Memo to Mario Cristobal: Your team has enough talent. Enthusiasm, energy missing | Opinion
Nobody, not Mario Cristobal, not any of his players, not any University of Miami staff member, booster or reporter who attended the coach’s emotional introductory news conference last December could have envisioned what happened in the Hard Rock Stadium visitors’ locker room on Saturday afternoon.
The jubilant Duke Blue Devils danced a conga line after beating the Hurricanes 45-21. A Duke dance party in Miami Gardens? Really? Yes, indeed. It happened. At least one Duke player broadcast the fiesta live on social media.
This was not in the plans when Cristobal energized the long-suffering Hurricanes faithful last December with his declaration: “Let’s take this thing to a new level!”
A new level? The Hurricanes, who were ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll and picked to win the ACC Coastal Division, are sitting at 3-4 and in danger of not making a bowl game. Two of those losses were at home to Middle Tennessee State and Duke, fine teams for sure, but not powerhouses, by any means.
Since beating UM 45-31, Middle Tennessee State has lost 45-30 to Texas-San Antonio, 41-14 to UAB and 35-17 to Western Kentucky.
Duke? The Hurricanes beat Duke by a combined score of 95-10 the previous two seasons under former coach Manny Diaz. Duke went 3-9 last season and lost all eight ACC games. The Blue Devils lost 47-10 to UM, 62-22 to Louisville, 48-17 to Virginia Tech, 54-29 to Pitt, 45-7 to Wake Forest, 48-0 to Virginia. You get the idea.
It’s no wonder they were dancing Saturday. And they beat the Hurricanes under the direction of first-year coach Mike Elko, who not only is in his first year at Duke, but he had no head coaching experience when he took the job.
Elko isn’t the only first-year coach making headlines. Lincoln Riley took over a 4-8 Southern Cal team and the Trojans are 6-1 this season. Sonny Dykes inherited a 5-7 team at TCU and has them undefeated at 7-0 so far this year.
So, the fact that Cristobal is in his first year at Miami is not a valid excuse for the team’s struggles. UM administrators locked him into a 10-year, $80 million contract because they trust him to raise the Hurricanes’ football program back to national prominence. Cristobal is a veteran head coach and knows Miami better than anyone.
Yes, it can take time to implement a new playing style and culture. No, all the players on this roster are not hand-picked by Cristobal. But plenty of them are, including talented transfers Colbie Young, Henry Parrish Jr., Akheem Mesidor and Darrell Jackson.
And it’s not like Diaz and his staff left Miami with a bare cupboard.
Last year’s team won five of its last six games, finished 7-5 and earned an invitation to the Sun Bowl, which it eventually declined due to COVID-19 complications. The talent on the 2022 Hurricanes roster is ranked No. 13 in the nation if you believe 247Sports and its recruiting gurus. There are two five-star recruits on the roster and 44 four-star recruits.
Miami fans surely were delighted when all those highly touted recruits announced their decisions to become Hurricanes. These guys were coveted by many of the best teams in the country. They didn’t just forget how to play football.
Duke’s talent, by comparison, is rated No. 64 with zero five-star players and two four-stars. And Middle Tennessee State comes in at No. 95 with no five-star players and no four-star players.
“Some areas of our team are more talented than others, some are more talent-deficient than others,” Cristobal said after the loss to Duke.
While that might be true, it is hard to believe that UM’s roster top to bottom, deficient as it might be in some areas, is not talented enough to beat Duke and Middle Tennessee State at home. How is it possible that all those talented Canes gave up 90 combined points to the Blue Devils and Blue Raiders? (Side note to UM athletic director Dan Radakovich: Avoid teams with blue mascots in the future).
So, if it’s not lack of talent and it’s not the fact that Cristobal is a first-year coach at Miami, then what the heck is going on? I would never claim to know more about any sport than the coaches and athletes who make a living at it. Nobody wants to win more than they do.
But as an old-time (and getting older) sportswriter and UM alum (Class of ’87) who covered the championship football teams of the 1980s and the basketball team’s Sweet 16s and run to the Elite Eight last March, there are two things that seems to be missing from Cristobal’s team: fun and flexibility.
Go ahead, roll your eyes. But hear me out first.
Last Saturday, the team disembarked from its buses on a gloriously sunny morning and began the Hurricane Walk into the stadium as the pep band played. Sebastian the Ibis waved a giant hurricane warning flag, cheerleaders waved their pompons, and fans chanted and tried to get their favorite players’ attention. The players marched along, staring forward, serious “game faces” on.
Football is serious, you say. No need for smiles. Nick Saban doesn’t have fun. Bill Belichick doesn’t seem to be having fun. Both are outstanding coaches. True. But that drill-sergeant, tough-talking style doesn’t always work.
No question discipline, toughness and hard work are keys to athletic success. But so is confidence, freedom, and self-expression. It was true with Jimmy Johnson’s teams. And it seems especially true with modern-day athletes, who like to share their thoughts, music and fashion on social media.
When you see a team commit 17 penalties one week and turn the ball over eight times the next, you can’t help but wonder if these Hurricanes are feeling stifled and playing nervously. Is it possible Cristobal, whose passion is undeniable, is instilling more fear than confidence in his players?
Could it be that he so deeply believes in his system that he is unwilling to adapt to suit the players and personalities on his roster? Only the people in that locker room know the answers.
Maybe Cristobal could take a cue from UM basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who gets the most out of his players and then dances with them in the locker room. If anyone should be doing the conga at Hard Rock Stadium, it should be Cristobal and his Canes.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 6:24 PM.