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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Larry Scott is the interim head coach of the University of Miami and he’s got some plans for the Hurricanes. He wants to help them finish what has been a difficult season on a strong note.
CBS4’s Sports Anchor Jim Berry sat down with Scott on Wednesday for a one-on-one interview.
Scott wants to salvage the season and restore some Hurricane pride.
He may be running the show only briefly, but he’s trying to do it with a firm hand.
“At first it, it was kind of mind boggling…surreal,” Scott told Berry.
When Scott took over for Al Golden, he knew that his team was emotionally down for a lot of reasons, so he issued a stern challenge.
“What are you going to do about it? How do you respond? We have to understand that’s what life is about,” Scott explained.
The Canes responded by beating Duke with a miraculous and controversial play.
While some folks are still dwelling on the outcome, Scott wants his team thinking about the bigger picture.
“What are we going to do to put us back in the position to, the town , this people, this program, that are accustom to being a part of and doing?” Scott said. “The only way we are going to do it, is we have to keep moving forward.”
Like his Dolphin counterpart Dan Campbell, Scott is trying to restore fun on the sideline, and toughness on the field.
But while Campbell makes no bones about wanting to shed his label of interim coach, Scott is a bit more guarded.
“I want to be here for them and see their reactions and see them work, see them grow, see them develop. At the end of the day, that’s what I got into coaching for, is for young people, if that means, other things happen because of a result of that, so be it, and if it doesn’t, so be it,” he explained.
Scott grew up in Central Florida admiring UM football.
When it comes to Hurricane swagger, he feels it’s time for a rebirth.
“A lot of people call it various things, I call it confidence. You know what it is, we put in the work, we prepare the way we are supposed to, we work hard, we do things the right way, so we are confident. What’s wrong with that?” Scott said. “We’ve gotta make it look different. We’ve gotta make it look different, on the field. We have to make people look at us and go, ‘Wow, they like playing the game.’”
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