Photo: Miami Gave Mario Cristobal a Tiny Jersey During Intro Press Conference
After a wild week, Miami introduced Mario Cristobal as its next football coach. Cristobal makes the jump over to his alma mater after five seasons at Oregon, with the last four as head coach. The No. 1 Hurricanes jersey he was given to celebrate the occasion was a bit . . . lacking.
Cristobal, a member of the 1989 and '91 Miami national championship teams, is a former offensive tackle. After a brief professional career, he entered coaching in the late 1990s. While he's no longer at his playing size, he's still 6' 5", and looked pretty ridiculous holding what looks like a child-size jersey.
Luckily, it looks like another member of the Cristobal family should be able to enjoy it. One of Cristobal's two sons was handed the jersey after the press conference ended.
Cristobal takes over at his alma mater, where he's previously served on staff on two separate occasions.
In 1998, he took on his first coaching role as a graduate assistant at The U. After a three-year stint at Rutgers, he returned in 2004, coaching tight ends and eventually offensive line.
Cristobal had a successful run as head coach at FIU, another FBS program in Miami, from 2007–12 before being controversially fired by the school. He rebounded with assistant gigs under Nick Saban at Alabama, and at Oregon, where he returned to the head coaching ranks in 2018.
His move to Miami is not without controversy though. The school, which remains without an athletic director, was courting Cristobal before officially letting go of Manny Diaz. That move was made just before Cristobal-to-Miami became official on Monday.
Cristobal heads to Miami with a 62–60 record at FIU and Oregon.
More College Football Coverage:
