Even though the Mario Cristobal era in Miami football is only in its second year, there are some lingering questions about whether this was the right hire. The Hurricanes have one game left this season against Boston College in Chestnut Hill, where they could finish at best 7-5 (excluding the bowl game) or 6-6.
But will two wins more than last season’s 5-6 keep the Hurricanes’ head coach off the hot seat heading into Year 3?
Was Mario Cristobal the right choice for the Miami Dolphins?
When Cristobal was hired in Coral Gables, everyone hailed him as a sort of savior. Of course, that’s a title no one has ever held, as Miami football is now on its fifth head coach since 2007. Cristobal, like the others, was supposed to be unique in that he was from Miami. He grew up there, attended the University of Miami, and excelled there.
Randy Shannon, the former Miami defensive coordinator turned head coach who took over for Larry Coker in 2007 and was fired in 2010, felt the same way.
Shannon could at least use the excuse that it was his first job as head coach. Cristobal is in his third year at The U, having previously attended FIU, Oregon, and now his alma mater.
Cristobal’s record as a head coach is just above.500 (73-71) and he is now 11-12 at Miami. Worse, he’s 5-10 in conference play, with six of those losses coming at home. It’s worth noting that this is all happening in the ACC, which currently has four teams with eight wins or more. It’s also a conference that Miami has never won and has only appeared in the championship game once.
For years, Miami football has lagged far behind other programs.
However, it is also necessary to consider where this program was prior to Cristobal’s arrival. For one thing, it lacked the resources that all of the other traditional national title contenders it used to dominate now have. It lacked upgraded, technologically advanced facilities that ranged from physical and nutritional to mental progression. The athletic program as a whole lacked real direction and was simply scraping by with cheap purchases ranging from facilities to coaches.
For the last two decades, Miami football has been behind the eight-ball on these programs, even though there has been a focus on the program’s overhaul, beginning with former Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich and even Cristobal. There is, at the very least, a sense of urgency now. However, 20 years is a long time to make up for.
After a loss to Louisville, Mario Cristobal and Miami football face new challenges in Year 3.
What concerns Cristobal is that in just his second year, he’s had to restructure his coaching staff, beginning with both of his coordinators. And, while there has been progress, particularly defensively, Miami is still only one win ahead of last season so far, with two more chances remaining.
So, has there been a genuine shift in philosophy? That is the true question. Because what matters most after that are the results, of which there have been few outstanding ones during Cristobal’s two years at Miami. As Jon Weiner of the Dan Le Betard Show pointed out, there is still a lot of undisciplined football. Due to poor game management, you’re still seeing close, bad losses.
In Saturday’s loss to No. 10 Louisville, Miami had a chance to give Cristobal a program-defining win in his second year. Nonetheless, some of the same issues persisted, particularly near the end of the game. With only 1:30 remaining in the game, Cristobal called his first timeout on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Cristobal stated after witnessing
Tyler Van Dyke’s pass to Jacolby George fell incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs. Worse, George was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, moving the ball up to the Louisville football 18-yard line. Miami forced Louisville to punt, leaving the Hurricanes with only 29 seconds to go 75 yards, which was originally 60 yards, but Brashard Smith drew another Miami unsportsmanlike penalty.
For far too long, this has been the story of Miami football, but now you have to account for Cristobal’s mismanagement of the clock, which seems to have followed him all the way from Oregon. At least in Saturday’s game, calling a timeout to get the best play call to score was reasonable, but it also put Miami in a bind at the end. The crux of the issue, and what many fear will be the legacy of Cristobal’s tenure at Miami, is the Georgia Tech game, in which the Hurricanes did not take a knee to end the game. It was so bad that most people forgot about the loss to Middle Tennessee State last season.
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