During a Monday online meeting with reporters, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit looked back at his comments in September about the Miami football program. Many believe the comments by Herbstreit spurred change for the Hurricanes. Herbstreit questioned if the Miami Hurricanes had a unified vision.
The original comments were made in response to a column from Barry Jackson in the Miami Herald. Herbstreit told reporters he received a call from Miami athletic director Blake James and people on the board. The former Ohio State quarterback has been outspoken about the importance of Miami to college football.
Herbstreit called several Miami games in the early 2000s when he was the primary analyst on Thursday night games on ESPN while also appearing on College GameDay on Saturday. The expectation from Herbstreit and his GameDay colleagues was that Miami has to commit more money to the football program.
Brad Crawford of 247 Sports and Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald participated in the Zoom call with Herbstreit and quoted his thoughts from Monday. Herbstreit appeared on the zoom meeting to preview the College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl on Friday.
"“I don’t ever like to credit for anything, I’ll just tell you I had a lot of conversations after I made those comments and they were heartfelt…I didn’t have an axe to grind. I like Miami. I’ve always had a spot for their program. What I said came from my heart because I want to see them have a chance to be competitive.I got a lot of calls from the athletic director, people on the board…people reached out and thanked me for what I said. If it helped propel change, especially when it comes to funding, then great. Mario did reach out. Him and I talked before his presser. He was on the plane. I’m fired up for him. He’s a great coach. He lived it.”Nobody knows it better than a guy who lived it…As much as I’m a fan of Manny, you can’t make up for a guy who’s part of the program and played on great teams…I like Miami’…I grew up in the ‘80s when Miami was Miami and got close to their program in ‘01, ‘02, ‘03…I got to know the [program’s] personality and really [had] a different way of respecting it. So, I’ve always had kind of a [soft] spot for their program. What I said came from my heart, because I want to see them have a chance to be competitive.’’"
The commitment to paying Cristobal beginning with an $8 million 2022 salary and proving him with the highest salary pool for assistants in the ACC is a change in position for the Miami athletic department. Hiring Dan Radakovich to replace James as AD is another commitment by the Miami athletic department.
Radakovic could reportedly earn as much as $3 million per year with incentives. Paying the two most important people over $10 million per year is a shift in attitude from the Miami board of trustees. Miami President Julio Frenk who is from Mexico is starting to understand the importance of football for the Miami Hurricanes.
The hiring of Cristobal will at the least give Miami an immediate boost. Miami fans seem to be more interested in buying 2022 season tickets with Cristobal as the new head coach. Generating more income will help the Miami Hurricanes football program, athletic department and university overall.
Radakovich has stated you cannot market your way to a full stadium. When Miami wins, they draw and have one of the best crowds in college football, especially at night. Herbstreit has stated in the past about the uniqueness of night games in Miami. The 2022 season gives the Miami fanbase a lot of hope.