What should the criteria be for the next Miami Hurricanes’ head football coach?

“You really have to go for a coach that’s for the people,” American Heritage coach and Canes legend Mike Rumph said on Hochman, Crowder and Krantz. “The fans need to really step up and see who they really want. We have such a big fan base I think you would have to go back to the alumni, you have to go the fans in the community and see who they want. If you go out and pick a random person and the fans don’t agree with it, they’re gonna give him a tough start from the beginning. But if you give someone who is kind of elected by the people, who the people want and then you’ve already won the fan base back already.

“I keep saying the fan base but it’s so important in South Florida to win those guys over. Are we tough fans? Yeah. Are we not really supportive when we need to be? Yes. But they’re still there and I think [the fans] should have a say-so on who’s going to come back in and be the next head coach.”

Rumph says he’s “very happy” at American Heritage, chasing their third consecutive state championship but wouldn’t rule out an interest in coaching at the U in the future. He agreed with Channing Crowder in that Miami doesn’t necessarily need a coach with Canes ties, he just wants “the best fit.”

LISTEN TO ENTIRE INTERVIEW HERE!


(cbssports.com)

Football players are often easy targets for impersonators, as they wear helmets for a living and don’t have the same kind of face-recognition other athletes might.

And it helps when the crook has the same name.

According to the Associated Press, a man named Michael Rumph was arrested for pretending to be former NFL cornerback Mike Rumph, for the purposes of renting a home on Long Island.

Local prosecutors say the man pleaded not guilty to identity theft, criminal impersonation and possessing a forged instrument, and he’s free on $500 bond. They said the man had a pair of forged pay stubs, and a letter claiming to be from his employer.

The real Mike Rumph was a first-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami, and played for the 49ers, Washington, and briefly with the Rams, before retiring in 2008.


(profootballtalk.com)

ORLANDO — During the 2014 high school football season, American Heritage faced many challenging opponents.

The Patriots' schedule, built by coach Mike Rumph, was assembled to win a championship.

It worked to perfection.

Not only did Heritage defeat Tallahassee Godby 38-0 to win the Class 5A state title at the Citrus Bowl on Friday, they became the second school in Broward County history to win back-to-back football championships.

This year title came on the heels of last year's 66-8 demolition of Clay High.

St. Thomas Aquinas was the first Broward team to accomplish the feat when they won in 2007 and '08.

“We played a lot of tough teams and my hat goes off to those teams that made us who we are even in the losses,” Rumph said. “We learned from those games.”

Heritage's domination during this two-year run was impressive. And all 10 of the Patriots' playoff wins over that stretch have come under Rumph. The Patriots have outscored their opponents 472-116 and tied a state record set by FAMU (1977-78) of 104 points scored by a back-to-back state champion.

The points mark was reached with Oren Milstein’s 42-yard field goal with 2:24 remaining in the game.

By then, with a running clock already enforced, the sideline celebration was fully underway.

Sophomore running back Kyshaun Bryan provided the game clincher early in the third quarter for Heritage (12-3), when he scored on a 93-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0.

“We ended coming out of the first half kind of bad, so coming out and scoring kind of set the tone,” Bryan said. “This is a great feeling, a great feeling.”

Bryan, who had rushed for 323 yards in two playoff games leading into Friday’s final, added another 156 yards and two TDs on 16 carries against Godby.

“Kyshaun is the future for us,” Rumph said. “He has waited his turn and we knew he would have a big game coming off an ankle injury.”

Bryan tweaked his ankle later in the third quarter after a 14-yard run and didn’t return.

Heritage senior quarterback Torrance Gibson, an Ohio State commitment, was his usual self in leading his Patriots team.

Though he only completed seven passes on 15 attempts for 138 yards, he was efficient. He also rushed for 48 yards and a third-quarter TD on eight carries.

Two of his completions resulted in touchdowns. The first went seven yards to junior receiver Brandon Johnson, which gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead with 8:53 to play in the first half.

Gibson’s second TD toss of went to junior RB Shad Lowery for six yards early in the final quarter. That score gave Heritage a 35-point lead, setting the running clock into motion

“This feels better than the first one,” Gibson said of winning this year’s state championship.

