Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes are looking to build off the success of last year's playoff run. Cristobal joined the 680 The Fan Youtube Podcast to speak on the Hurricanes:
On how the team is growing after national championship loss: Yeah, more positive anger for the Canes, man. We've come a long way. I mean, we've had consistent progress, and then last year, a breakthrough. And that builds a lot of momentum. That proof of concept builds belief. It validates the hard work. you know what it does? It galvanizes an institution, the city, a community, and Hurricane fans across the country. You can feel that. You can feel that every day you wake up. You can feel it when you go to work. So, all that does is just, it makes you hungrier, it makes you more driven. It continues to highlight the fact that the margins are really small, and that there are no excuses, man. It's time to go to work. We play the most competitive sport in the world, and I can't wait to get after it. That's the bottom line, man. We've been at it. Our players, they just carry a level of intensity with them, about them, that's awesome. And, we just want to keep our mouths shut and go to work. A lot to prove. Again, 2026, new team, so let's roll.
His thoughts on if Miami was going to get into the playoffs on Selection Day? Well, I mean, quite honestly, it was very different than 24. I thought 24, we had to go to court, and we had a battle and prove our case. And I felt that last year, you know what? There are a lot of teams that are worthy, but I did feel, confidently feel that, even though you're uneasy until it's on there, I felt like, we've earned this. It's going to work out. But, I mean, it was an awesome moment when you see it flash on the screen, and it was myself, the AD, and our player development guy. He said, he said, looked like Rocky and Apollo jumping up on the beach, man. Rocky, they were like, wait a second, man. It was a great moment, and certainly it's something that I think our fans will always remember because it propelled us to that next opportunity, which we took advantage of for the most part.
On Darian Mensah in the offense: You make sure you introduce him to our culture, certainly schematically what we do, but you also, you dive into what he does really, really well. And I think adaptability as a coach has to be at the forefront of how you lead your team. And I think both coordinators have done a great job bringing in what, their base systems and beliefs, but also adapting to what we do as a program philosophically. We're a power run offense that with some really downfield air raid concepts, right? We're play action, screen, move the ball sometimes at varied tempos. And I think there's a lot, with a guy like Darien Mensah that has no limits, you could open that playbook completely wide. There's nothing that he can't do, and he excels at it. But there's also, you got to dive into what he does, what he really, really likes, because you want to expand on that and make sure you put him in a situation to be successful.
On Malachi Toney: Game ain't based on sympathy. That's what it means. He's a different level, different level as a person, as a teammate. The guy, he garners that type of support and galvanizes an entire community, like you mentioned. Shows up at the park the other day for one of our camps, and it's a mob scene, you know? And he's impacted the program and people around him in a way that Miami has been, like, hungry for for a long, long time. But then you combine his work ethic, level of play. I think we all seen the plays. We've all seen the touchdowns, big catches and whatnot. Dig into the blocking. Watch what he does when he's blocking. I mean, he is an honorary offensive lineman, is what he is, man. He's downfield throwing his body around, physical finishes. He's exactly what you want on your, he's exactly what you want as a son.
On coming back to Miami: I mean, it was always the goal. I told that to Butch Davis when he asked me, I was going to become a GA. He's like, what do you want to do this? And I said, I want to sit in your seat one day, you know? But I never, it was always a goal, but I never, like, seeked it. I was at Oregon and everything was going great. And when it happened, it was a little bit, nerve-wracking because of the level of turnaround that had to be done. You had to really, you know, uproot a lot of the stuff, and it was a blessing. It really was. And again, I don't have time to reflect, really. I don't. I think it's, you do that when you retire one day, and that's, you know, multiple decades down the line for my ***. I don't. I just go, man. I just go. I love the city. I owe Miami. I owe the University of Miami. That's the way I look at it. So buckle up, wake up early, go to work, man, whatever it takes.
On building off the success of last year's season: Well, let's go find out, you know what I mean? I don't sit here and predict. I don't sit here and give a prognosis on what it's going to look like. I know that you don't replace when August comes around. You are replacing throughout the entire time. The moment we signed Reuben Bain and he was playing as a freshman, we right away, whether he was there or not, we were looking for the next great one and the next great one after that. You really have to stack your classes where there is not just depth. Quality depth to me is like a term that I don't quite fathom, but competitive depth, where every single year, whoever comes in and who comes in after that, legitimately has a chance to unseat the guy that's playing, the guy that's starting. And I think we've done that at a really high level, and now it's time to find out. All that stuff is great. All that lifting and running is great. Now put on the pads and go get it done. So it's time to find out. Listen, we're not going to talk about it. We're not going to, we're going to, let's go out there and let's find out.
