Report: Mario Cristobal Courted By Miami, Oregon Looks to Counter the Canes' Offer

Miami is fiercely pursuing Oregon football coach Mario Cristobal to become the next head coach of the Hurricanes football program, according to multiple sources.

The Miami Herald reported on Friday that Miami remains optimistic about its chances of hiring Cristobal over the coming days, with a potential announcement for its next coach coming before Tuesday. Cristobal, who was born and attended elementary school in Miami, played for the Hurricanes and won two national championships with the program.

Last weekend, he flew to Miami to visit his mother who he said is sick and not doing well, according to The Oregonian. Miami was expected to pitch Cristobal on a significant offer to become the Hurricanes next coach following the Oregon-Utah matchup in the Pac-12 championship game on Friday, according to The Athletic's Manny Navarro.

However, Miami has never paid a head coach more than $4 million per season.

As the Hurricanes look to reel in a high-profile coach, none of it might happened. Per the Athletic, if Cristobal turns down the Hurricanes, Miami will look to retain current head coach Manny Diaz, who has recorded a 21–15 record in three seasons, including a 7–5 mark this season.

While Miami remains in high pursuit, Oregon has reportedly put together a deal close to $7 million per season to counter Miami's deal, per Navarro. The Oregonian reported earlier Friday afternoon that Oregon had put together an "aggressive deal" on the lines of LSU's Brian Kelly and USC's Lincoln Riley. 

Cristobal is in his second year of a contract with Oregon that does not expire until their 2027 season. Currently, he makes $4.3 million plus $700,000 in incentives. If Oregon wins its third consecutive Pac-12 title, his incentives will increase to 1.2 million, according to The Register-Guard. 

On Thursday, Action Network HQ's Brett McMurphy tweeted that the program didn't know what it wanted to do about Diaz.

"They don’t know what they want to do with Manny [Diaz]. Half want him gone, half want him to stay," per McMurphy. 

Miami finished the season second in the ACC Coastal division behind Pitt. 

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