Defensively Heritage was solid, holding Godby’s run game in check while stuffing the Cougars’ passing attack to 17 yards. Heritage, though, finished with 443 yards of total offense.

Godby (12-3) was poised to score on the game-opening drive, but stalled inside the Heritage 40. The Patriots answered with a 92-yard drive on 13 plays with Bryan scoring on a 13-yard run.

Said Rumph, “This feels awesome and feels so good to win back-to-back championships. I couldn’t feel prouder of these boys.”




(sun-sentinel.com)

American Heritage coach Mike Rumph will be on the sideline as part of the coaching staff for the 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Rumph was named one of the eight coaches on the East squad, which will include his star quarterback Torrance Gibson and cornerback Tarvarus McFadden, for the Jan. 3 game at the Alamodome.

Rumph, who was also named an assistant coach last year when Heritage running back Sony Michel was selected as an Army All-American, will be part of a staff led by Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph Prep coach Gabe Infante. The East team's defensive coordinator last year, Rumph said he anticipates he'll either serve that role again or coach the defensive backs.

"To be selected as one of 16 coaches in the nation is definitely an honor," Rumph said.

Rumph said he was impressed by San Antonio's commitment to the all-star game during his appearance last year. "They laid out the red carpet for the All-Americans," he said.

The other East assistant coaches are McEachern (Ga.) High's Kyle Hockman, Miami Westminster Christian's Sedrick Irvin, St. Joseph's (Pa.) Kyle Hockman, Xavier (Ohio) High's Steve Specht and North Gwinnett (Ga.) High's Bob Sphire.

Rumph, a former University of Miami standout defensive back who played six seasons in the NFL, is in his second season at Heritage. Last fall, he led the Patriots to a 14-1 record and the Class 5A state championship – the first in program history. The Patriots are 6-3 this season.


(sun-sentienl.com)

After Mike Rumph’s five-year NFL career as a defensive back came to an end in 2007, he thought he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

“It was one of the most difficult things I had to do,” said Rumph, who won a national title in 2001 with the Miami Hurricanes after playing high school football at Atlantic. “I kind of had a plan, but I didn’t. It was very difficult because I wanted to do so much.”

Rumph started life after football by opening a business selling puppies that later closed. He also spent some time as a personal trainer. But when he agreed to become the defensive backs coach at Miramar-Everglades High in 2010, life began to improve for Rumph.

It got even better after Rumph joined Plantation-American Heritage’s coaching staff in 2011. After two seasons as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, he replaced Jeff Dellenbach as the team’s head coach in 2013.

“I went through four years kind of figuring out exactly what I wanted to do,” said Rumph, who grew up in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. “The minute I started coaching, it took the place of all the different things I failed at.”

Rumph, 34, succeeded immediately in his new position, leading Plantation-American Heritage to its first state football title in school history in his first season as the team’s head coach.

On Friday, Rumph returns to Delray Beach, as Plantation-American Heritage (5-2) travels to take on its sister school, No. 1 American Heritage (5-1). It will mark the first time Rumph has returned to Palm Beach County as the Patriots’ head coach.

Although the success was immediate, there was a learning curve that came along with being a first-year head coach. Rumph worried about implementing structure and earning the respect of his assistant coaches.

“But early in the spring, the practices ran very fast and efficient like I envisioned and my staff responded well to me,” said Rumph, who has former NFL players like Patrick Surtain and Oronde Gadsden on his coaching staff.

The rest is history, as the Patriots finished with a 14-1 record on their way to winning the Class 5A state title in 2013.

It marked the first time Rumph had been part of that level of success at the high school level, as he never advanced to the playoffs during his playing career at Atlantic before graduating in 1998.

“It’s one of my top accomplishments,” Rumph said of leading Plantation-American Heritage to a state title. “We can go years and years without winning a state championship. I’ve been around a lot of coaches that have never won a state title, so to get it in my first year was an honor.”

But Rumph wasn’t able to experience that moment in front of his father, Mike Rumph Sr.

“I couldn’t make it to the game and I hated it,” Rumph Sr. said of missing last year’s state championship game.

But this week, Rumph will be able to coach in front of about 250 family and friends that are expected to be on hand to support him in his homecoming. His father will be one of them.

