Hurricanes reportedly extend contracts of coordinators Shannon Dawson, Corey Hetherman

(Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS)

The Hurricanes coordinators who helped UM reach their first national title game in more than two decades plan to stick around Coral Gables a little while longer.

Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman both signed multi-year contract extensions to stay at Miami, according to an ESPN report.

Dawson, who was the offensive coordinator at Houston prior to joining the Miami staff, is the longer-tenured of the two coordinators. He joined Cristobal’s staff prior to the 2023 season. In his three seasons as the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator, Miami has ranked 39th, first and 35th in points per game. Dawson is also Miami’s quarterbacks coach.

Dawson’s most prolific Miami offense in his first three seasons was in 2024, when the Hurricanes averaged 43.9 points per game. Under Dawson, transfer quarterback Cam Ward set program single-season records in passing yards (4,313) and passing touchdowns (39). Based on that success, Ward was taken first in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Hurricanes’ offense was not as dominant last year with Carson Beck as the quarterback, but the Hurricanes averaged 30.9 points. Miami averaged 34.1 points in the regular season (which would have tied for 17th nationally), but its average dropped when playing high-level defenses in the College Football Playoff.

Dawson was a reported candidate for head coach positions at Coastal Carolina and Tulane during the offseason. Dawson said it was easy to balance potential career opportunities with playoff preparations because his agent handled much of the preliminary conversations with other teams.

“I don’t do anything in that area unless … it gets to a certain point,” Dawson said in December. “You have people hired to handle all that stuff. And so if it gets to a certain point and things have to be talked about, then you do it on days you’re not doing anything. It’s very simple. It’s not complicated

“People always kind of peck away at programs that have good people,” UM head coach Mario Cristobal said in December.

Hetherman has spent only one season at Miami. The Hurricanes hired him away from Minnesota before the 2025 season.

The UM defense finished 68th nationally in points per game allowed in 2024, and its struggles were a major reason why Miami missed the playoffs. But under Hetherman, who is also UM’s linebackers coach, the Hurricanes had a drastic turnaround in 2025.

Miami’s defense improved from 68th to fifth, improving its points allowed per game from 25.3 in 2024 to 14.8 in 2025. The defense was a strength for the Hurricanes last season, and it held quality offenses like Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss in check during UM’s playoff run. Even Indiana, which beat the Hurricanes in the title game, scored nearly 14 points below its season average when playing Miami.