A special day 35 years in the making for Mario Cristobal and his family at The U

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Like the sons of most Cuban exiles who settled into Miami after Fidel Castro took everything from them, and pushed them out of their homes, Lou Cristobal and his younger brother, Mario, grew up with baseballs in their blood and bats in their hands.

They played at Flagami Park, not far from the home their parents, Louis and Clara, bought off Coral Way and 67th Avenue in Westchester a lifetime ago. Lou pitched for the Florida Lions, a travel team that made it all the way to Oklahoma City, where the team almost won nationals.

“The whole football thing came about after we got to Columbus (High School) — because our parents never allowed us to play football. Plus, we were too big,” said Lou, a 53-year-old sergeant of nearly 30 years for Miami-Dade County Police, who supervises a street crime suppression team that cracks down on narcotic sales, robberies and burglaries.

“I weighed 180 pounds in third grade,” he continued. “Mario was big, too. He was long and always had those long levers. Real good athlete, heck of a baseball player. He was a catcher. Baseball was everything. Then we got to Columbus and all we wanted to do was play football. Our parents finally conceded. Coach Dennis Lavelle was one of our greatest mentors, coach (Fred) Foyo, our offensive line coach. Those men had great impacts in our lives.”

As fate would have it, Miami Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson and offensive coordinator Gary Stevens eventually found themselves in the middle of the Cristobal living room in February 1986 with a scholarship offer for the 6-4, 236-pound eldest child.

“I committed right there on the spot,” Lou said. “My parents looked at me and were like ‘We’re gonna talk about this or not?’ I said, I’m not going anywhere. I had Ivy League offers. A Cuban kid in Boston? What am I gonna do up there with no black beans and rice?

“I remember them telling Mario, we’ll be back in two years for you. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Emotions run high

That’s how the Cristobal family first made its way to UM 35 years ago.

On Tuesday, the fourth chapter in the story (he was a graduate assistant and assistant after he was a player at Miami) began. It started with Mario, 51, standing at the podium, giving Hurricanes fans — and his former teammates — chills with the emotions that poured out of him. He was on the verge of tears a few times. His wife, Jessica, held them back, too.

Cristobal signed a 10-year, $80 million deal on Monday to replace Manny Diaz as coach. He has been promised resources no other coach in Miami has been given — including more money for assistants than any school in the ACC — and is expected to deliver results.

His spine-tingling sermon Tuesday, where he used words like resilience, toughness and physicality and spoke about pouring himself completely into building a program that opponents fear once again, resonated. It spoke about how much he wants to help Miami win.

“I want to be around guys who can’t live without football,” he said. “I feel more driven, more motivated than at any point in my life.”

Mario Cristobal is still in his suit from earlier today and at Miami Central watching 2022 4-star LB #Canes commit Wesley Bissainthe practice with 6 Miami assistants @DBWilson2 says.
I'm told Cristobal is on his way for an in-home visit w/ 4-star DB Earl Little next.
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) December 7, 2021

Miami hasn’t won a conference championship since joining the ACC in 2004, and has only played for it once. Yet Cristobal knows there’s enough talent on the roster — and in the surrounding fertile recruiting area of South Florida — to win more than that.

“When The U is on and The U brings it, there’s nothing like it,” he said.

That put smiles on the faces of former Canes Jon Beason, Bryant McKinnie, Joaquin Gonzalez, Brett Romberg, Greg Mark, Brian Monroe and president Julio Frenk, who tasked Rudy Fernandez, his Chief of Staff, and Joe Echevarria, the CEO of Miami’s UHealth program, with evaluating the athletic department after the Hurricanes got off to a 2-4 start this season. Fernandez and Echavarria spearheaded the changes.

“You could see everybody here, you got 60-, 70-year-old people that are sitting on the edge of their chairs, getting motivated to accomplish something here,” said Romberg, Miami’s center on the Hurricanes’ last national championship team in 2001. “We not only needed a motivator but a guy that’s going to hold everybody accountable. I think that it’s not going to just be in a locker room, I think he’s going to be holding the whole building accountable, which is awesome.

“You’re not going to hear any of us (former Canes complaining) in the media. There’s just no possible rhyme or reason why we would because we’re basically calling ourselves out at that point. Because Mario is ultimately an extension of us and how we built the program up.”

Diaz rallied Miami to a 7-5 finish and had players playing hard for him. But he doesn’t have what Cristobal does: the DNA of a guy who poured his blood on Greentree practice field and was coached by Johnson or Dennis Erickson. Diaz spent his youth in the stands at the Orange Bowl cheering on the Hurricanes. Cristobal was on the field. He’s in the 30-for-30 videos and has the rings.

“That definitely resonates differently in the locker room,” one Miami staffer said.

“Just talking to some of the current players after they spoke to him this morning, they realize what they have in him,” Gonzalez said. “This guy is as genuine as it comes. To have him here is just surreal. I woke up this morning and I can’t believe he’s here. This is it.”

