Over five seasons at Oregon, Mario Cristobal helped return the Ducks football program to the heights it reached a decade ago. He’ll now be tasked with bringing that same success to the Miami Hurricanes.
According to Matt Zenitz of On3, Cristobal just held a meeting with his Oregon players to inform them that he’s going to Miami. The move comes just minutes after the Hurricanes officially fired Manny Diaz from the same role.
Cristobal leaves Oregon with a 35-13 record that included two Pac-12 titles, a Rose Bowl win, a 23-9 Pac-12 record, and two Pac-12 North division crowns.
He joins a Miami team that went 7-5 in the regular season this past year and is set to play in the Sun Bowl. It remains to be seen if Cristobal will be on staff for Miami’s bowl game.
The Miami Hurricanes reportedly spared no expense to pry Mario Cristobal from Oregon. But it’s a job that Cristobal would no doubt want given his history with the team.
Cristobal was born and raised in Miami, and played offensive line for the Hurricanes during the Jimmy Johnson era. He won two national titles under Johnson and got his first coaching job with the Hurricanes in 1998.
Suffice it to say, returning to Miami will be an incredible homecoming for the now-former Oregon coach.
But as we learned with Manny Diaz this year, Miami doesn’t have a lot of patience for falling below expectations. Cristobal is being paid like an elite head coach so he’ll have to deliver the results immediately.