“I hear it’s going to rain,” Rumph Sr. said. “But I’ll be out there with a poncho.”


(pbgametime.com)

A message from Aaron Torres of FoxSports.com:

“They’re the greatest team of all-time.”

It’s a statement we often hear about the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, both by fans, and the media members who cover college football as well.

But after hearing it earlier this year, a light-bulb went off in my head: Just about everyone seems to have an opinion the 2001 ‘Canes, except Miami’s former players and coaches themselves.

And from there, another thought immediately popped into my head: What if I tracked down as many Hurricanes players and coaches from that 2001 season as I could, interviewed them, and asked what they thought about their team, and where they rank in college football history.

How awesome would that be?

Well, six months later, the answer was “spectacular” and after collecting interviews with roughly 50 former players and coaches, an article, the definitive article on the greatest team in the history of college football will run on FoxSports.com on Wednesday.

If you’re a ‘Canes fan (which I have to imagine you are if you’re reading this website), I can promise you that you can enjoy the article.

But here’s the thing: During the process of reporting the article, I learned that I wasn’t the only one who shared the same passion for the 2001 ‘Canes. As it turned out, one of the former players I interviewed, Najeh Davenport, also shared that passion, and like me wanted to tell the world his team’s story. Najeh recently released a documentary about the team, titled ‘The U: Reloaded’ which premiered last month. Through Najeh, I met his business partner Platon, who runs things here at ProCanes.com.

And it was through my friendship with Platon, that we’ve decided to give Miami fans a treat. Before the article runs in full on Wednesday, Platon was nice enough to offer up his space here on proCanes.com, to run an excerpt. It’s a treat for all you diehard ‘Canes fans, and proCanes is the only place that you can read this exclusive excerpt.

Of course the article will still run in its entirety Wednesday, and if you enjoy what you read here, be sure to check out the article on FoxSports.com. You can also follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres, where I’ll post the link once it goes live.

In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt from the article….

In the excerpt, we pick things up shortly after Larry Coker was hired as head coach, as the team prepared for the 2001 season.

As you’ll learn however, it really didn’t matter who the Hurricanes had hired as head coach. The team was not going to be denied the title that had eluded them the year before.

Again, enjoy and be sure to look for the full article on Wednesday.

The final, and arguably most important piece to the 2001 team was set: Miami had its head coach.

Now it was time to get to work. A team that had been denied a shot at a National Championship the season before, was not going to allow that to happen again.

Joaquin Gonzalez (senior, offensive tackle): The one thing I remember going into 2001 was, Larry Coker and his staff, as well as the players decided that we weren’t going to leave the decision on who plays for the championship on anyone else’s plate but our own. 

Brett Romberg (junior, center): (Our mindset was) ‘This year it ain’t gonna be decided on a poll or whatever kind of computer analysis.’ We were worked up, ready to get back at it.

Maurice Sikes (sophomore, safety): If you’re going to say you’re a champion, earn it. Don’t leave it to a voter; don’t leave it to anything to chance.’

D.J. Williams (sophomore, linebacker): It was great to be there with Butch, but when he left our plan didn’t change.

Brett Romberg (junior, center): We were anxious to get back at it. We didn’t want downtime. Usually you’re excited to get back home, brag ‘We just won the Sugar Bowl’ but we didn’t want that. We were like, ‘Let’s get back in the weight room, and get after it.

Ed Reed (senior, safety): When we got back to Miami to start spring football … my God. That spring before that National Championship year, those off-season workouts, it was like no other in the world.

Andreu Swasey (strength and conditioning coach): That was our DNA (to work hard). That is part of our system. It wasn’t talent-driven, it was work-ethic driven.

Mike Rumph (senior, cornerback): I don’t feel like we get ever get credit for our work ethic. I played six years in the NFL and the hardest I ever worked was at Miami. Those summers were treacherous.

Frank Gore (freshman, running back): My first day I get there, we were doing agilities with the linebackers; I’m competing with Chris Campbell, God rest his soul, and I’m like ‘Man, I think I made the wrong decision.’ I’m the top (high school) running back, how is a linebacker beating me in agilities?

Clinton Portis (junior, running back): We competed in everything! We all wanted to be the fastest player, we all wanted to be the best basketball player, we all wanted to be the highest jumper, we all wanted to be the best at everything we did.

