Coral Gables, Fla. ? Former Miami Hurricanes linebacker Randy Shannon was reminiscing Friday about the program’s glory days when two players on the current team came up from behind and wrapped him in a joint bear hug.

The Hurricanes love their new head coach.

Miami’s defensive coordinator since 2001, Shannon was chosen to replace coach Larry Coker and introduced at a news conference, where he confidently took charge of a program that has been in decline.

Shannon spoke for 10 minutes before he took a question.

“It’s important that they got the right guy for the job to get this program going,” he said.

Past and present Miami players agreed that Shannon’s the right guy to succeed Coker, fired two weeks ago after the team finished the regular season 6-6.

“I couldn’t be more overwhelmed,” quarterback Kirby Freeman said. “I was pulling for Randy. This is what we need.”

“Perfect,” said tight end Kellen Winslow, now with the Cleveland Browns. “He’s the perfect choice.”

Miami football players, from left, Calais Campbell, Jon Beason and Kyle Wright hug Randy Shannon after he was named coach of the Hurricanes. Shannon held a news conference Friday in Coral Gables, Fla.

“He’s going to get back to what the formula was,” said former defensive end Dan Stubbs, who played with Shannon on Miami’s 1987 national championship team. “He played here. He knows what kind of people you need.”

School officials are optimistic that Shannon’s popularity with players will revitalize recruiting. Under Coker, the Hurricanes have found themselves sharing South Florida’s bountiful pool of prep talent with other schools.

“It’s over,” athletic director Paul Dee said. “Randy and his staff are going to do a terrific job recruiting, and whatever interlopers we’ve had, we’re going to bid them adieu.”

A Miami native, Shannon becomes the sixth black head coach at the 119 Division I-A schools, joining Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom, UCLA’s Karl Dorrell, Buffalo’s Turner Gill, Kansas State’s Ron Prince and Washington’s Tyrone Willingham.