Gene Frenette: Mario Cristobal has emotional stake in restoring 'The U' to national prominence

As Mario Cristobal climbed the coaching ladder — from two stints at Miami and in different capacities as an assistant or head coach at Rutgers, FIU, Alabama and Oregon — the thought of coming back home to south Florida and his alma mater never went away.

It almost felt like the first Cuban-American head coach at an FBS school (FIU 2007-12) was destined to return to the U.

That was especially true in recent years as fans clamored to resurrect the football glory the Hurricanes enjoyed when Cristobal (1989-92) wore the uniform, going 44-4 and winning two national titles.

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“When I was a [graduate assistant] at Miami, the head coach [Butch Davis] asked me what’s your goal,” Cristobal said in a phone interview with the Times-Union. “I told him, ‘Well, I’d like to be the head coach at Miami one day.’

“Now that it’s 25 years later and that opportunity is real, it’s an unbelievable blessing and privilege. My passion for this place is through the stratosphere. But I got to take care of business and not let myself get emotional about it.”

Still, it’s hard for long-suffering ‘Canes supporters to not get stoked about the program’s potential with someone of Cristobal’s pedigree running the show.

In four seasons as the Oregon head coach, he guided the Ducks to a pair of conference championships and was Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2019. Cristobal was also on staff for four years at Alabama, giving him plenty of time to peek behind the curtain of the Nick Saban dynasty.

After a nearly 20-year dry spell of Miami not winning any kind of championship, and mostly being a middle-of-the-pack program in the pedestrian ACC, Cristobal is being given the necessary resources from the administration to help the ‘Canes become a national player.

Fifth-year senior tight end Will Mallory, a Providence High product, is now on his third head coach, getting there for Mark Richt’s last season and then three years under Manny Diaz. He likes the vibe Cristobal has brought to the program.

“He has the blueprint of what he did at Oregon and what he’s seen at Alabama,” said Mallory. “He knows what it takes from the championship teams he’s been on [at Miami]. The culture of the U is good for college football. From day one he drove into us that how you do anything is how you do everything.

“I don’t know of anyone else better for the job. This means a lot to him. He came back for a reason. He’s getting everything he believes we need to be at that championship level.”

Is the U really back?

With each successive coach since Larry Coker delivered a fifth national title to UM in 2001, early optimism turned into unfulfilled potential.

The U became a classic underachiever, with Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Diaz lasting three to five years and unable to avoid seasons of six or seven losses. As ‘Bama soared under Saban — the Crimson Tide has a dozen south Florida players on the current roster — and then Georgia’s Kirby Smart added another SEC bully to the national landscape, the ‘Canes continued on as a middling program.

Nobody has had a bird’s-eye view from inside the U for a longer period of time than Joe Zagacki, who has been a fixture in south Florida radio for 43 years and is in his 21st season as the play-by-play voice for UM football.

His coverage of the ‘Canes, either at a radio station or behind the microphone on Saturdays, is now up to 10 head coaches, starting at the tail end of the Howard Schnellenberger era.

When Zagacki looks at Cristobal, whom he has known for over 30 years as a player and coach, he sees genuine hope for a program itching to be nationally relevant again.

“He’s as organized and determined as any of the great coaches who have been here,” said Zagacki. “If he can’t solve it, then the problem is probably bigger than him. He saw a program at Rutgers [2001-03] that had nothing and what it took to build that. He goes with Saban and sees the best of the best.

“The Oregon program had dropped and he built them into a Pac-12 champion. He’s by far the most perfect fit Miami has had since Jimmy [Johnson] or Butch [Davis].”

If college football history is any indication, schools hiring an alumnus as their head coach has been a formula that works more often than not, especially in the South.

Coaches like Bear Bryant (Alabama), Knute Rockne (Notre Dame), Steve Spurrier (Florida), Phil Fulmer (Tennessee), Bennie Oosterbaan (Michigan) and Georgia’s Smart all led their alma mater to AP or mythical national championships, while others like Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) and Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) have had good runs.

One thing about the 51-year-old Cristobal is different than all of UM’s previous title-winning coaches: he has more head coaching experience and won championships in the process.

There’s no debate about the standard of expectation in the Cristobal era.

“It’s pretty simple, winning [national] championships and being a top team,” Mallory said. “He tells the team, ‘The U’s not back, the U’s back to work.’ We got to let our play speak for itself. We’re not going to do a lot of talking about being back.

“We got to put in the work. We can’t focus on the noise.”

Not an overnight fix

Much like Florida’s Billy Napier in his first season, the chances of Cristobal igniting an immediate turnaround like Spurrier did three decades ago (won SEC title in second season) in Gainesville may be a stretch.

Now Miami is ranked No. 13, has a highly regarded quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke, and plays in a very winnable ACC Coastal division, but Clemson is still considered the league favorite despite seeing its six-year run of league titles end in 2021.

Cristobal is focused simply on the process of getting Miami back up to being championship material. He won’t get caught up in guessing about how much time that’s going to take.

“I’m not going to answer questions on hopes and expectations,” said Cristobal. “I’m not doing that. We just want to be the best we can possibly be. We’re still a work in progress.”

After two easy wins against overmatched opponents, the first real test of the Cristobal era comes Saturday when Miami faces the difficult road environment of Kyle Field to battle No. 24 Texas A&M, which just got ambushed at the same venue last week by Appalachian State.

Winning in College Station would be an early positive sign for Miami, but it’s evident the coach and his alma mater are intent on long-term success. UM signed Cristobal to a 10-year, $80 million contract, almost doubling what Oregon was paying him after they worked out an extension in December, 2020, though some reports had Oregon offering their coach a similar deal to what the ‘Canes ended up paying.

In this particular instance, however, Cristobal coming back home is as much a personal thing as it is monetary. Yes, he wanted a financial commitment from UM, and got it, to upgrade facilities and recruiting budgets.

But remembering what he told Davis about his ultimate goal when he began his coaching career, it’s obvious Cristobal sees this opportunity as one he couldn’t pass up.

“Call it what it is,” said Cristobal. “Is there anyone else in the state of Florida coaching where they played and had a part of being multiple national champions? Of course, it’s going to mean more.”

Because of his UM connections and salesmanship, there’s an air of heightened expectations in Coral Gables about what Cristobal can deliver. The reality is, at least from a national perspective, it’s going to be difficult for anyone in the ACC not named Clemson to make a dent in the Georgia and ‘Bama juggernauts any time soon.

“The problem here is everybody wants to live in the past,” said Zagacki. “We got a great tradition that gives us credibility, but you can’t live in the past. Mario is getting everything he wants that other coaches didn’t have. Before, they were relying [in recruiting] on, ‘We’re Miami.’ Just because you’re wearing the Miami jersey doesn’t mean you’re better than opponents. You’re only going to be better by outworking them.

“I think Cristobal is a home-run hire. Remember what Howard [Schnellenberger] said when he first got to Miami? He said, ‘we will win in Miami. The only variable is time.’ The same thing with Mario.”

Amazingly, after dominating the Big East Conference for most of its 13-year run (1991-2003), the ‘Canes have been nowhere near the same force in the ACC. Six different programs have won championships without Miami ever hoisting a trophy.

Will Mario Cristobal be a game-changer for his own school? If he doesn’t do it, you have to wonder who will.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540  

Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Hurricanes football wants to be national player, Cristobal has blueprint