Antrel Rolle (freshman, cornerback): The way we practiced, it was insane. I’ll be honest with you, it was literally insane. You would think that we did not like each other, on the field, off the field.

Mike Rumph (senior, cornerback): It was just a machine. It was a machine but we were just so afraid to have failure.

Curtis Johnson (wide receivers coach): Andreu Swasey said this all the time: The players were always around. They were always around us, always around the office. It’d be Friday night, Saturday morning, they’d be around, they’d want to want watch more film, and we couldn’t get rid of these guys for nothing. Their whole lives revolved around this little football team.

Mark Stoops (defensive backs coach): Soon after I was hired by Larry (as defensive backs coach in 2001) I was in my office working on a Saturday and I saw one of my players come by, then I saw another one. Over the course of the morning several guys stopped up and were talking. And I thought it was odd. I asked one of them, ‘What are you doing here on a Saturday morning?’ And one of them just looked at me and tilted his head and was like ‘Coach, this is just what we do.’

Mike Rumph (senior, cornerback): People didn’t see the Saturdays where we met up as a team (in the off-season). Or the meetings we’d have 6 in the morning, where there were no coaches there.

Brett Romberg (junior, center): Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m., no matter how hung-over you were, you are in the field.

Mark Stoops (defensive backs coach): Over the course of the morning several guys stopped up and were talking. And I thought it was odd. I asked one of them, ‘What are you doing here on a Saturday morning?’ And one of them just looked at me and tilted his head and was like ‘Coach, this is just what we do.’

Brett Romberg (junior, center): Granted, you didn’t have to be there. At any other school a guy might show up at 8:05 with his shoes untied or something. Not at Miami. No, if you didn’t show up at 7:55 ready to go, you got shunned. Nobody wants to talk to you, because you think you’re so much bigger than the group. There were never any egos.

Mark Stoops (defensive backs coach): They did seven-on-seven with each other, the o-line and d-line worked basically the whole year round. That’s just what they did; it was part of their culture… I was blown away by the player’s self-motivation and how great the leaders were there.

Don Soldinger (running backs coach): One time, Frank Gore called me at 3:30 a.m. to ask me about pass protections.

Frank Gore (freshman, running back): He said ‘If you need help, don’t be afraid to call.’ So I was studying my plays and I called him and told him to quiz me.

Andreu Swasey (strength and conditioning coach): Who stood out as leaders and workers from that group? Can I say ‘The team?’ I had so many guys.

Curtis Johnson (wide receivers coach): It started during 2000, but the players, they really policed themselves. We had no altercations, we had no nothing.

Ed Reed (senior, safety): We told coach, ‘If anything happens with the players on the team coach, we got it. Don’t you worry about it.’

D.J. Williams (sophomore, linebacker): As far as punishment, that was all done within the locker room.

Andreu Swasey (strength and conditioning coach): If you didn’t make your times, it wasn’t pretty for you. And I didn’t have anything to do with it! I did everything to help you, I might try to save you, but the rest of the guys would be like ‘Coach, you might not want to see this.’

Phillip Buchanon (junior, cornerback): The coaches aren’t gonna handle this. This is our locker room. We’re going to handle this.

Andreu Swasey (strength and conditioning coach): They handled their own discipline. So I’d start talking and Ed Reed would cut me off, like ‘I don’t mean any disrespect…’ then he’d handle the lecture for me. And I’m like ‘Damn, ok.’

Curtis Johnson (wide receivers coach): I remember, Sean Taylor was a freshman and I was watching him right at the beginning of two-a-days and Sean, he just didn’t run (as) fast (as he could) or something. And the coach went to get on him, and before the coach could get there Ed Reed just jumped on him; Sean was almost crying. It was the worst thing you could ever see, but the coaches didn’t have to do any of that, the players did it all. When that happens, I knew we were well on our way.

Najeh Davenport (senior, fullback): This may seem bad to say, but my senior year, Coach Coker was the head coach, Coach Chud was the offensive coordinator, but once we learned the system, that’s all she wrote.

Maurice Sikes (sophomore, safety): (Coker) knew how great of a team he had. He had been there with us. We had great leadership on our team, we had great coaches, great assistants, great starters, great back-ups. We knew what we had, and knew we didn’t need much tinkering.

