Mario Cristobal Now TE Coach & Recruit Coord. for CANES

[cygnus34]

In a major coup for Head Coach Al Golden, former UM lineman and assistant coach Mario Cristobal, most recently the head coach at FIU, has been enticed to return to his alma mater as an offensive assistant.

Cristobal was named Associate Head Coach and will coach tight ends with Brennan Carroll coaching receivers.

Cristobal was among the best recruiters to work at UM during the Canes glory years. He became available when former Hurricane staffer Pete Garcia, now the AD at FIU, abruptly fired him in the wake of a disappointing 3-9 season in which FIU lost several close games and was beset by injuries.

Cristobal's coaching career began in 1998 as a UM graduate assistant but he will play a much more critical role this time around. He spent the past six years recruiting the state of Florida as a Head Coach and has massive ties with the high school coaching community. He also personally recruited every major junior college in the country and brings a top-tier work ethic to Golden's staff. A year ago Cristobal was considered one of the top up and coming coaches in America and was on an ascent in the business that only was interrupted by the shocking turn of events at FIU in December.

The 3-9 season came on the heels of an 8-5 season that saw Cristobal mentioned for several head coaching positions that he reportedly turned down, including Pittsburgh and Rutgers. Cristobal, who began coaching at FIU in 2007, was also named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading the team to its first conference championship. When he inherited the program , it was on probation and on the brink of disaster academically and on the field.

Cristobal coached for three years at UM under former head coach Larry Coker, from 2004-06. The Hurricanes compiled a 24-12 record in that time with appearances in the 2004 and 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowls and the 2006 Micron PC Bowl. Cristobal coached Miami's tight ends in the 2004 and '05 seasons, tutoring 2005 Buffalo Bills' third-round pick Kevin Everett, 2006 free agent signee Buck Ortega and 2007 Chicago Bears' first round selection Greg Olsen.

In 2006 Cristobal took over a Miami offensive line that featured four new starters, including a true sophomore at left tackle and a true freshman at right tackle. Despite coaching a unit wrought with inexperience and riddled by injuries throughout the season, the UM offense saw a 39 percent decrease in sacks allowed from 36 to 22, only seven of which Cristobal's line was deemed responsible. Following that season, junior guard Derrick Morse was selected honorable mention All-ACC and true freshman tackle Jason Fox was named to the Rivals.com All-America Second Team.

Cristobal coached at Rutgers from 2001-03. He helped set the table for one of the biggest success stories in the last 30 years of college football.

Cristobal worked under head coach Greg Schiano, coaching the offensive tackles and tight ends for two seasons before shifting his focus solely to the offensive line in 2003. He was a critical factor in Rutgers' resurgence to competitiveness and helped lay the foundation in recruiting and coaching for a program that went from obscurity to college football's upper echelon in a matter of five years. During Cristobal's tenure at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights improved from records of 2-9 and 1-11 to a 5-7 mark in 2003, the school's best record since 1998. One of Cristobal's brightest pupils was tight end L.J. Smith, the Philadelphia Eagles' second-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and current starter.

It was at Rutgers that Cristobal put the first notches in his belt as a full-time coach and his talent as a coach and recruiter was recognized.

"I knew early in my relationship with Mario that someday he would be a head coach," Schiano said. "FIU landed a great man for the job."

Cristobal began his coaching career in 1998, when he joined the Miami Hurricanes staff as a graduate assistant, working with the Hurricanes for three seasons (1998-2000) under head coach Butch Davis. He helped his alma mater to a 29-8 record, three bowl wins and a pair of BIG EAST Conference championships in that time.

"Mario Cristobal is an exceptional man with a great passion for football and people," Davis said. "He is an excellent recruiter and coach who has been around great football programs and I believe is an excellent choice for FIU. Coach Cristobal will make a huge impact on the program and will be dynamic in South Florida."

A 1993 graduate of Miami (FL), Cristobal was a four-year letterman and member of the UM football team from 1988-92. He earned All-BIG EAST honors as an offensive tackle during his 1992 senior season. Cristobal signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted rookie in 1994 and played for the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe in 1995 and '96 before beginning his coaching career.

