Mario Cristobal was named the No. 11 best head coach nationally in a ranking of the Top 25 by Ari Wasserman of On3. In his summary of Cristobal in his article "Top 25 College Football Head Coaches in 2025" Wasserman summarized each of the top 25 head coaches.
In his summary of Cristobal, Wasserman praised him for building programs with Miami and Oregon, that the Hurricanes have improved in each of his three seasons and that Cristobal knows how to attract talent. Wasserman also acknowledged the criticisms of Cristobal's in-game management.
After a 10-3 season where they nearly earned a College Football Playoff berth Wasserman stated "Though it’s hard to imagine Miami is better next year than it was this past year, the Hurricanes have great offensive and defensive fronts." Wasserman also acknowledged the addition of Carson Beck and secondary upgrades for 2025.
"Cristobal’s presence has been a net positive at the places he’s coached" was the final conclusion by Wasserman. Miami was 21-15 in three seasons under Manny Diaz preceding Cristobal. In the three under Cristobal Miami is 22-16. Cristobal has significantly upgraded the recruiting and talent acquisition.
NEW: Top 25 College Football Head Coaches via @AriWasserman👀
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Cristobal helped rescue the 2022 Miami class that was ranked in the seventies when he was hired in December 2021. Miami wound up signing the 16th-ranked 2022 class in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. In the first three full classes signed under Cristobal Miami has finished seventh, fourth and 13th nationally.
Miami has added the top transfer quarterback in each of the past two seasons, Cam Ward in 2024 and Carson Beck in 2025. An inconsistent defense prevented Miami from making the College Football Playoff this season, Cristobal probably needs to lead Miami to the CFB next season to validate his ranking as the 11th best College Football head coach.
Cristobal has an 84-76 overall record as a head coach. In addition to Miami, Cristobal was 27-47 in six seasons at Florida International and 35-13 in four seasons at Oregon. FIU was the 2010 Sun Belt Co-Champions and won the Pac 12 in 2019 including a Rose Bowl victory and in 2020.