The Miami football team was so close to reaching the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff this season before a collapse in the season-finale against Syracuse ruined its hopes. The Hurricanes led that game 21-0 before seeing it all slip away in a crushing 42-38 loss.

Miami finished as the second team out of the College Football Playoff and was forced to settle for a berth in the Pop Tarts Bowl, where it lost to Iowa State 42-41. Shortly after the game, the Hurricanes elected to fire defensive coordinator Lance Guidry, according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.

Miami struggled on defense throughout the season and relied on Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward and the offense to bail them out time and time again. The Hurricanes allowed 84 points over their final two games of the season, which led to the decision to move on from Guidry.

After the move was announced, head coach Mario Cristobal released a statement about his recently-fired defensive coordinator, via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

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“I want to first thank Coach Guidry for his contributions to the University of Miami,” Cristobal said, per Reynolds. “In a continuous effort to always improve all aspects of our program, I have decided to make a change on defense. We will move forward and make decisions that provide our players, staff and program the best opportunity to win and develop at the highest level.”

Overall, Miami ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of both yards and points allowed on defense, but that ultimately isn't good enough considering the talent on the team and the fact that this was a championship-level offense. While it wasn't a horrible unit, this season feels like a missed opportunity at Miami because of the excellence of the quarterback and the offense as a whole.

Now, Ward will be gone next season and the Hurricanes will have someone new calling the defensive plays. Without one of the best players in the country racking up the points, the defense will have to improve a lot just to keep Miami in contention in the ACC.