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ARLINGTON, Texas — There is a box of notes back in Miami that Mario Cristobal is going to hold onto forever. It represents a moment. A belief. A decision that turned everything around, at a time when everyone had turned on his team.
It stems from Nov. 2, the day after Miami lost in overtime to SMU to give the Hurricanes a second loss and all but knock them out of the College Football Playoff picture. The postgame news conference felt like a funeral, with muted voices and dejected faces.
That Sunday afternoon in Miami, Cristobal called a typical staff meeting. But looking back now, he calls this one “The Meeting.” In that room, Cristobal didn’t come down hard on his staff, no yelling or pounding of the table. It was the opposite. It was positive. He wanted to raise the spirits of everyone, and he wanted coaches to do the same for the players. Because he knew no one else would.
“We are going to have to be our best fans, our best supporters, our best family,” Cristobal recounted Wednesday, thinking back on that moment. “I’m going to lift you up. You’re going to lift me up.”
Two months later, back in the Dallas area for the first time since the SMU game, Cristobal and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. lifted each other up. This time, literally, as they hugged, high-fived and dropped a cursory amount of swear words in celebration.
Mario Cristobal joins SVP after Miami’s win over Ohio State ⬇️ https://t.co/XJtdAoDYEp pic.twitter.com/OzdreY3Y7H
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 1, 2026
Miami upset Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl, punching a ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinals and delivering Cristobal a second consecutive marquee playoff win. The win at Texas A&M was nice. But the win against the defending national champion Buckeyes was a different kind of statement.
Maybe “The U” isn’t quite back yet, but it’s getting darn close.
This is a team that can win it all, and it’s because of the alumnus head coach who built this Miami team the way it needed to be. Tough. Physical. Like the offensive lineman he was. And in the moment they needed something else, Cristobal pushed the right button.
“One of the most important character traits of a true leader is to know what the group needs, and he did an unbelievable job in a dark time,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said.
Cristobal has taken plenty of criticism over the years, whether it be for game management or untimely losses. That SMU loss dropped Miami to 4-9 in November under Cristobal’s watch. He still hasn’t won the ACC, though wonky tiebreakers were a factor this year.
But after The Meeting, Miami went 4-0 down the stretch, got into the Playoff thanks to a final-day flip over Notre Dame by the selection committee, and two more wins later, here they are.
“He’s done a fantastic job,” said former Miami and Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, who was in attendance with plenty of former Miami players, like the animated Michael Irvin and Ray Lewis.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) January 1, 2026
Johnson celebrated with the team on the sideline as the final seconds ticked down. After Cristobal lifted the championship trophy on the podium, the two coaches shared some more words, and they each held up a hand to make the “U” signal. Cristobal didn’t play at Miami under Johnson, who had just left for the Cowboys, but it was Johnson who recruited Cristobal and his brother. The sons of Cuban exiles in Miami got their shot.
“He changed our lives,” Cristobal said. “We were nobodies. He offered my brother and I scholarships. My parents, they didn’t even know what a scholarship was. They were Cuban-Americans that came over and found a way to make a living. Forty years later, he’s out there on the sidelines supporting us.”
Now Cristobal is doing the same for his players. Last October, it was Cristobal and other coaches who informed running back Mark Fletcher Jr. that Fletcher’s father had died in his sleep. Every member of the team went to Big Mark’s funeral.
“I’ve still got a father figure every day,” Fletcher said of Cristobal. “I’d run through a wall for him.”
Cristobal has taken Miami to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003. The Canes are the first double-digit seed to win a CFP game, let alone two, and the win against Ohio State as a 9.5-point underdog was the biggest upset in CFP history.
They did it the way Cristobal planned when he arrived four years ago. The Canes had five sacks and held Ohio State to 45 rushing yards. The Buckeyes’ minus-3 rushing yards at halftime were their fewest in a game since 2004. Miami led 14-0 at the break thanks to a defensive interception returned for a touchdown, and the Canes did just enough to hold on. When they needed to run the ball and drain clock in the fourth quarter, they got it done.
A year ago, Miami’s high-flying offense with No. 1 pick Cam Ward could put up points, but the Canes couldn’t get stops in the big moments. So they focused even more in the offseason on loading up in the trenches. Cristobal wanted a bully. The results were evident Wednesday.
“It’s how Mario built the program,” athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “Tonight, you saw the culmination of all that happening inside and out.”
Miami will return to the Fiesta Bowl next week for the first time since losing the national championship there, 23 years ago. (Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
As he took in the celebration on the field, Cristobal tried to put on the coach face, giving generic answers, pushing praise to others. But there were moments where the inner lineman came out. He kept pumping his fist. Some f-bombs dropped. Speaking to “SportsCenter” from the field, his true feelings slipped out.
“Hats off to our guys for being some tough-ass sons of b——,” he said. After the interview, he apologized to the producer, not realizing the interview was live.
He earned the right to gloat. There are still two games to go to win a national championship, but Cristobal deserves respect for what he’s done this year. There is so much that goes into coaching. It’s more than timeout management or a play call. It’s knowing your team, your coaches, and figuring out how to get the most out of them. He has done that.
As Cristobal walked toward the tunnel to leave the field, Miami fans chanted “Ma-ri-o! Ma-ri-o!” The coach fist-pumped again. He put his hands up to make the “U.”
Twenty-three years ago in Arizona, it was Ohio State who upset the 11.5-point favorite and defending national champion Hurricanes. The Miami program hasn’t been the same since. On Wednesday, with both programs having switched positions, it was the underdog Miami that bullied the defending champ.
Now the Canes go back to Arizona, looking to get one step closer to that final glory, led by a Miami man who seems to have finally unlocked what “The U” always needed.