Cristobal Eager to Prove the Doubters Wrong
Monday's title game, offers a prime opportunity for Miami's coach to silence doubters
Leading up to Monday’s national championship game, I can’t help but think about former FIU athletic director Pete Garcia. Garcia has nothing to do with this game directly, of course. But somewhere deep in the back of Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal’s mind, the memory of his former boss may still be alive as he prepares to lead his team in an attempt to capture college football’s biggest prize, on his home field, in his home city.
ACC Media Days and the Scouting Report on Cristobal
To bring some context, let me go back to the last two summers when I represented SiriusXM at ACC Media Days at the Hilton in Charlotte. The first year I worked the event, it was only because Danny Kanell had to cancel and I got called in out of the bullpen. Shortly after landing in North Carolina, I started getting the rundown from the guys who had done ACC Media Days before, which teams were easy, which coaches would talk, and which segments might drag.
When Miami came up, I was told Cristobal was the toughest nut of the bunch. The scouting report was that he was standoffish the year before — short answers, seemed annoyed he had to sit with us, and gave off the vibe that the whole radio car wash was something he just had to endure. Expectations were low for quality content.
As someone who had always been a fan of Cristobal, I was disappointed to hear that. I graduated from Middle Tennessee, a fellow former Sun Belt school, and I was familiar with what Cristobal had built at FIU, the attention to detail, the professionalism, the way his teams were prepared. FIU had no business being as competent as they were during that run.
Cristobal’s FIU Run — and Pete Garcia’s Decision
Cristobal, a Miami native of Cuban descent, took over FIU when the program was still in diapers. FIU didn’t even have an FBS program until 2002. After joining the Sun Belt, Cristobal became the school’s second head coach, replacing Don Strock. The build was slow at first, as you’d expect for a program with almost no resources and very little infrastructure, but it was real.
In 2010 and 2011, FIU played in back-to-back bowl games, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. For FIU, this was unprecedented. For a brief stretch, FIU looked like a functional, ascending Sun Belt program, and a testament to Cristobal’s ability to develop and organize.
Then came 2012. FIU slipped to 3–9, and after the season, Pete Garcia stunned everyone by firing Cristobal. Garcia called the season a “total collapse” and said FIU needed to “move in a different direction.” Cristobal, for his part, told reporters he was “stunned”, and he should’ve been.
The truth was simple: FIU was one of the least resourced programs in the country. Cristobal had elevated it to relevance. Garcia got delusional and decided FIU was bigger than it actually was in the college football ecosystem.
I remember the day Cristobal was fired. I remember being stunned. One of the hottest young coaches in the sport, a guy who had changed the trajectory of a startup program, was being tossed after one rough year in an impossible job. I remember ripping Garcia on the air for being delusional and unqualified.
Resurrection Under Saban and the Path Back to Miami
After FIU, Cristobal’s time as a head coach was over for a while. Like many, he found redemption and restoration under Nick Saban at Alabama. He rebuilt his reputation, became one of the best recruiters in the country, and eventually parlayed that into the Oregon job and then the Miami job, the one that always felt like destiny.
Which brings me back to Charlotte.
ACC Media Days, Part II
Because of my lingering fondness for Cristobal and the way he got screwed at FIU, I decided I was going to bring it up when he sat down for our segment. I opened with something along the lines of: “You survived working for the worst athletic director in America at FIU and lived to tell about it.”
His whole demeanor changed instantly. He looked at me, reached out, slapped my hand and said, “My man!”
From that point on, the interaction was fantastic — like two old friends catching up, like we had known each other’s stories for years. He could tell he had an ally. He relaxed. He opened up. He talked about Miami football with pride and conviction. He was comfortable.
A Man With Something to Prove
Watching him that day, it was obvious that Cristobal lives his life with something to prove. Somewhere deep in his mind, he’s still replaying the moment Pete Garcia told him he wasn’t good enough. He has dealt with criticism at Miami, most of it centered on late-game clock management and offensive organization,but he’s continued to push, build, and fight.
And now here he is: one win away from a national championship. On Monday night. In Miami. In his own stadium.
A chance to prove every doubter wrong, to elevate his alma mater back to the mountaintop, and to put the final nail in the coffin of Pete Garcia’s evaluation of him as a head coach.
If he wins, that decision from 2012 won’t just age poorly, it will become one of the great cautionary tales in the history of athletic administration.