Should UC follow Miami University by honoring their own Cradle of Coaches?

During the first weekend of May, Miami University welcomed former RedHawks player Sean McVay to Oxford inducting him into their "Cradle of Coaches". The man who called plays to defeat the Bengals in Super Bowl 56 now has a statue by Yager Stadium joining the likes of Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown, Carm Cozza, Red Blaik, Paul Dietzel, John Pont and John Harbaugh.

Among those minus a statue in the south end of Miami's stadium are McVay's grandfather, John McVay who helped mold the 49ers to five Super Bowl titles, Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel of Ohio State Buckeyes fame, and Sid Gillman who also coached Cincinnati's Bearcats.

Make no mistake, those the RedHawks have honored made their mark on the game:

• Woody Hayes – College Football Hall of Fame, five-time national champion (no statue).

• Bo Schembechler – College Football Hall of Fame, 13 Big 10 titles.

• Ara Parseghian – College Football Hall of Fame, two national titles.

• Paul Brown – Pro Football Hall of Fame, winner of four AAFC titles, three NFL championships, founder of Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Also won a national championship at Ohio State.

• Weeb Ewbank – Pro Football Hall of Fame, two NFL titles, one Super Bowl title with the Jets.

• Sean McVay – Has taken the Rams to a pair of Super Bowls and was the youngest to win (36) in their defeat of the Bengals in Super Bowl 56.

• John Pont – Took Indiana University to the Rose Bowl.

• Carm Cozza – College Football Hall of Fame, 10 Ivy League titles.

• Earl "Red" Blaik –College Football Hall of Fame, three national championships with Army.

• Paul Dietzel – Won a national championship at LSU.

• John Harbaugh – Winner of Super Bowl 47 in 2013 as his Ravens beat his brother Jim's San Francisco 49ers.

While maybe not as decorated in terms of Hall of Famers or national titles the University of Cincinnati has also had some noteworthy coaches, particularly those involved with the program during coach Rick Minter's era of 1994-2003.

Successful football coaches who have been part of Cincinnati Bearcat history

• Sid Gillman – Gillman was 50-13-1 as UC coach and a three-time Mid-American Conference champion. As a member of the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fames, he qualifies for both "cradles" and actually coached longer at UC. He also won an AFL championship with San Diego's Chargers.

• John Harbaugh – Harbaugh was a Miami University player, but an assistant coach at UC from 1989-1996 under Tim Murphy, then Rick Minter. Like Gillman, he qualifies for both "cradles" and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2013.

• Paul Dietzel – UC could also claim the former national championship coach at LSU. A Miami player for two years, he was also a UC offensive line coach for two years in 1949-1950.

• Jimbo Fisher – The former Texas A&M coach won a national title at Florida State. In 1999 he was UC's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach the year they knocked off eventual Heisman winner Ron Dayne and No. 9 Wisconsin 17-12.

• Mark Dantonio –Just 18-17 as UC coach, he catapulted into the limelight with a 30-11 defeat of then-undefeated and No. 7 Rutgers. Before UC's appearance in the 2006 International Bowl, he accepted the job at Michigan State where he won three Big 10 titles and took the Spartans to the College Football Playoff in 2018.

• Brian Kelly – Replaced Dantonio and actually coached his team in the International Bowl defeating Western Michigan using the plays of Dantonio's staff. Kelly finished 34-6 as Bearcats coach and led UC to a 12-0 mark in 2009 before departing for Notre Dame. He took the Fighting Irish to the Bowl Championship Series in 2018 and 2020 and is currently coach at LSU.

• Luke Fickell – His 57 career wins at Cincinnati are a school-best and he led the Bearcats to the 2021 College Football Playoff before losing to Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. Currently the coach at Wisconsin.

• Zac Taylor – Before leading the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl 56 and to back-to-back AFC Championship games, Taylor was part of Tommy Tuberville's Bearcats staff in 2016 as offensive coordinator.

• Mike Tomlin – Tomlin has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a pair of Super Bowls, including the trophy in Super Bowl 43. In 1999 and 2000 he was a defensive backs coach at UC under Rick MInter.

• Rex Ryan – Before he was on ESPN's NFL studio show Ryan was an NFL head coach with the Jets and Bills. He led the Jets to a pair of AFC Championship games. In 1996 and 1997, he was Rick Minter's defensive coordinator at UC.

