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His plan: Seeing if making practices shorter keeps No. 16 Miami in games longer.
Starting Tuesday, the Hurricanes trimmed about 45 minutes from practice, with the new template calling for sessions to last only 1 hour. They'll still lift weights, and Shannon reserved the right to extend practice if work isn't done at the speed he demands. But with at least nine key players either ailing or out for the season - and none of them expected back this week - something had to give, he said.
"We're still going to condition hard and practice fast," Shannon said. "But like I told the coaches, a combo block is a combo block. A veer is a veer, a lead is a lead. If we don't know it now ... We've got to be sharp, crisp and fresh to try to get it done. We can't sit back and try to reinvent the wheel. We've got to know our assignments and just go turn it loose."
Miami (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts Virginia (3-5, 2-2) on Saturday. The Hurricanes desperately need a win to keep hope of catching Georgia Tech in the Coastal Division.
And really, these shorter practices were born from when the Coastal title slipped away with a loss at Georgia Tech last season.
That loss was the first in a three-game streak to close the 2008 campaign. Countless players were hurting, the roster was decimated at some positions, and Miami was out of options. A 7-3 record and hopes of playing in the Orange Bowl quickly turned into a 7-6 season, capped by a loss to California in the Emerald Bowl.
It's not that bad this year - not yet, anyway- but Shannon doesn't want to leave much to chance, not with the Hurricanes still a viable candidate for a Bowl Championship Series berth.
"It'll work with our bodies not being as worn down as they have been," quarterback Jacory Harris said. "We have some very physical practices. People get nicked up in practice and you don't want those little injuries affecting you in games. It's going to be fast, but at the same time, it's only an hour, so it'll give us more time to rest."
Another break: Some practices are returning to afternoon time slots. Miami has practiced at 5:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the season, but for now, the Tuesday workouts are back to 3 p.m. starts.
"Quick tempo, no breaks, right to it," cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke said. "Freshens our bodies."
That can't hurt.
Miami will go the entire season without having the defense it intended to open the year with, and injuries haven't stopped coming since. Linebacker Sean Spence (knee) and defensive end Eric Moncur (foot) are among two mainstays not expected back this week, and safety Ray Ray Armstrong (knee) will probably miss another game as well.
The offense is nicked as well: Running backs Javarris James and Graig Cooper have been slowed much of the season.
All the health woes, particularly on defense, clearly hurt Miami last week, when the Hurricanes allowed a school-record 33 first downs and a whopping 555 yards to Wake Forest in a dramatic 28-27 win. But there was a positive: For the first time all season, Miami didn't have someone seriously injured in that game.
And Shannon doesn't want to see that change in practice, either.
"We've got to coach better on offense and defense," Shannon said. "Those are the guys we've got on the team right now. We've got to get them to get it done."
