I think there are some fans who are (overly) emotional over the loss on Friday. That's natural. But overall, I think most fan are still supporting Cristobal for the most part
My view is Cristobal gives us the best chance (for whatever defiencies he might have as a coach) to get back to a consistently high level. He has already raised the floor significantly. Maybe Im being overly dramatic in thinking that if it doesn't work with him -- Im not sure it will work with anyone at UM.
He's gotten more support and has the backing of key individuals that help finance this whole thing .
With that said, I love his seriousness as a leader. For too long Miami has been soft and a bit of a clown show. He's an elite recruiter, and this isn't just a job for him - or at least just a stop over. Miami finally has a shot to have their version of Bobby Bowden. Maybe that doesn't matter in this era, but I'm still a fan of long-term stability.
On the flipside, I have concerns over the pace and tempo of the offense, at times. Every season he will lose a game (or two) that boggles your mind. If Im not mistaken, Miami has now lost three games in their last 10 or 11 as a double-digit favorite vs ACC teams
It is what it is.
Mario, as I said before, has greatly raised the floor of this program. For that he must be given credit. Now, the question is -- how high is Miami's ceiling with him?
I personally think Miami has to win out to make the playoffs. Lets see if he can prepare and lead this team to the finish line.
I am not a Mario Cristobal fan as a head coach. I never have been. I think as an OL/A-HC/Recruiting coordinator, he's elite, but as a HC he has an incredibly outdated philosophy and gigantic blind spots for things which would make winning on gameday a lot easier on him.
Whether or not you support the guy now that he's here, is different. He has unquestionably raised the profile and the floor for the program as it stands today. He's taken seriously as a program builder and the money is flowing in because of that. So, not supporting him as of today is asinine.
As great of a recruiter as he is, it is harder for him at Miami. We still are not viewed as the "offer you got to have," by recruits and their "advisers." His long term success and support will come down to him overcoming those deficiencies and sustaining high level success on the field.
Specifically, his standard cannot be 7, 8, 7, 10 win cycles. That will turn into 5 and 6 win clusterf-cks in a hurry, and he will fail. He needs incredibly large amounts of talent to overcome his deficiencies, and they aren't signing up for anything but making the playoffs at least half the time.
So yes, I support him 100%, and I want to be clear, I never thought, nor would I predict an undefeated season. That is an incredibly out-of-touch with reality baseline for any season, but after beating the teams which most agreed were the biggest threat, losing the way we did to UL is a very bitter pill. We were unprepared, unfocused, all the "un" things you can be, but specifically, it showed no progress from Mario in the areas which are holding him back.
You can't win in college football without spending an absurd amount of money, so spend some more on a seasoned coach who knows his sh*t when it comes to managing a game. There's tons of guys who know what to do with analytics, and can break the game down into segments which would help him immensely in making the right adjustments, gaining an extra possession and calling out your own big picture tendencies your opponents are feasting on.
Right now, it's a total random walk on game day, there is no plan, it's obvious. That's what killed him against UL and a guy like Brohm. Two coaches, two weeks, one had a plan, the other didn't. You need to counter a guy like Brohm before kickoff. 3 years in a row he didn't. Fix that or lose support.