• Sam Pittman – Pittman has led Arkansas to Outback and Liberty Bowl victories. Prior to becoming a head coach, he helped Georgia to a national championship as a defensive coordinator. In 1996, he was on Rick Minter's UC staff.

• Don Martindale – Was part of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl 47 as linebackers coach and has been defensive coordinator with Denver, Baltimore and now the New York Giants. Martindale was part of the UC staff in 1997 and 1998.

• Dick MacPherson – A College Football Hall of Famer known primarily for his years at Syracuse, MacPherson once led the Orange to an 11-0-1 season in 1987. He later was an NFL head coach for the New England Patriots. From1961-1965, MacPherson was a UC Bearcats assistant.

• Don Nehlen – Known primarily as head coach at West Virginia, Nehlen coached the Mountaineers between 1980-2000 and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. He was a UC assistant in 1963.

• Urban Meyer – Though he never coached at UC, Meyer was a Bearcat defensive back in the mid-1980s. As a college head coach, he won two national championships at Florida (2006, 2008) and one at Ohio State (2014).

• Ron Zook – Zook could also qualify as a "double Cradle" guy. A former Miami walk-on that graduated in 1976, Zook was a UC assistant in 1981 and 1982 under Mike Gottfried.

• Marcus Freeman – The current Notre Dame head coach was UC's defensive coordinator from 2017-2020 under Luke Fickell, winning the 247 Defensive Coordinator of the Year award in 2020.

• Stacy Searels –Georgia's offensive line coach was part of last season's national title with the Bulldogs and was previously part of Nick Saban's staff at LSU that won the 2003 national championship. Prior to going to Baton Rouge, he was Rick Minter's offensive line coach at UC from 2000-2002.

• Jerry Rosburg – Rosburg was most recently Denver's interim head coach and was assistant head coach/special teams coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens when they last won the Super Bowl. From 1992-1995 he was a UC linebackers coach, first under Tim Murphy, then with Rick Minter.

• Tyson Helton – Helton has been head coach at Western Kentucky for four years leading them to three bowl wins and three 9-win seasons. He was special teams/tight ends coach at UC in 2013 under Tommy Tuberville.

Takeaways?

There's no denying the historical careers of Miami's coaches, but the most recent sideline glory has come from the University of Cincinnati outside of Sean McVay's run with the Rams. Both teams could lay claim to Sid Gillman and Paul Dietzel, while you could argue John Harbaugh would be a Bearcat lean since he spent more time at Nippert Stadium than Yager.

Super Bowls

Miami gets a nod, 4-3 among head coaches with Harbaugh earning a point for each side. Weeb Ewbank's noteworthy Super Bowl came in 1969 when Joe Namath and the Jets stunned the Baltimore Colts. You could give Miami a slight edge as McVay's Rams beat Zac Taylor's Bengals. McVay also beat out Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin as the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl. Sean Payton, a former Miami quarterbacks coach led the New Orleans Saints to a Feb. 2010 Super Bowl victory to put the RedHawks over. He also led the Saints to three NFC championship games which would appear to be Cradle-worthy.

National titles

Miami leads 5-2 with Woody Hayes, Parseghian, Brown, Blaik and Dietzel. UC is represented by Fisher (Florida State) and Meyer (Florida, OSU).

Recency

Coaches in Miami's cradle haven't won a national title since 1970 when the Buckeyes of Woody Hayes won the hardware. Jimbo Fisher's crown at FSU came in 2013. The following year, Urban Meyer won at OSU adding to his 2006 and 2008 championships at Florida. Fisher, Brian Kelly, Luke Fickell and Marcus Freeman are all active with the potential to add to their accomplishments.

As for Super Bowls. from McVay's triumph in 2022 and you go back to Payton's Saints in 2010, then Ewbank's Jets and Joe Namath's "guaranteed win" in Miami (FL) in 1969. From Rick Minter's hires, Harbaugh and Tomlin have won Super Bowls as head coaches with Martindale and Rosburg winning as assistants.

Should UC build a 'Cat Cradle?

Why not? They've come a long way from being unable to make a bowl game because they weren't in a league (Tim Murphy's 1993 Bearcats stayed home at 8-3). They've also made bowl games an expectation since breaking a 46-year drought with a win in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho against Utah State. They've won Conference USA, Big East and American Athletic Conference titles and hope to make favorable history in the Big 12.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What if Cincinnati had its own Cradle of Coaches like Miami?