Fernandez and Echevarria pursued Cristobal hard, and they are on the verge of hiring Clemson’s Dan Radakovich to be the program’s next athletic director. Once Radakovich is done talking to Cristobal, and if the two see eye-to-eye about the future, Radakovich is expected to sign a $2 million per year deal with Miami that will make him one of the highest-paid athletic directors in college sports.

The building blocks are growing. Cristobal is bringing a new offensive line coach with him from Oregon, Alex Mirabal, his best friend who played alongside him at Columbus. Aaron Feld, Oregon’s strength coach known for his handlebar mustache, could also be coming.

“We will bring in the best staff,” Cristobal said. “Coaching staff-wise, some really good coaches here — interview them, they deserve that respect. You always want to get a staff in place as soon as possible while respecting the processes going on — preparation for a bowl game against Washington State. Those things are hard to juggle.”

In the meantime, he knows he has some exciting young players to work with, including quarterback Tyler Van Dyke.

“There’s not a better quarterback in the country,” he said. “Anyone that watches our quarterback work, you can’t help but be excited.”

Mario Cristobal speaks with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and offensive lineman John Campbell Jr. before a press conference introducing Cristobal as Miami’s new coach. (Mark Brown / Getty Images)

What are fair expectations?

“I think it’s going to be two years before we’re in the playoffs — top four,” Romberg said. “Obviously, winning all the major games we need to win is the first thing, playing for a conference championship. Just looking where we’re at right now, and somewhat the fall of Clemson, the lack of competitive football programs in the state, I think we’re on the right track to winning a conference championship. The stars might align for that.”

After his press conference, Cristobal immediately hit the recruiting trail. He was at Miami Central watching four-star linebacker commitment Wesley Bissainthe practice in person with six assistants and was scheduled to make in-home visits at night with four-star defensive end Nyjalik Kelly of Fort Lauderdale Dillard and four-star defensive back Earl Little Jr. He’s scheduled to be on a flight Wednesday morning for Texas.

Homeward bound

It certainly wasn’t easy for Cristobal to give up what he built at Oregon, and the support he had from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and athletic director Rob Mullens. He made that clear in his introductory speech Tuesday.

But the 3,200 miles distance between Eugene, Ore., and Miami always made things difficult for him and his wife, Jessica, a self-described army brat who was born in Germany but spent a large chunk of her life after college in South Florida. Her parents and sister now live in Georgia.

“It was very tough because he’s a man of loyalty,” Jessica said of Mario’s decision to leave Oregon. “His principles are very old school and very pure, and his heart is pure. He forged some very valuable relationships there with Phil Knight and Rob Mullens. He respects them so much. He didn’t want to betray anyone. This was just an opportunity he couldn’t pass (up). There were so many components to making this happen. His mother being ill was a huge part of it. His family being here was a huge part of it. Family is really important for us. This was just a huge moment we had to take.”

Jessica met Mario in 2005 on South Beach when he was Miami’s tight ends coach. She has been in advertising and marketing and was the publisher of Brooklyn Magazine and Key Biscayne. They fell in love, and she agreed to follow him where he went.

But Miami was always in their heart. In September, for Cristobal’s 51st birthday, she had food from Joe’s Stone Crab airmailed out to Eugene to surprise him.

Jessica said she’s looking forward to being able to go to concerts in Miami, spending time at the beach, and taking their sons, Mario Mateo, 11, and Rocco, 10, to Heat and Panthers games.

She’s also looking forward to taking vacations to other cities. Anytime they had free time in Oregon, Jessica said, the Cristobals would fly back to Miami and Georgia to see family.

Mario calls Jessica his best friend and “the MVP of the house.”

During his press conference, Cristobal said he’s proud his boys will finally get to be around his “Canes” family.

“You’re going to love it,” he told them.

Cristobal’s wife, Jessica, poses with their sons, Mario Mateo, 11, and Rocco, 10. (Manny Navarro / The Athletic)

After Tuesday’s press conference — and lots of reintroductions with the media, Miami players, administrators and the like — Mario grabbed a football and played catch with his sons.

His big brother, Lou, Lou’s wife, and their kids, soaked in the moment.

“Life and destiny are a funny thing. We’re not even capable of understanding God’s plan,” said Lou, who played briefly with Phil Sims and Lawrence Taylor and the New York Giants.

“I’m happy with my life, and I’m super happy for him.”

Back in the 1980s during the summers, when Lou, a Dolphins fan, and Mario, a die-hard Steelers fan, weren’t bickering over their favorite teams, they spent their free time working at their father’s car battery and electric business in Hialeah.

They collected scrap metal with their grandfather and made a little money.

Their father died in 1996. He was married 30 years to their mother, Clara. She’s now 81 and battling illness in a nearby hospital. Lou said she was still working until two years ago at Kendall Toyota.

“Worked her whole life. Tough lady. Tough as heck,” Lou said.

Mario and Lou still haven’t told Clara that Mario is Miami’s coach. They don’t want her “too worked up.”

Clara, who had a tracheotomy recently and can’t speak, has a feeling though something is up. Lou and Mario have been telling her they have a surprise for her.

“Yesterday a tear started coming down her face,” Lou said.

(Top photo: Mark Brown / Getty Images)