Canzano: Miami is waiting on Mario Cristobal … but Oregon has its arms around him
Updated: Dec. 03, 2021, 10:53 a.m. | Published: Dec. 03, 2021, 9:50 a.m.
No. 10 Oregon at UCLA
Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal has two straight Pac-12 championships. He shoots for a third today in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP
By John Canzano | The Oregonian/OregonLive
LAS VEGAS — The University of Miami is a fighting mess right now. The Board of Trustees is divided but pulled together plans to interview athletic director candidates on Thursday and again today. After that, maybe it will hire a new head football coach. Or maybe not.
Which bring us to Clara Cristobal’s youngest son — Mario.
He was born in Miami, went to elementary school there, learned to drive his first car there and when it came time to pick a college he stayed home and became a Hurricane. Just last weekend Mario flew across the country in a rush to visit his mother who he said is sick and not doing well.
Cristobal arrived back in Eugene after the brief visit and said: “She’s fighting. That’s the best way to say it, and that’s exactly what I expected to see out of her. We’re going to go day-by-day.”
Oregon will play Utah today in the Pac-12 Championship game. Cristobal, 51, appears focused on the job he has to do. He pointed out that his mother, who instilled hard-scrabble work ethic and values in her children, would have wanted him to be with his team. She’d have told him to do the job to the best of his abilities and he always listened to his mother so that’s just what he’s doing.
Still, one source close to Cristobal told me late Thursday night, “The mom issue is rough. They’re very close and he’s struggling.”
It puts the football in perspective doesn’t it?
Miami may need a football coach in the coming days. If there’s a vacancy boosters in South Florida will undoubtedly pool resources and aim at some point to attempt to bring Cristobal home. I’m told by a source that Miami plans to attempt to talk with Cristobal and his agent after tonight’s championship game.
“They are going after Mario,” the source said.
I’m just not sold the Ducks coach would abandon what he’s built in four seasons at Oregon. He’s climbed three quarters of the way up the College Football Playoff mountain. His two children and wife, Jessica, by all accounts appear to love living in Eugene. Unless I’m reading it all wrong I can’t see Cristobal doing an about-face and descending to the bottom of that mountain so he can start the task over — even at Miami.
Would the UO coach maybe leave in three or five seasons? Sure, maybe if he’d hit the ceiling at Oregon or circumstances changed. What if Nick Saban retires and the Alabama job opens in a year or three? Yup. I’d bet AD Greg Byrne would have Cristobal on his short list. I’d even help the guy pack. But right now I’m all-in on the idea that Cristobal won’t do what Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly did this week to their universities.
Miami may be waiting on Cristobal today but I think it will always be there.
Instead, I think Cristobal will maniacally focus on beating Utah and ushering the Ducks to another Rose Bowl. Then, I suspect he’ll shift directions and jump on a private charter from Las Vegas and get to his mother’s side as quickly as he can. While all that’s going on I’m thinking Oregon AD Rob Mullens is playing some good defense. I haven’t been able to confirm this yet but I’m told the Ducks may already have a contract extension in front of Cristobal.
Conspiracy theorists noted on Thursday night that a flight plan was filed for a private charter from Miami to Las Vegas. It very could be a bachelor party or some whale who just likes to play roulette on The Strip every weekend. I received several inquiries from nervous boosters who noted the flight plan and wondered if the Hurricanes are planning to pounce on the Ducks’ coach with a hard sales pitch and a blank check should Oregon lose to Utah.
Coaches talk about family all the time in sports. They use it in recruiting and team building. I’m left thinking a little bit about how that extends to an entire university community. Utah, which had two players die in less than a year, is a wonderful example of that. The Utes pulled together, not just as a team but as a university community this season. It’s been a galvanizing ride to the title game for that program. Perspective is a powerful thing.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot going on today across the field for Oregon, isn’t there?
Cristobal’s mother is battling. Her son is thinking on her while trying to capture his third-straight Pac-12 title. His alma mater’s football program is splintered in pieces and looking in his direction for glue. The boosters at Miami are desperate and nobody seems to know who is in charge right now. Amid that, Oregon has to be focused on trying to put its arms around its football coach.
Not in some attempt to keep him in Eugene. But because it needs to let him know it’s there.
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