Done deal: Mario Cristobal to be Miami’s next head football coach
The seemingly never-ending University of Miami coaching saga has come to a close.
Mario Cristobal is coming home.
The former Oregon coach and two-time national champion Hurricane on Monday afternoon was officially named Miami’s 26th head football coach.
Miami native Cristobal, 51, will replace Manny Diaz, who was fired Monday morning after three seasons and a 21-15 overall record. Multiple sources told the Miami Herald that Cristobal’s UM contract is for 10 years and worth $80 million — at least five years longer and double the yearly money than Diaz got. It is on par with the 10-year, $95 million LSU contract that Brian Kelly just signed after leaving Notre Dame.
The Hurricanes also are paying Cristobal’s $9 million Oregon buyout.
“My family and I are excited to return home to the University of Miami, which has been so instrumental in shaping me as a person, player, and coach,” Cristobal said in a UM release. “This program has an unparalleled tradition and an exciting future ahead of it. I can’t wait to compete for championships and help mold our student-athletes into leaders on and off the field who will make our University, our community, and our loyal fan base proud.”
Cristobal, who was on his way to Miami Monday for a Tuesday press conference, called in to Eugene radio station 750 The Game Monday afternoon and shared his emotions with host and The Oregonian columnist John Canzano.
“It’s painful to leave,’’ Cristobal said. “Very difficult. I’m very thankful. I get it. I get the profession and the backlash that comes with the departure, but I’m going to go coach where I played. Nothing but gratitude and well wishes for Oregon.”
“It’s OK for people not to understand. It’s OK for people to be upset. It’s OK for people to be happy. I don’t judge. When granted an opportunity like I had the past five years, it’s 100-percent in, all in, every ounce.
“You can’t put into words the difficulty of moments like this. Players and coaches, we are in a profession that is as wild and crazy and untimely as you can imagine because there is no structure as it relates to moves. You hope and pray you surround yourself with great people and align yourself with them as long as you can and are grateful for the memories and you just keep going.”
UM president
UM president Julio Frenk said in the release that the university is “incredibly excited to welcome Mario, his wife, Jessica, and their sons Mario Mateo and Rocco home to Miami.”
“Mario’s legacy as a student-athlete at the U is well established,’’ Frenk said. “And the standard for competitive excellence that he and his teammates helped establish is one to which we continue to aspire. Our selection, however, was not one based in nostalgia for a proud past, but rather in a bold vision for a promising future.
“The characteristics that helped Mario excel as a national championship-winning player—drive, determination, and discipline—continue to propel his success as a coach. In Mario we have found a head coach who shares our belief in providing student-athletes with the very best opportunities to succeed on and off the field, and our commitment to winning at the highest level.”
Coaching staff
As of Monday afternoon, the future of Diaz’s staff was unknown. Former UM All-American offensive lineman Joaquin Gonzalez, part of the 2001 national title team, said he expects Oregon offensive line coach and associate head coach Alex Mirabal to join Cristobal at UM “in some capacity.” Gonzalez played for Mirabal at Columbus High, and Cristobal and Mirabal were Columbus teammates. Mirabal was Cristobal’s offensive line coach when Cristobal was the head coach at FIU.
It was uncertain who will coach the Hurricanes in their Dec. 31 Sun Bowl against Washington State in El Paso.
Sources said Cristobal is being given a very large budget for assistant coaches and recruiting.
The massive amount of money the entire situation will take has been buoyed by UM donors with deep pockets and interest in the athletic department. They include brothers Jose and Jorge Mas, owners of Mas Tec, a $6.6 billion infrastructure contractor. The Mas brothers are co-owners of David Beckham’s Inter Miami MLS team and are close with Cristobal through their Miami Columbus High connection.
Auto magnate Manuel Kadre, Vice Chair of the UM Board of Trustees and a member of the UHealth Board of Directors, has been involved in the interview process. Another donor believed to be getting more involved in athletics is billionaire John H. Ruiz, an attorney and entrepreneur whose Medicare litigation firm MSP Recovery last summer was valued at $32 billion.
Cristobal had reportedly turned down a contract boost from Oregon, whose huge-money booster is Nike founder Phil Knight.
Diaz reaction
Diaz said in a statement Monday afternoon that he is “disappointed in the University’s decision and the manner in which this played out over the last few weeks.’’
