Battle for influence at UM enters the chase for a new AD and Coach

It began with an effort by one segment of the University power structure to land Mario Cristobal as Miiami's new football Coach.

It continued with another that was uneasy with the cost of that and wants to hire a new AD and let that AD ultimately make the decisions going forward.

Some at the University want Manny Diaz to stay as coach, pointing to the emergence of Tyler Van Dyke combined with the unquestioned effort of Miami’s players the second half of the season. After Saturday's victory over Virginia Tech, multiple people told Diaz he would be back.

And there is more. Representatives of Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin have also made it well known that he would be interested in the job.

And sources say there are also some who are pushing for a run at Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops.

The University of Miami's search for an Athletic Director and football coach has become an old fashioned struggle for influence or power, depending on your choice of words. It has become very complicated.

And the University of Florida has also mounted its own coaching search which could include both Kiffin and Cristobal and also involves Louisiana's Billy Napier, a hot candidate right now who is already being rumored to be landing the job. While UM searches for consensus, the pressure is about to increase.

So who will dictate the end of this? Will it be the President's office now caught in the middle? Will it be one camp or the other?

How much influence will the new AD really end up having?

That is all too close to call Wednesday morning.

There has been a plan for a hasty firing of Diaz after Miami's season finale at Duke. That was seemingly replaced by a plan to hire a new AD and let that AD make that decision moving forward.

What happens now?

If offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee wins the SMU head coaching job in the coming hours, does that weaken Diaz' position to stay?

And what about the fans who have made it clear they want Diaz fired and want change right now?

Miami is a heavy favorite to defeat the Blue Devils Saturday and finish 7-5 on the season. That would follow 6-7 and 8-3 seasons in Diaz' first two years as a head coach. Some look at the way the Hurricanes have competed since their 2-4 start and the hope inspired by Van Dyke's incredible development over the past two months and are willing to ignore Diaz' record. Others are not. They want to move forward right now. They argue that there is no point delaying what will be inevitable in the future.

No matter what happens, Miami is committed to reform the way it does business, injecting a ballpark $25 million into athletics. The disagreement is in how to spend it. Some have no problem with the $15-20 million cost of buyouts. Others want to spend the money in a different way.

Meanwhile Diaz has begun trying to reinvigorate a recruiting effort that has been languishing for weeks. Top prospects Shemar Stewart and Nyjalik Kelly were on campus Tuesday.

This is an evolving story which will be updated as new details become available.