Charlie Strong isn’t the only high-profile name being linked to the University of Miami and its head coaching vacancy.

According to a report on gridironnow.com, Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula has been mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Al Golden who was fired earlier this season. The 50-year-old has ties to the Miami area, having grown up there, going to high school in south Florida, and being the son of legendary NFL coach Don Shula.

Although he has denied any interest in the job, should the younger Shula accept an offer from the university – if it would be offered to him – he would be the third Shula in the family to land a head coaching gig. His older brother David was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992-1996.

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The story on gridiron.com states that insiders say: "Paul DiMare, who donated $12.5 million to the school last year and whose son, Gino, is the baseball program’s coach-in-waiting, is thought to favor Shula, a Miami native, to fill the vacancy left by Golden’s firing."

Coincidentally, DiMare was part of the search committee that helped bring Golden to south Florida in the first place.

Strong’s name came up in the news this week in a story on palmbeachpost.com. If the University of Texas does indeed fire Strong at the end of the season, or should Strong want to opt out of his contract in Austin, he would move to the head of the list of potential candidates.

It is also believed that Virginia Tech, a program that will look to replace Frank Beamer after the season, could be interested in Strong as well.

“If they don’t get him, they think Virginia Tech will,” the source said, adding that UM believes Strong “wants out” of Texas, where he is 10-13 as his second season draws to a close. This follows several reports – including one by highly respected Bruce Feldman, of Fox Sports – that say Strong is very much interested,” the palmbeachpost.com article claims.

Head coaching positions at USC and South Carolina are still open as well. No word yet on who either school might be leaning toward hiring.

Strong has stated publically that the talk of him leaving the program is bothersome, adding that he has a great job with the Texas program and loves being in Austin.

Who do you think will be Miami's next head coach? Give YOUR opinion in the comment box below!

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