Mario Cristobal explains why Miami fell behind, how the gap is being closed

The Miami Hurricanes are heading forward in a new direction under the leadership of new head football coach Mario Cristobal, who was hired away from Oregon in the offseason. Now, Cristobal has his sights set on returning Miami to the level it once was.

Cristobal played at Miami from 1989-1992, and he also has two stints on the team’s coaching staff. He was a GA from 1998-2000, and he coached tight ends from 2004-2005 and offensive linemen in 2006.

Miami used to be a perennial national championship in the late 1980s up until the early 2000s. In recent years, though, the Hurricanes have fallen off a bit as other powers across the nation have risen. Now, Cristobal’s goal is to not just to close the gap, but to create an entirely new one with Miami at the top.

“I guess the best way to put it in perspective is that when everything was even, Miami was dominating the college football world,” Cristobal said, via ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “Then other places started investing a lot, and Miami had fallen away behind. So that’s where there became a gap.

“Now that the gap is being closed completely, and we’re now going to jump ahead and create our own gap, that to me speaks very strongly. Miami with better resources than just about everybody will place itself in a very unique place in college football once again.”

Cristobal takes over for Manny Diaz at Miami

Over the past three seasons, Manny Diaz has been leading Miami’s football program. The Hurricanes went 6-7 and lost in the Independence Bowl in 2019. In 2020, Miami went 8-3 but lost in the Cheez-It Bowl. Last season, Miami struggled through inconsistency and ultimately finished the year 7-5.

Cristobal began his head coaching career at Florida International. There, he led his team to two bowl appearances, winning the Little Caesars Bowl and going 7-6 in 2010. In 2011, Florida International went 8-5 and lost in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl. Following the 2012 season, though, Cristobal’s tenure at Florida International came to an end after he led them to a 27-47 record in six years.

When he took the Oregon head coaching position in 2017, Cristobal did a great job at keeping the Ducks as a consistent contender. Oregon went 35-13 in five years under Cristobal, and made four bowl appearances with two victories, including a Rose Bowl win in 2019.

Now, Cristobal is looking to do the same at Miami. In his four years with the Hurricanes as a player, they won two national championships. From 1989-1992, Miami won at least 10 games in every season, and that type of success is exactly what Cristobal wants to see moving forward.