Two coaching agents criticize Mario Cristobal and Miami football program

In an article in The Athletic via Saturday’s Out West, Mario Cristobal and the Miami football program were criticized. Cristobal was criticized for leaving Oregon for Miami. Miami was criticized for hiring Cristobal. Among the criticisms called into question were the resources Miami has and the recruiting ability for Cristobal.

In four seasons at Oregon, Cristobal was 35-13 overall and 23-9 in the Pac 12. Oregon won two Pac 12 Championships and North Division titles under Cristobal. Cristobal was the 2019 Pac 12 Coach of the Year. Oregon signed an average of the 10.5 best recruiting class under Cristobal.

The consensus opinion has been that Cristobal is an elite recruiter. Leaving Oregon for Miami will give Cristobal closer access to elite recruits. South Florida has consistently produced the most talent of any area in the country. Miami should be able to average a top 10 recruiting class with Cristobal as the head coach.

Cristobal inherited a 2022 class that was ranked in the seventies. Miami finished with the 16th best class in the 2022 247 Sports composite rankings. Cristobal was also called into question for Oregon getting blown out by Utah twice last season. The agent clearly felt Oregon underachieved in 2021.

"“I don’t know if (Cristobal) is necessarily the guy you should be afraid of. Like, what has he done that’s been so great? Everybody talks about how good of a recruiter he is. How come he didn’t have a quarterback outside (of inheriting) Justin Herbert?How come he gets out-coached by Kyle Whittingham two out of three games in the fall? You have the athletes. There’s going to be like three first-round picks from that team? How come you’re losing to Stanford and Utah twice? I wouldn’t be afraid in recruiting. I think it’s wide-open in that state.”"

Saturday’s Out West quoted another agent in The Athletic responding to a question about which college football program made the worst coaching hire for 2022. The agent answered that Miami made a great move hiring Cristobal, but that Cristobal would have been better positioned for success at Oregon.

"“I think that Miami made a great hire in Mario, but I’m not sure if Mario Cristobal made a great move in going from Oregon to Miami. I think that Oregon is substantially better positioned because of Phil Knight and Nike and their infrastructure to be successful over the long horizon of what college sports may look like over the next decade than Miami.He’s basically in a rebuilding situation at Miami, and at an institution that has resources but will never have the same resources or fan support that Oregon has.”"

Cristobal recently spoke about the upgrades proposed for the Miami football program. Miami has been a leader in Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for athletes during the 2022 offseason. Cristobal had led the Miami football program to add 11 transfers for the 2022 season. NIL and the transfer portal will be critical in the future.

Miami is also committing to upgrading the nearly four-year-old Soffer Indoor Practice Facility. Amenities in practice facilities and living arrangements at athletic dorms will likely not be as important as NIL opportunities and transfers over the “long horizon of what college football looks like in the next decade.”