Twitter has it first: Mario Cristobal’s new Miami OL coach changes profile to reflect job
The first new University of Miami assistant coach under Mario Cristobal has changed his Twitter handle to reflect his newest title.
“Offensive Line Coach at the University of Miami” is what it says as of Sunday evening on the Twitter profile of Alex Mirabal.
Close Cristobal friend and former Cristobal Miami Columbus High teammate Mirabal formerly served as the Oregon offensive line coach and associate head coach under Cristobal. According to his former Oregon bio, he was in charge of centers and guards on the line from 2018-20, and then the “offensive line” this past season.
The highly regarded Mirabal actually was in Miami with Cristobal the day the new coach had his introductory press conference on Dec. 7, and has been immersed in recruiting for the Canes.
Mirabal replaces former Miami offensive line coach Garin Justice, who recently left UM to join the staff at SMU, now coached by former UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
In 2021, Oregon’s offensive line was ranked 36th of 130 FBS teams in sacks allowed (24 total for 1.7 a game). The Ducks were ranked 24th in rushing offense, averaging 202.4 ground yards a game.
Miami’s offensive line was 85th in sacks allowed (30 total for 2.5 a game). UM was 97th in rushing offense (127.7).
The offensive line has always been Cristobal’s baby. Cristobal won national championships in 1989 and 91 as a Miami offensive tackle. He was a graduate assistant coach at UM from 1998 to 2000 under Butch Davis, then as an assistant (tight ends and later, offensive line) from 2004 through ‘06. He coached the offensive line at Oregon in 2017 and before that was groomed at Alabama under Nick Saban as the assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach and also coached the offensive line at Rutgers in the early 2000s.
Cristobal told the Oregonian in April 2018 that he was “very particular about the offensive line and I don’t trust offensive line work with just anyone. To me you have to know someone more than 30 years in order to trust them with the offensive line.’’
Mirabal got his associate’s degree from Miami Dade College in 1991 and then his bachelor’s degree from FIU in 1993. He coached the O-line under Cristobal at FIU for five years, before going to Marshall as the offensive line coach for five years until he joined Oregon’s staff.
UM has yet to officially announce any of Cristobal’s assistants. More are expected to surface this week.
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 6:10 PM.
