Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal was named as one of seven “College football coaches who could most improve their stock in 2022” by Brad Crawford of 247 Sports. Cristobal has created a lot of buzz around the Miami football program in 2022 since being hired from Oregon in December.
The future of Cristobal’s career will be tied to the success of the Miami football program. Miami is ranked in the top 25 in several early-season rankings. Week three will be the first barometer of the 2022 season when Miami plays at Texas A&M. A November 19 game at Clemson will also be on the national radar.
Miami will likely be a co-favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division with Pittsburgh in the first season with Cristobal as the head coach. Winning the Coastal would be a big accomplishment for the Miami football program that has won only one division title since joining the ACC for the 2004 season.
After Clemson finished 10-3 in 2021 and didn’t win qualify for the ACC Championship Game there is some speculation that the ACC could be more competitive in 2022. The expectations for the Miami football program will be raised with Cristobal and the staff he has hired. Crawford posed his own questions for the Hurricanes.
"MARIO CRISTOBAL, MIAMICan Mario Cristobal win a conference championship in Year 1 with the Hurricanes? That’s pushing it, but Miami certainly has a roster capable of winning the Coastal Division and at least challenging the victor from the other side of the league for a title.We’re not putting the cart before the horse here when we say this program has a title mentality and you could argue no “new” coach nationally assembled a more impressive staff than Cristobal in Coral Gables.Cristobal won multiple Pac-12 titles at Oregon through roster building and should be able to maximize his recruiting efforts in short order in a hotbed like South Florida.Coaches tout their returning quarterback all the time as a way of building confidence, but when Cristobal said he believes Miami has the best signal caller in college football with Tyler Van Dyke, he meant it.Not questioning Van Dyke’s leadership strengths here, but comments like that motivate players to improve considering the lofty expectation level. Van Dyke played in 10 games last season, completing 62.3 percent of his throws for 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.In Josh Gattis’ offense, he’ll improve on that production and should receive late-season Heisman buzz if the Hurricanes are in the mix as a team ranked inside the top 25."
Van Dyke will be part of the foundation the Miami football team will be built on in the first season under Cristobal. In addition to new offensive coordinator Gattis, Cristobal hired c0-defensive coordinators Kevin Steele and Charlie Strong. Gattis won the Broyles Award as the best assistant coach in college football in 2022.
Steele and Strong have over 70 years of experience as football coaches combined. Cristobal was also able to hire defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae away from Georgia. The new coaching staff has received a lot of praise nationally. Cristobal led Oregon to Pac 12 North and Conference titles in his third season with the Ducks.
In five seasons at Oregon, Cristobal led the Ducks to a 35-13 record, two Pac 12 North titles, two conference titles and a Rose Bowl win. Cristobal has proven to be an elite recruiter. With the talent available in South Florida, Cristobal and his staff should be able to build an elite roster. Expect Cristbol to improve his 2022 stock.