CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - The University of Miami is gearing up to welcome their new head coach, but it’s not the first time he’s wearing the team’s colors.
Mario Cristobal has reunited with his old team.
University officials, alumni and former players made Cristobal’s announcement more of an event than a press conference.
Cristobal was named the 26th head coach of the UM football program.
It has come full circle for Cristobal who was born and raised in Miami. He attended Columbus High School, played and coached at the U. He became head coach at Florida International University, then assistant coach at Alabama. He spent the last four years in Oregon as head coach of the Ducks.
He won two national championships with Oregon.
Cristobal said he wants to return the Canes to a national level where teams fear playing the U.
“So, how ’bout them Canes, huh,” Cristobal said. “How ’bout them Canes? We want to make sure that the program here is always a program that you can be proud of, for the right reasons. A program of relentless competitors, always a team that nobody wants to play, that’s what we wanna be. Guys, we are Miami. We are the U, and every time you hear that, every time you see that on a shirt, on a commercial, at a game, that’s gotta mean everything.”
He said further, “The moment you put on that uniform and you play and you invest the world into that, it’s different. It’s different, and just saying that’s not enough. You gotta show them what you do.”
He also expressed that the decision to come back home was an opportunity of a lifetime.
“It’s heart wrenching because of people, and look at what I learned here, was implemented over there. When you value people that value you back and it’s time to say goodbye. If it’s not heart wrenching, it wasn’t real,” said Cristobal.
Cristobal emphasized that it will be a process to put UM back on the international map.
He signed a 10-year deal worth $80 million.
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