Podcast: Mario Cristobal and Miami are promising big results. That means big expectations
Mario Cristobal’s return home to Coral Gables signals a shift for the Miami Hurricanes.
They’re finally ready to seriously compete for championships again and not just act like they want to.
Miami is giving Cristobal $8 million a year and nearly $8 million to pay his assistant coaches because it wants to contend for a national title and it finally realizes this is what it takes to do so in college football today.
Really, it’s not an exaggeration to say these are momentous days for the Hurricanes, and David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, discuss it all on a new episode of the Eye on the U podcast.
The first few days of the Cristobal era have been a home run, too. The new coach nailed his introductory news conference Tuesday, then was right out on the road to recruit some of South Florida’s top prospects a few hours later. He hadn’t even changed out of his suit when he showed up at Miami Central Senior High School later in the day.
The honeymoon seems like it’s going to be fun, but what should realistic expectations for Cristobal be in 2022 and beyond? The Hurricanes (7-5, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) should be able to win the ACC Coastal division right away and, with the university’s new commitment of resources, the standard should be to compete with the No. 19 Clemson Tigers soon.
As for former coach Manny Diaz, his ending was also a bit of proof of Miami’s new direction. The Hurricanes were cold-blooded with their handling of his final days, leaving him in limbo and out on the road to recruit while they conspicuously courted Cristobal away from the No. 15 Oregon Ducks. Diaz’s consistent mediocrity wasn’t good enough for the Hurricanes anymore, so they’re moving on to a bigger fish and bigger goals.
Oh, there’s also a bowl game. Remember bowl games? Miami is going to play the Washington State Cougars in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve in El Paso, and we briefly mention this fact, too.
We promise more coverage as we get closer to Dec. 31, but we know it’s not what anyone is thinking about these days, anyway. Please continue to rate, review and subscribe for weekly podcast coverage of the Hurricanes.
