Jan 19, 2026
3 min read
Ahead of the biggest game of his career, Cristobal decided to look at the positives.His exit from the FIU helped him enter the door of history.
MIAMI - This isn't the first time Mario Cristobal has come home to lead a local team to glory.The way it ends is part of what makes this so sweet.
Nineteen years ago, Cristobal became the second head coach of Florida International University, a brand new football program located right next door to his alma mater, the University of Miami.After taking FIU to unprecedented heights in his first five years, Cristobal was fired after one offseason, a decision that shocked fans and other coaches at the time.
Since World War II, only three head coaches of major college football teams have been fired and won a national championship with another program.Lou Holtz, Gene Stallings, and Ed Orgeron.Cristobal could become that fourth player if the Hurricanes knock off top-seeded Indiana in the College Football Playoff title game on Monday.
"You can't see clearly when something like this happens, especially when you invest every waking moment of your life into it," Cristobal said this week of his firing."But I thank God he did."
Cristobal took over at FIU in late 2006 at the age of 36, the first Cuban-American coach in the history of the Football Subdivision.The program is still new to the FBS level and is coming off an 0-12 season, and will later be affected by the previous administration's NCAA decision.With little financial support, Cristobal has to make sure the program is on top of faculty, tuition, budgeting, travel and more.It is learning and teaching on the fly.
"We literally had to do everything," said Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield, who spent two years as Cristobal's offensive coordinator."He did a great job of that. And he was ahead of his time in recruiting."
In 2010, Cristobal's fourth year at the helm, FIU won the Sun Belt Championship.In his fifth year, the Golden Panthers went 8-5.Receiver T.Y.Hilton was selected in the third round of the NFL draft.Cristobal received significant interest from Pitt and Rutgers for the head coaching job after the 2011 season, but decided to stay home.
"Mario pushed the envelope in the way we needed to do things for these players," said Juan Lozano, who spent a year as Cristobal's director of football operations."Mario sees where college football is going. He has to spend a lot of time and energy to keep the boat afloat."
But after a 3-9 season in 2012 in which FIU lost 51 games, athletic director Pete Garcia fired Cristobal.
"It drives us both every day," said former FIU coach Alex Mirabal, who now has the same role at Miami."Not to prove them wrong, but to prove us right."
At the time, there were rumors that Garcia wanted to hire old friend Butch Davis as head coach.Davis, then a consultant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, conducted an investigation into the program while Cristobal was still the head coach.Garcia hired Ron Turner to replace him, firing him four years later and hiring Davis.
Garcia, who resigned in 2021, did not respond to a request for comment.
Cristobal went to Alabama, where Nick Saban coached the offense for four years and won a national championship.Then in 2017, he moved to Oregon as Willie Taggart's offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.The move surprised the FIU seniors because Cristobal's FIU team and Taggart's team from Western Kentucky had been involved in several football battles throughout the day.putting it in the past and working for Taggart is a sign of stability.
"It was unbelievable to me," Lozano said."He let bygones be bygones."
A year later, Taggart left for a job at Florida State, and there Cristobal, a former head coach, was ready to return to the role.
"I've always been stubborn," Cristobal said."Sometimes if you're not moving and God wants you to move, He'll kick you so you can move. For whatever reason, that's how it works, and it's a blessing."
Cristobal led Oregon to two Pac-12 championships and a Rose Bowl victory in 2019. After the 2021 season, he called home again.A real home this time.Miami is willing to pay Cristobal $9 million in Oregon, and give him personnel and financial resources like Miami has never had before.
This time there will be no need for Cristobal to speak to the provost personally.He may have better coaching abilities.Much of the current Miami staff was with Cristóbal at FIU, including Mirabal, general manager Dennis Smith and analysts Mike Cassano and Juan Navarro Jr. Both at FIU and in Miami, Cristobal provided opportunities to Spanish coaches.
"He worked really hard at FIU because he comes from the (Cuban) culture of not wanting to give up an opportunity, and when it's taken away from you, it's hard to win," said Lozano, who now works as an agent for Red Envelope Sports."The fact that he got to do that, really, I'm proud of him."
Lozano sees Cristobal's journey as a lesson for other coaches.Cristobal gained experience as a head coach and was less likely to make mistakes.He was fired, but he was ready when the second chance came.
"These little jobs are about finding out who you are as a coach," Lozano said."It's a lesson to get back on your feet. I'm also worried about coaches who rush to become head coaches again. When you go back to being an assistant, you realize what you could have done differently. You need space to think."
Cristóbal is still very upset about how it ended at FIU and is encouraged not to let it happen again.But days before the big game of his coaching career, he decided to look good.It made him make history.
"He's tough," Mirabal said."He's smooth. He's determined. Just like this football team."
