Pay no attention to the calendar.

Never mind the upcoming bowl game.

For the University of Miami, the 2009 season begins now.

Coming off two losses in a row to end the regular season, UM will not hold any practices or team meetings for the next two weeks. Instead, coaches will be on the recruiting trail and players will be in the weight room.

''We're going to be getting strong, getting ready for the bowl game, but also for next season,'' UM coach Randy Shannon said Sunday.

''That's going to be vital for our young guys,'' Shannon said.

Miami almost certainly will not know its bowl destination until after Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game -- possibly Sunday or Monday. All signs point to a bid to the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Francisco, where UM would face a Pac-10 team, or to the Music City or Meineke Car Care bowls.

A DISAPPOINTING END

But even the best-case scenario -- a surprise bid to the Champs Sports Bowl -- wouldn't make the Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4) any less disappointed about how they finished the regular season.

With two games remaining, they were 7-3, in first place in the ACC Coastal Division and back in the Top 25 for the first time in more than two years. Then they got clobbered 41-23 at Georgia Tech and lost 38-28 at N.C. State on Saturday.

''These guys know this wasn't a successful season,'' Shannon said. 'They're not just satisfied with, `OK, we didn't go to a bowl last year, we're going to a bowl this year.' That's improvement. That's not being successful.''

That's not to say the Hurricanes will take their bowl game lightly. But the next few weeks clearly will be geared toward making UM better next year.

Shannon mentioned the offensive line, defensive backs, tight ends and running backs as primary areas of Miami's recruiting focus.

Shannon plans to work from Coral Gables this week, making sure players are on track academically, before visiting recruits next week. Some of his assistants left for recruiting trips directly from Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday.

''It's recruiting time,'' Shannon said. ``The next two weeks, all you're doing is recruiting. And then the third week, you recruit and practice a little bit.''

Practices will resume the weekend of Dec. 13-14 at the earliest, Shannon said. And even then, the immediate focus will be more on fundamentals than on UM's bowl opponent.

''It's back to basics,'' Shannon said. ``It's nothing scheme-wise.''

As for the future of the coaching staff, don't expect any imminent changes. Shannon said he plans to evaluate his assistants as part of an overall program evaluation, but not until after the bowl game. Offensive coordinator Patrick Nix has come under increasing fan criticism.

''I think the one thing you can never get caught up in is, don't get caught up in outside influences, don't make decisions when you're tired and don't make decisions when you're upset,'' Shannon said.

``You have to step back for about a week and have nobody around, just relax, and then go and chart down things that you feel like you got better at, things you didn't, and what can you do to improve.''

EXTRA POINTS

• Linebacker Glenn Cook sustained an undisclosed injury Saturday but will play in the bowl game, Shannon said.

• Quarterback Jacory Harris injured his arm or shoulder Saturday, but Shannon said he had yet to receive further information from UM's medical staff.

• Wide receiver Aldarius Johnson, who was suspended Saturday ''for violating team policy,'' will be reinstated for the bowl game.

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