Mario Cristobal made Miami replace the turnover chain with championship expectations

Not every idea for a tradition is built to last. Some are simply trends that are fun for a little while, but don't fit what the program needs. Case in point, the turnover chain.

As we continue with anti-traditions week, it's noted that even the Miami Hurricanes had traditions that looked good at the time, but had to be dumped because they weren't up to the standard of what's expected. The turnover chain was something that came from Manny Diaz's time as head coach of the Hurricanes, and it was dumped by Mario Cristobal almost immediately after he took the job. 

Cristobal's message to the Miami players was clear — if you want to wear jewelry, win some championships.

READ MORE: Mario Cristobal has to keep collecting wins and trophies to finally silence the doubters

Mario Cristobal had no choice but to end the turnover chain tradition

When Cristobal took the job in 2022, he declared the turnover chain dead and said it was not part of the Miami football culture. Cristobal played under Dennis Erickson from 1989-92, the peak of "The U" culture, so he had a front-row seat to the flashy style of the Hurricanes during that era. But as a coach, Cristobal is much more like his mentors — Butch Davis, Greg Schiano and, of course, Nick Saban. These are no-nonsense guys that emphasize hard work, discipline and winning.

In Cristobal's mind, the turnover chain didn't put winning at the forefront. Whereas fans saw players get excited over creating turnovers and coming together as a team to celebrate a big play, Cristobal saw players taking unnecessary risks and leaving the defense vulnerable to big plays because they weren't playing proper assignment football. 

And Miami wasn't winning. The Hurricanes went 21-15 under Diaz in three seasons. Cristobal has led Miami to 23 wins in the past two seasons and the Hurricanes were a few plays away from a CFP championship ring — the ultimate goal. 

The turnover chain took college football by storm until it didn't

The original chain was a large Cuban link that had the iconic "U" logo. Later versions had a jewel-encrusted Miami helmet and jewel-encrusted design of Sebastian, the Hurricanes' Ibis bird mascot. This was great for merchandise sales and promotion. Nearly every Miami fan had a turnover chain shirt or replica piece of jewelry. 

And there were imitators...a lot of them. Whenever Miami does something, it seems like other schools have to follow in some fashion. That included Oregon State with its turnover chainsaw or FSU's embarrassing turnover backpack. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this was too much.

So Cristobal ended it and college football followed suit. Those times were fun, and it's not surprising to see some fans still wearing their turnover chain shirts at games. But the Miami football program has moved on and switched its focus back to the important task of winning. 

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