Mario Cristobal gives his view of where Miami was prior to his arrival: 'I was pissed, I was angry'

Of the four years Mario Cristobal spent at Oregon, two resulted in double-digit win seasons. The others were a 9-4 campaign in 2018 and then 2020’s 4-3, a weird one due to COVID-19. Not the records you would expect anyone to produce only to leave for another power conference job.

But when your alma mater comes calling, the opportunity is too good to pass up. Especially for somebody like Cristobal, who found himself upset at recent times for the Miami Hurricanes. The anger eventually took over and led him to take the job.

“I came back to Miami and left a really good situation because I’ve been watching it from afar for 20 years,” Crisotbal said via Pardon my Take. “And I was pissed, I was angry that for 20 years my alma mater just declined. Everyone taking shots at it, the whole world… I was just pissed.

“I knew it was going to be a butt-kicking when we got here early because a lot had to be done,” Cristobal said. “I was tired of our own people kicking Miami when it was down. I was just sick about it. Instead of being sick about it and talking about it or making any noise — ‘Go do something about it.’ So, that’s why we’re here.”

Cristobal was right after tough times before getting the ball rolling. Miami did not even gain bowl eligibility in his first year, before following it up with a 7-5 regular season in 2023. A Pinstripe Bowl loss did not help any of the efforts.

Since then, almost everything has gone right. Nailing quarterback evaluations out of the NCAA transfer portal is what pushed Miami over the hump. Last year, we saw Cam Ward put together a season well enough to get him selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Hurricanes won 10 games for the first time since 2017.

Carson Beck is now running the show. Five games in, all have resulted in wins for Miami. Another push for the College Football Playoff is coming. First up is potentially winning the program’s first ACC Championship, something they still have not done.

Cristobal admits there is still a ton of work to do. However, if he got to Coral Gables “pissed,” you have to imagine he is pretty happy with the progress thus far. A complete shift of where Miami was just a few years ago.