Mario Cristobal has no plans of letting Miami slip while rebuilding program
On a recent episode of The Hard Count, On3’s J.D. PicKell had Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal as his guest. Saving the best for last, the host picked the Hurricanes’ headman’s brain on his plan to rebuild the program. And Cristobal did not disappoint with his answer.
“Well, what made Miami, Miami, is; I always go back to telling people in high school why I chose Miami. And it wasn’t because of the building or palm trees, and it really wasn’t because of the nice weather,” said Cristobal. “It was (because) I was addicted to coming to practice and watching Michael Irvin and Benny Blades annihilate each other in practice. And Jerome Brown and Greg Rocosa go at it nonstop; Alonzo Highsmith, Rod Carter.
“It was a culture that just pushed and worked to a level that they knew when they hopped on a bus or a plane on Friday; they were not going to be beat. I mean, they just loved competing, they loved practicing, they loved work. That’s what made Miami, Miami.”
Cristobal did not have the first season as the Hurricanes’ headman envisioned. Miami finished the season 5-7 and endured some of the worst losses to rival schools in recent history. One of which was an embarrassing road loss to in-state rival Florida State 45-3 in early November.
Cristobal’s plan to rebuild Miami
Despite Miami’s recent struggles, Cristobal remains focused on his plan to resurrect the program the right way. And the Hurricanes headman plans to use every tool at his disposal to bring in top talent nationwide. Cristobal will pitch whatever is needed to get the job done, whether it’s the campus, education, or sports facilities.
“Then, if you look throughout the years, yeah, it was a strong contingent of local players, but it was also a very nationally recruited team; in all kinds of different spots. Now you fast forward into modern day. Now you have all kinds of things. We’re building this unbelievable new facility. You have a private school education that is top-tier in so many fields of study, you have a NIL program that’s second to none, and you have the ability to bring in all these coaches and rebuild it the right way. Rebuild it to last, you know.
Miami shouldn’t slip; been gone for a long time, man.
“And the opportunity to come back and rebuild it along with all these other people the right way is something that’s always been a tremendous goal and requires every ounce of my existence. And I’m all about it. I’m blessed to have the opportunity and looking forward to step-by-step and piece-by-piece working ourselves into being a prominent and eventually one of the best programs in the country.”
Miami is looking for a much better result at the end of the 2023 season. The Hurricanes missed the 2022 bowl season after failing to meet the minimum requirement of six wins. That was the first time Miami did not play in a bowl game since serving their two-year bowl ban suspension in 2011 and 2012.