Shapiro was always begging for attention. His relationships with players were out in the open – from hugs in the postgame locker room, to meals at popular South Beach restaurants, to huge gatherings in VIP sections, all bankrolled by him. Shapiro had been honored by the school on the field during games and taken in action from the Canes sideline. He had access to practices. He twice led the team onto the field and once flew to a road game on the team charter.
When Miami was looking for a replacement for head coach Larry Coker after the 2006 season, Shapiro met with Shalala and offered not to just coach the team for free, but to personally pay $1 million a year for the nation’s best offensive and defensive coordinators.
“‘Just let me walk the sidelines,’” Shapiro said he told Shalala. “She was laughing. I wasn’t.”
When Randy Shannon got the job, Shapiro said he had a face-to-face meeting with him on his first day as coach.
If anything, Shapiro became even bigger and bolder after nearly fighting David Reed. The next fall, when the program moved its home games to what is now called Land Shark Stadium, he rented luxury box 239B.
It promptly became home to wild partying, excessive drinking and open gambling from a rather non-collegiate cast of characters – everyone from former rapper and notorious Miami fan Luther Campbell to assorted ladies of the night.
“I had an architect try to put a stripper pole in the suite,” Shapiro said. “Aesthetically it wouldn’t work.”
