New Miami assistants are familiar to football program

Defensive line coach Rick Petri and running backs coach Mike Cassano are looking to making successful returns to UM - Shandel Richardson, Sun Sentinel

Rick Petri is living these days like a college kid.
When the 56-year-old was hired as the Miami Hurricanes' defensive line coach last month, he decided against buying a home in South Florida. Instead, he lives in an on-campus apartment. Petri and newly hired running backs coach Mike Cassano are both making their second stints at UM.

"I'm on campus right now," Petri said recently. "I've gone back to school … It's been good, convenient."

Petri, who was fired at Kentucky, is dealing with the unusual living situation because his wife stayed behind while their son, Kory, plays baseball at Western Kentucky. Petri said he wanted Kory to have at least some support at games.

"Your kids get to certain places in their life, you can't both leave," said Petri, who previously coached at UM from 1993-95. "That's not right. Our son is playing ball, someone has to be there for him."

Petri and Cassano both shared similar reasons for wanting to return. They had strong relationships with coach Randy Shannon. Petri replaced Clint Hurtt, who left for Louisville. Cassano took over for Tommie Robinson, now with the Arizona Cardinals.

"We've been close a long time," Petri said. "I trust Randy, hopefully he trusts me. I like to think that we're friends."

Cassano, 39, worked with the Hurricanes as a graduate assistant from 2004-06. After serving as running backs coach at Florida International for three years, it was an easy choice to return.

"This to me is a dream job," Cassano said. "I just want to take part in making this thing a monster and bringing [the program] back to where it belongs, back on the top of the national map."

New experience for Spence

Junior linebacker Sean Spence went through a sophomore slump, mostly because of a knee injury. Spence was the Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer of the year in 2008, but missed three games last season. His production dipped significantly, finishing with just 36 tackles.

"I never got hurt [in] high school or anything," Spence said. "So coming to college and getting, it was a frustrating experience for me. It was kind of tough, but I fought through it."