Mario Cristobal Miami Football introductory press conference key points

Mario Cristobal was introduced as the 26th head coach in the history of the Miami football program on Tuesday replacing Manny Diaz. The former Hurricanes offensive lineman issued an opening statement before taking questions from reporters. President Julio Frenk introduced Cristobal.

Cristobal began his comments by thanking Oregon before he began discussing the Miami football program. The mindset with the Miami football program under Cristobal will be to compete for championships. Miami is one of five out of the seven programs in the ACC Coastal Division that will have new head coaches in 2022.

Cristobal is known as a relentless recruiter who wants “resilience, toughness, physicality…relentless effort…(and) discipline.” from his team. Miami and Oregon were two of the worst penalized teams in college football in 2021. The Hurricanes were 106th nationally in penalty yards, the Ducks 113th.

Every coach discusses building a culture. Cristobal mentioned the importance of having the resources available to create the culture he wants as a key component in his decision to return to Miami. Miami will make a commitment to Cristobal. Commitment to resources was a critical piece in accepting the Miami job.

Under Cristobal, Miami will make player psychology, development and nutrition priorities in the football program. Cristobal discussed the importance of defining roles for everyone in the Miami football program. Mentioned were

“Every single player, every single analyst, every single coach, every single GA has a role.”

Cristobal is impressed with the talent currently on the Miami roster. Asked about Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, Cristobal said “It’s clear, watching from afar, there’s not a better quarterback in the country.” One of the flaws of Manny Diaz and his staff was a lack of development of blue-chip players.

"“Some really talented guys on the roster. It’s our job to develop…best way to get your team better is to introduce competition…challenge (everyone) to be at their very best. Will be at the core of everything we do.”"

When Cristobal was a player at Miami in the late 1980s and early 1990s and again as a coach in the late 1990s through the 2000s, the Hurricanes became elite it has frequently been said because of the competition on the Greentree Practice Fields. Diaz spoke about that but it didn’t happen frequently enough.

It’s clear that Cristobal is going to make the competition a priority in the Miami football program. Asked about his offensive and defensive philosophies and Van Dyke, Cristobal responded about the importance of building around your best players. Miami is expected to begin recruiting immediately under Cristobal.

Cristobal mentioned the importance of talent acquisition throughout the roster. Miami wants to close out the December 15 Early National Signing Period well before the traditional one in February. Cristobal stated he will speak to coaches on the current staff while allowing them to prepare for the Sun Bowl.

Miami will play Washington State on December 31 in El Paso. Defensive line coach Jess Simpson was named the interim head coach, Wide receivers coach Rob Likens will assume the play-calling with offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee accepting the head coaching job at SMU last week.