's faced. The average margin of victory has been 18.75 points. Shannon's Hurricanes, however did the get better of the Seminoles when Fisher was offensive coordinator (2007-09), going 2-1 during that stretch.
On Saturday he has a chance to get above .500 as a head coach against FSU. While all the familiarity and friendships in the context of rivalries make for interesting storylines, Shannon just wants to win.
"We’re all competitive. We all want to win. That’s the way we’re going to approach it.”
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