Brett Romberg (junior, center): Butch Davis had done a great job steering that ship and doing a great job in building it, and all we needed was somebody to maintain the animal. Coker was the perfect fit.

Maurice Sikes (sophomore, safety): He had a very good understanding of the fact that he had a masterpiece. All he had to do was take it to the damn museum.

Najeh Davenport (senior, fullback): We were teaching each other, coaching each other, watching film together. We were destined to win the National Championship. 

Randy Shannon (defensive coordinator): I felt like we had a bunch of guys who had a common goal. They wanted to win a championship.
Aaron is a contributor at FoxSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres, and be sure to check FoxSports.com for the full article on Wednesday.

When he took over the head coaching job at Plantation American Heritage this year, former University of Miami standout Mike Rumph realized that he was stepping into a special situation.

Having been an assistant on the team the past few years under Jeff Dellenbach, the one-time NFL defensive back was ready for the challenge.

Even in his debut against nationally rated Miami Central, Rumph found a way to put his team in a spotlight against the potent Rockets. The Patriots have been in that spotlight ever since.

Loaded with talent, American Heritage has been able to roll over the competition — and after last week’s convincing district title-clinching win against Cardinal Gibbons, there are few teams who will have the athletes to match up against this outstanding football team.

For a program that had been all about gifted running back Sony Michel for the past four years, there has been a change in focus. While the University of Georgia-bound standout is the centerpiece of this team, he is not alone.

“This is a program that has benefited from a strong offseason — and that’s why we continue to improve each week,” Rumph said. “This is a team and a coaching staff that have worked too hard not to see some real results.”

The Patriots are one of the strong favorites to reach Orlando and play for a 5A state title because of players like Michel, and fellow seniors Isaiah McKenzie (Notre Dame), safety Carter Jacobs (Cincinnati), versatile linebacker Brandon Vicens, defensive back Juwan Dowels (Northern Illinois) and receiver Dallas Perez.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY at MiamiHerald.com

Plantation American Heritage coach Mike Rumph used to stand on the sidelines of NFL fields, cherishing the moments when military fighter jets would fly over the stadiums following the national anthem before his games on Sunday.

It gave Rumph, who was a defensive back on UM’s national-championship team in 2001 before stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, a sense of pride he still feels before leading his team through the national anthem during their games on Friday.

“It’s a feeling that I can’t explain,” Rumph said. “Just to come out there as a professional, and when those jets fly across the stadium, it makes what you’re doing so small. You’re just out there playing for fun. That kept me humble and kept things in context for me as a player.”

Rumph and running back Sony Michel were honored at their school Friday with invitations to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 4, 2014, in San Antonio.

“I’m really, really honored to do this,” Rumph said. “I always thought as a person if I couldn’t make it in college, I would go to the Army. It’s a dream come true to have the opportunity to represent the Army in some fashion.”

As for the soft-spoken and laid-back Michel, he thanked God, his teammates, family and staff at American Heritage during his brief acceptance speech.
“Not a lot of kids get this opportunity,” Michel said after the presentation.

“I just go out there and play for my family. That’s the only thing I could say I could play for.”

Even though Michel — rated a five-star recruit by several media outlets and considered the second-best running back in the nation by ESPN — has been orally committed to Georgia since April, he said the University of Miami is still trying to work its way into his consideration.

Michel, who will attend Saturday’s UM game against Wake Forest at Sun Life Stadium, said he’s still firm in his oral commitment to Georgia despite speaking with UM running-backs coach Hurlie Brown once every two weeks.


(miamiherald.com)

American Heritage football coach Mike Rumph was named as a coach for the U.S. Army All American Bowl game set for Jan. 4 in San Antonio.

U.S. Army All American representatives named Rumph, who is in his first season at Heritage, as a coach at the school on Thursday.

He has the Patriots at 4-1 this season and will play a key District 16-5A game on Friday against Miami Jackson

U.S. Army All American representatives named Rumph, who is in his first season at Heritage, as a coach at the school on Thursday.

He has the Patriots at 4-1 this season and will play a key District 16-5A game on Friday against Miami Jackson


(sun-sentinel.com)