Mario Cristobal wants to make it clear. The 'U' is not back and the 2025 Miami Hurricanes want to create their own legacy.
It's a simple statement whenever a Miami Hurricanes team gets off to a fast start. And while some coaches in the past (Mark Richt, Manny Diaz) have embraced "the U is back" talk, Cristobal is looking forward while still recognizing the past.
I asked Mario Cristobal about the phrase "The U is back." He was great.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) September 23, 2025
"It's nostalgia theater in this country. Everyone wants to go back, back, back. Well, we don't want to go back, we want to go forward and take the principles of that brand of football and take it forward." pic.twitter.com/S7tNZuIGo0
"Back during that time, Miami was so damn good and also irritated a lot of people with their style of play and what not," Cristobal said. "It was like a special place in time that is, like, ingrained in everybody's head with the memories of some really dominant play...and some arrogant moments... Those guys are iconic in so many ways."
Cristobal speaks of those days with fondness because he was part of that machine. He played at Miami from 1989-1992 winning national titles in 1989 and 1991 under Dennis Erickson. Cristobal understands the desire to get back to the success of those times, but the 2025 team is going to do it their way.
"It's nostalgia theater in this country. Everyone wants to go back, back, back. Well, we don't want to go back, we want to go forward. We want to take the principles and values of that brand of football and want to take it forward," Cristobal added. "And the guys that played here, they want that too. Because the games are coming back to practice and coming back to games, they are providing awesome mentorship and all they are talking about is moving forward."
The U is in Cristobal's blood, but his style emulates Nick Saban
In many ways, Cristobal is the best of both worlds. He understands and appreciates what "The U" means to so many fans both on the field and from a cultural standpoint. But as coach, he got his start with Butch Davis and really cut his teeth working for Greg Schiano at Rutgers in the mid-2000s and later under Nick Saban from 2013-2017.
He is Miami born and bred, a graduate of Columbus High School, so Cristobal lived the Hurricanes culture. But as a coach, he took on the much more serious approach of Davis, Schiano and especially Saban.
Saban is the ultimate "look forward" coach. A week after Alabama won a national title, Saban was already thinking about the next team and the new challenges that lied ahead. Cristobal wants the 2025 Hurricanes to have an identity exclusive to them and next season he'll want the same with the 2026 team.
It's a new day and a new "U".