Miami football made the perfect hire in Mario Cristobal and here’s why the Hurricanes can reach their full potential with him as head coach.
Maybe Miami football fans and alums saw what Jim Harbaugh, a former Michigan football player, did for the Wolverines this season. He returned them to glory.
It took time. Seven long years in fact. But Harbaugh, who understands Michigan as well as any head coach ever could, was worth the wait.
The situation Mario Cristobal is taking over with Miami football is similar. The Hurricanes just stole him away from Oregon (with a huge contract) and now he’s being tabbed as the savior of the Hurricanes, just as Harbaugh was for the Wolverines.
Manny Diaz was unceremoniously kicked to the curb, but that’s life in this new era of college football. You go for broke and Miami did that in Cristobal.
Here’s the thing, though, it’s going to work, and here are three reasons why.
Learned under the best
Not every head coach is able to pass on his talents to his assistant coaches, but when you look at the Nick Saban coaching tree, his guys have been pretty impressive, especially in college.
Kirby Smart, Mel Tucker, Lane Kiffin, and Mario Cristobal are some of the best examples. Mario has already proven to be a winner and that he can win at an elite level, which he has done at Oregon.
Of course, the expectations will be higher in Miami. The fanbase wants a championship and to get to the playoff — to be relevant again.
The first step was getting an elite head coach and the Hurricanes were smart to realize that Diaz wasn’t it. Cristobal played for the Canes during the height of their power and he gets what Miami can be and frankly, outside of Saban himself, there isn’t a better man for the job than Mario.