‘It’s showtime’ for new coach
Cristobal has championship hopes for ’Canes
Mario Cristobal ended a whirlwind week that began in Oregon and ended with him being introduced Tuesday morning as the Miami Hurricanes’ next football coach, and he exhaled deeply.
“Wow, where to start?” he said. “Start by saying I’m honored and humbled.”
The onetime Miami offensive lineman looked out into the crowd of a few hundred people at the Carol Soffer Center on UM’s campus and saw familiar people.
“I look across here and I see offensive linemen,’’ he said. He pointed to Bryant McKinnie, Brett Romberg and Joaquin Gonazlez sitting together and offered old stories about them, about growing up, dehydrating on two-a-days and winning with them.
“I say this because I talk about building a championship program,’’ he said. “It all starts with work.”
His voice began rising, his tone adopting the desire for Miami to return to the kind of program it used be, back when he played and worked as an assistant coach.
“We’ve got to get there, and it’s going to take everybody and I can’t wait,’’ he said. “I’ll try to calm down a
little. It’s not game day yet.”
Changes are obvious since Cristobal was at UM previously. The practice field he worked on is now grounds of the indoor practice center. The program he won a national championship with as a player and assistant coach now can’t win its side of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Miami President Julio Frenk said hiring Cristobal wasn’t made with the past in mind, but “on the bold vision for the future.”
Cristobal’s introduction was dotted with Miami names past and present. He chatted with current starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke before the news conference.
Board of Trustee members and administration officials watched the proceedings. So did one other former UM offensive tackle: Cristobal’s older brother, Luis.
The tone of the day was struck as the new era was introduced.
“We’re here to welcome home, Mario Cristobal,’’ said Hurricanes broadcast voice Don Bailey when he introduced Cristobal.
Cristobal talked about being home, saying: “I’m 51 years old, and as I walk through here this morning, the things that come back to mind as if it was just yesterday.”
He said he hopes everyone is ready to work. “It’s showtime,’’ he said.
Bowl game plans
With former coach Manny Diaz in the rearview mirror and Cristobal wrapping things up at Oregon, defensive line coach Jess Simpson will act as head coach for the Hurricanes for their Dec. 31 matchup with Washington State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
Receivers coach Rob Likens will run the offense and call the plays after the departure of UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to be head coach at SMU.
The game starts at noon and will be televised on CBS.