Miami won five national championships in 19 seasons, from 1983 to 2001, under four different coaches, a run no other program has matched. Howard Schnellenberger built it, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson turned it into a dynasty, and Larry Coker won the last title with a roster Butch Davis assembled. After two decades of searching, Mario Cristobal, an offensive lineman on two of those title teams, led the Hurricanes to a school record 13 wins and the national championship game in 2025.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Cristobal | 2022 to present | 35, 19 through 2025 | None yet; CFP runner up 2025 |
| Manny Diaz | 2019 to 2021 | 21, 15 | None |
| Mark Richt | 2016 to 2018 | 26, 13 | None |
| Larry Scott | 2015 | 4, 2 | Interim |
| Al Golden | 2011 to 2015 | 32, 25 | None |
| Randy Shannon | 2007 to 2010 | 28, 22 | None |
| Larry Coker | 2001 to 2006 | 60, 15 | National 2001; Big East 2001, 2002, 2003 |
| Butch Davis | 1995 to 2000 | 51, 20 | Big East 1995, 1996, 2000 |
| Dennis Erickson | 1989 to 1994 | 63, 9 | National 1989, 1991; Big East 1991, 1992, 1994 |
| Jimmy Johnson | 1984 to 1988 | 52, 9 | National 1987 |
| Howard Schnellenberger | 1979 to 1983 | 41, 16 | National 1983 |
Records are wins, losses and ties. Gold rows are coaches who won a national or conference title. Miami played as an independent until joining the Big East in 1991 and moved to the ACC in 2004. Jeff Stoutland coached the 2010 Sun Bowl as interim after Shannon was fired.
Howard Schnellenberger, 1979 to 1983
Schnellenberger took over a program the university had considered dropping and recruited South Florida harder than anyone before him. In his fifth season Miami went 11 and 1 and upset top ranked Nebraska 31 to 30 in the Orange Bowl, stopping a two point try in the final minute, for the school’s first national championship. He left for the USFL weeks later.
Jimmy Johnson, 1984 to 1988
Johnson went 52 and 9 in five seasons, and his 1987 team went 12 and 0 and beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the title. His teams played with a swagger that defined Miami’s image, and after losing the 1986 championship to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl they lost just one more game under him. He left in 1989 to coach the Dallas Cowboys.
Dennis Erickson, 1989 to 1994
Erickson won the national title in his first season and again in 1991, and his .875 winning percentage is the best of any Miami coach. The Hurricanes joined the Big East in 1991 and won three of its first four titles. He left for the Seattle Seahawks after the 1994 season, with the program facing NCAA sanctions.
Butch Davis and Larry Coker
Butch Davis rebuilt through scholarship reductions, going 5 and 6 in 1997 before three straight bowl wins, and his 2000 team went 11 and 1 and won the Sugar Bowl. He left for the Cleveland Browns, and offensive coordinator Larry Coker took over a loaded roster. The 2001 Hurricanes went 12 and 0 and beat Nebraska in the Rose Bowl for the national title, and Miami won 34 straight games before losing the 2002 championship to Ohio State in double overtime. Coker was fired after 2006.
The Long Search, 2007 to 2021
Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz all had winning records, but none won a conference title or finished in the top ten. Richt came closest, starting 10 and 0 in 2017 and reaching the ACC title game. After Diaz went 7 and 5 in 2021, Miami fired him and hired Cristobal away from Oregon.
Mario Cristobal, 2022 to present
Cristobal went 5 and 7 in his first season and 7 and 6 in his second, then 10 and 3 in 2024 with quarterback Cam Ward. In 2025 Miami went 13 and 3, a school record for wins. As the No. 10 seed in its first College Football Playoff, it beat Texas A&M, defending champion Ohio State and Ole Miss, then lost 27 to 21 to Indiana in the national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. Our 2026 schedule page has the full slate.
Before 1979
Miami began playing in 1926. Andy Gustafson, coach from 1948 to 1963, has the longest tenure and the most wins in school history, and Jack Harding and Pete Elliott are among the earlier coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Bottom Line
Miami’s five national titles came under Howard Schnellenberger in 1983, Jimmy Johnson in 1987, Dennis Erickson in 1989 and 1991, and Larry Coker in 2001. Erickson has the best winning percentage. Mario Cristobal has the program closer to that level than anyone since, after the 2025 run to the title game. More: Miami national championships, Miami stats, the hot seat tracker and the Miami score today.