On how the team is growing after national championship loss: Yeah, more positive anger for the Canes, man. We've come a long way. I mean, we've had consistent progress, and then last year, a breakthrough. And that builds a lot of momentum. That proof of concept builds belief. It validates the hard work. you know what it does? It galvanizes an institution, the city, a community, and Hurricane fans across the country. You can feel that. You can feel that every day you wake up. You can feel it when you go to work. So, all that does is just, it makes you hungrier, it makes you more driven. It continues to highlight the fact that the margins are really small, and that there are no excuses, man. It's time to go to work. We play the most competitive sport in the world, and I can't wait to get after it. That's the bottom line, man. We've been at it. Our players, they just carry a level of intensity with them, about them, that's awesome. And, we just want to keep our mouths shut and go to work. A lot to prove. Again, 2026, new team, so let's roll.
His thoughts on if Miami was going to get into the playoffs on Selection Day? Well, I mean, quite honestly, it was very different than 24. I thought 24, we had to go to court, and we had a battle and prove our case. And I felt that last year, you know what? There are a lot of teams that are worthy, but I did feel, confidently feel that, even though you're uneasy until it's on there, I felt like, we've earned this. It's going to work out. But, I mean, it was an awesome moment when you see it flash on the screen, and it was myself, the AD, and our player development guy. He said, he said, looked like Rocky and Apollo jumping up on the beach, man. Rocky, they were like, wait a second, man. It was a great moment, and certainly it's something that I think our fans will always remember because it propelled us to that next opportunity, which we took advantage of for the most part.
On Darian Mensah in the offense: You make sure you introduce him to our culture, certainly schematically what we do, but you also, you dive into what he does really, really well. And I think adaptability as a coach has to be at the forefront of how you lead your team. And I think both coordinators have done a great job bringing in what, their base systems and beliefs, but also adapting to what we do as a program philosophically. We're a power run offense that with some really downfield air raid concepts, right? We're play action, screen, move the ball sometimes at varied tempos. And I think there's a lot, with a guy like Darien Mensah that has no limits, you could open that playbook completely wide. There's nothing that he can't do, and he excels at it. But there's also, you got to dive into what he does, what he really, really likes, because you want to expand on that and make sure you put him in a situation to be successful.
On Malachi Toney: Game ain't based on sympathy. That's what it means. He's a different level, different level as a person, as a teammate. The guy, he garners that type of support and galvanizes an entire community, like you mentioned. Shows up at the park the other day for one of our camps, and it's a mob scene, you know? And he's impacted the program and people around him in a way that Miami has been, like, hungry for for a long, long time. But then you combine his work ethic, level of play. I think we all seen the plays. We've all seen the touchdowns, big catches and whatnot. Dig into the blocking. Watch what he does when he's blocking. I mean, he is an honorary offensive lineman, is what he is, man. He's downfield throwing his body around, physical finishes. He's exactly what you want on your, he's exactly what you want as a son.
On coming back to Miami: I mean, it was always the goal. I told that to Butch Davis when he asked me, I was going to become a GA. He's like, what do you want to do this? And I said, I want to sit in your seat one day, you know? But I never, it was always a goal, but I never, like, seeked it. I was at Oregon and everything was going great. And when it happened, it was a little bit, nerve-wracking because of the level of turnaround that had to be done. You had to really, you know, uproot a lot of the stuff, and it was a blessing. It really was. And again, I don't have time to reflect, really. I don't. I think it's, you do that when you retire one day, and that's, you know, multiple decades down the line for my ***. I don't. I just go, man. I just go. I love the city. I owe Miami. I owe the University of Miami. That's the way I look at it. So buckle up, wake up early, go to work, man, whatever it takes.
On building off the success of last year's season: Well, let's go find out, you know what I mean? I don't sit here and predict. I don't sit here and give a prognosis on what it's going to look like. I know that you don't replace when August comes around. You are replacing throughout the entire time. The moment we signed Reuben Bain and he was playing as a freshman, we right away, whether he was there or not, we were looking for the next great one and the next great one after that. You really have to stack your classes where there is not just depth. Quality depth to me is like a term that I don't quite fathom, but competitive depth, where every single year, whoever comes in and who comes in after that, legitimately has a chance to unseat the guy that's playing, the guy that's starting. And I think we've done that at a really high level, and now it's time to find out. All that stuff is great. All that lifting and running is great. Now put on the pads and go get it done. So it's time to find out. Listen, we're not going to talk about it. We're not going to, we're going to, let's go out there and let's find out.