 

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/sfl-mario-cristobal-hired-as-miami-receivers-coach-20130110,0,4806171.story

Edited January 10, 2013 by cygnus34

[Paisa el Toro]

Good for him. I think Cristobal will be fine in the long run.

[zarnozdabull]

If you ever think Woolard is a bad AD just remind yourself...

 

Hes never going to be as bad as FIU's AD Pete Garcia.

 

Garcia fired Mario Cristobal, the guy who took them from a HS football team playing D1 to conference championships and bowl games. They were even one of the first teams picked up by CUSA in its first expansion and were on the rise. Even after Cristobal stayed at FIU when programs like Rutgers wanted him as a head coach. Imagine if our AD fired Leavitt after he stayed when Bama offered. Garcia promised a big "name" coach but took a month to hire anybody and then ended up hiring the Bucs QB Coach Ron Turner who has a losing record as a head coach in college. Turner's hire is a death sentence to their program because most of FIU's recruits have jumped ship because Turner is the 180 of what Cristobal was (young, cool, charismatic)

[mikemcp88]

That AD is an idiot. They should have given him at least 1 or 2 more seasons

Edited January 13, 2013 by mikemcp88

[Hurricane Mutiny]

If you ever think Woolard is a bad AD just remind yourself...

 

Hes never going to be as bad as FIU's AD Pete Garcia.

 

Garcia fired Mario Cristobal, the guy who took them from a HS football team playing D1 to conference championships and bowl games. They were even one of the first teams picked up by CUSA in its first expansion and were on the rise. Even after Cristobal stayed at FIU when programs like Rutgers wanted him as a head coach. Imagine if our AD fired Leavitt after he stayed when Bama offered. Garcia promised a big "name" coach but took a month to hire anybody and then ended up hiring the Bucs QB Coach Ron Turner who has a losing record as a head coach in college. Turner's hire is a death sentence to their program because most of FIU's recruits have jumped ship because Turner is the 180 of what Cristobal was (young, cool, charismatic)

 

 

 

Pete was certain that he was going to be able to sign Butch, but then Butch's UNC severance package got in the way.

 

I won't lie, I found the debacle amusing.

[GaUSFBull]

If you ever think Woolard is a bad AD just remind yourself...

 

Hes never going to be as bad as FIU's AD Pete Garcia.

 

Garcia fired Mario Cristobal, the guy who took them from a HS football team playing D1 to conference championships and bowl games. They were even one of the first teams picked up by CUSA in its first expansion and were on the rise. Even after Cristobal stayed at FIU when programs like Rutgers wanted him as a head coach. Imagine if our AD fired Leavitt after he stayed when Bama offered. Garcia promised a big "name" coach but took a month to hire anybody and then ended up hiring the Bucs QB Coach Ron Turner who has a losing record as a head coach in college. Turner's hire is a death sentence to their program because most of FIU's recruits have jumped ship because Turner is the 180 of what Cristobal was (young, cool, charismatic)

 

 

 

Pete was certain that he was going to be able to sign Butch, but then Butch's UNC severance package got in the way.

 

I won't lie, I found the debacle amusing.

 

It didn't make you wanna stomp on some heads?  

[E.T.]

jaguars: Coach Gus Bradley finalized his staff, adding four assistants including running backs coach Terry Richardson, who had the same job at the University of Miami and was UM's Florida recruiting coordinator.

[Dogma]

This may end up benefiting Cristobal in the future.

 

He is already known as a good coach.  FIU was the only school with pretty much a unanimous F grade on his firing.

He was already offered for Rutgers.

 

If he stays in Miami for a few years (especially if they do well) his already strong recruiting ties will only become that much impressive.

He can then use that to whatever program he heads to.

 

One concern is once the O'Leary reign ends at UCF, Cristobal can become a force there.

[Dogma]

And just like that he's gone... to Alabama:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21726942/alabama-hiring-miami-assistant-mario-cristobal-as-o-line-coach
 

[Triple B]

And just like that he's gone... to Alabama:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21726942/alabama-hiring-miami-assistant-mario-cristobal-as-o-line-coach

 

 

Wow ... I saw in the paper last week that he was supposedly interviewing but nothing confirmed ... guess this confirms it.