Miami hired former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal on Monday, it said, three hours after announcing it had fired Manny Diaz. Cristobal will join the Hurricanes on a 10-year contract worth $8 million per year, a source told The Athletic.
Cristobal's agreement with Miami also includes significant investments for support staff, assistant coaches and recruiting. Miami will have the highest budget for assistant coaches in the ACC, a source said.
Cristobal held a players-only meeting Monday to tell his Ducks team he's leaving for Miami, sources said. Oregon confirmed Cristobal's departure and announced plans for a nationwide head-coaching search. He's expected to arrive in Miami Monday night, with a news conference scheduled for Tuesday.
“My family and I are excited to return home to the University of Miami, which has been so instrumental in shaping me as a person, player, and coach,” Cristobal said in a statement. “This program has an unparalleled tradition and an exciting future ahead of it. I can’t wait to compete for championships and help mold our student-athletes into leaders on and off the field who will make our university, our community and our loyal fan base proud.”
A Miami native, Cristobal won two national championships with the Hurricanes as a player in 1989 and 1991, and he was an assistant coach at Miami. Cristobal, 51, coached six seasons at Florida International, going 27-47. He then went to Oregon, where he went 35-13 with two Pac-12 titles and a bowl qualification in each of his five seasons. The Ducks lost Friday to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game.
Diaz, 47, had a 21-15 record at Miami, including bowl appearances in his first two seasons and a qualification this year after going 7-5. Diaz and Miami began this season ranked 14th, but started 2-4 with the only wins coming in a 25-23 victory against Appalachian State and a 69-0 win against FCS Central Connecticut State. Diaz closed with wins in five of six games, including victories against ranked NC State and Pitt teams.
Diaz, a Miami native, was the school’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for three seasons before taking over as head coach after Mark Richt in 2019. Diaz was making $3.1 million.
Later Monday, Oregon star and defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux announced he was declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft and wouldn't play in the team's Dec. 29 matchup against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.
(Photo: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
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What was the deciding factor?
Manny Navarro, Miami beat writer: For Miami's administration, it was about making a run at the one coach it felt could take the football program to bigger heights. Either way, administrators told The Athletic, Miami was prepared to upgrade the infrastructure of the football program with top-notch assistants and coordinators, more analysts on staff and a strengthened recruiting department.
Ultimately for Cristobal, Miami has always been a dream job for him, and it's home. He just needed to be convinced Miami's administration was truly willing to financially back him, his assistants and the program.
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What it means for Miami to hire Cristobal
Matt Fortuna, national college football writer: It is finally worth asking the question: Is Miami back? Obviously, the Hurricanes need to prove it on the field first with Cristobal, but there is no underestimating how big this hire is for the school.
It’s a little reminiscent of Michigan landing Jim Harbaugh at the end of the 2014 season — no one thought it could happen, given the Wolverines’ dysfunction, but a combination of deft maneuvers behind the scenes, strong alma mater ties and, of course, money, made it happen.
What it means for Oregon
Fortuna: Here we go again. Oregon’s rise to consistent national prominence has often put the Ducks in the spotlight, but it has also left them searching for coaches all too often. This will be their fourth search since the end of the 2012 season. Two of the previous three ended up being promotions from within, and the one that wasn’t (Willie Taggart) ended up bolting after one year. This will likely be a national search, though, especially with offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead just taking the Akron head job.
This could be tough for the Ducks, who in some ways had free reign in the Pac-12 as the one program operating at a different level from everyone else recruiting-wise. That changes anyway with USC hiring Lincoln Riley (and Washington hiring Kalen DeBoer), but it makes the timing all the more difficult. Could a reunion with Chip Kelly be in the cards? Here’s guessing UCLA wouldn’t stand in the way of that happening.
Back where he belongs.
Welcome home, Coach Cristobal.
More: https://t.co/USw61qS59O pic.twitter.com/nAWNLE6dy9
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) December 6, 2021
The deal Mario Cristobal signed with Miami this morning is 10 years, $8 million per season with significant investments for support staff, assistant coaches, recruiting. Miami will have the highest assistant coaching pool in the ACC, a source said. @TheAthleticCFB
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) December 6, 2021
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