“The uncertainty impacted our team, our staff and their families — these are real people that gave everything to this program,’’ Diaz said. “For that, for them, I hurt.’’
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens announced that Cristobal “informed the university” on Monday morning “that he has accepted the head football coach position at another university” and that “a nationwide search for the next leader of the Oregon football program is underway.”
“We appreciate all of Mario’s accomplishments and hard work here at Oregon,’’ Mullens said, “and we wish him and his family all the best in their next chapter.”
Longtime dream
It has been a longtime dream of Cristobal’s to return to South Florida to coach at his alma mater, be close to his family — his mother, Clara, is ill and he has traveled cross-country to visit her — and to discover talent in a recruiting hotbed he knows well.
Cristobal is known for his unbridled energy, intense work ethic and exceptional recruiting skills and had been the Oregon Ducks head coach for four seasons. His overall record at Oregon: 35-13, including 10-3 this season, with two Pac-12 titles. His last few weeks with the Ducks, however, have been stressful ones, as Oregon lost to Utah 38-7 on Nov. 20 and then lost to the Utes again 38-10 on Friday in the Pac-10 championship game.
Before Oregon (where he also served as co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach in 2017), he spent four years (2013-16) being groomed at Alabama under Nick Saban as the assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He got his first head-coaching job at FIU (2007-12), where he became the first Cuban-American head coach in major college football.
Cristobal was an offensive tackle at UM from 1988 through 1992 under Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson and won two national titles. He coached at UM as a graduate assistant from 1998 through 2000, then as an assistant from 2004 through ‘06.
He replaced former Oregon coach Willie Taggart as head coach when Taggart left the Ducks for Florida State before the 2017 bowl game.
Legendary UM coach Johnson told the Miami Herald he was thrilled about the hire.
JJ, others react
“First of all, I’m really disappointed it didn’t work out for Manny,’’ Johnson said. “He organized well and recruited well, but the bottom line is they didn’t get the job done.
“I’m really excited about Mario. I know the family. I’ve been in his home. I recruited and coached his brother Luis and recruited Mario.
“I think he’s got a good start with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and he’s been around some great programs and has done a great job at Oregon. In fact, I recommended Mario to [former Miami athletic director] Blake James a few years ago for Miami when they went in a different direction with Mark Richt. Mario was interested in UM.
“He’s enthusiastic, he’s got great energy and he’s sincere — that’s one reason why he’s such an outstanding recruiter. He’s worked for Nick Saban [at Alabama] and has done a great job at Oregon. He’s got the pedigree to get it done.”
Hurricanes great Melvin Bratton, now an NFL agent and former running back who won national titles at UM in 1983 and 87, was ecstatic at the news. Bratton is part of a group of old-time Canes who have been meeting in an attempt to bolster the program in a myriad of ways.
“This is like winning the lotto,’’ Bratton, 56, told the Herald. “We’re going to share among the brotherhood and our new young brothers coming in as a recruiting class that we need to change the culture of Miami football like we did in the 1980s.
“Mario has put his shoes on Greentree Practice Field and walked though the Hecht Center for years. We needed someone who would understand the psyche of Miami football and Mario’s the guy.”
Brett Romberg, Miami’s 2001 center who won the Rimington Award as the nation’s best at his position, was coached by Cristobal when Cristobal was a UM graduate assistant, and remains close with him.
“Mario is not only an amazing hire for the university but also for the former players,’’ said Romberg, 42. “Mario is the type of person that values and believes in passing the baton from old to new but also in keeping the tradition alive. He’s the bridge of what Miami used to be to what Miami needs to be.
“Not only did he change the direction of the UM program as a player, but he also helped develop the most decorated offensive line in Miami history. He did it from beneath a helmet and with a whistle.’’
Jevon Holland
Miami Dolphins rookie safety Jevon Holland, who played for Cristobal at Oregon, said Friday: “He’s a hell of a coach, one of the best coaches I’ve had. As a recruiter, he’s even better. You see that with the talent we get at Oregon. They get guys that fit the system. I would hate to see him go. [But] Miami is home for him. I can’t be mad at the man...’’
According to sources, Cristobal had agreed to terms with UM on Sunday afternoon, and was waiting to tell his team Monday morning before an announcement was made.
UM is also in the final stages of contract negotiations with Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich to be the next Hurricanes AD, but that announcement isn’t expected until a later date.
This story was originally published December 6, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
