New Miami defensive coordinator Kevin Steele is an experienced coach, with stints at Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and LSU under his belt. Josh Gattis, the Hurricanes’ new offensive coordinator, just won the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the nation.
Both coaches have strong resumes and could be choosy about where they work. If they desired, they could probably land head coaching positions. So why come work for a head coach in his first season at a school with a team that went 7-5 last season?
Simply put, they believe in Mario Cristobal.
“He’s a winner and he does it with hard work,” Steele said. “I know people throw that word out there but that guy, Mario Cristobal, if you know anything about him, he is relentless. When he gets something in his vision he is relentless at it. He is a hard, smart worker.
“And on top of that … he is a phenomenal recruiter — phenomenal recruiter. I’ve seen that first hand. So those kinds of things and the fact that you know what this program can be, and you put Mario in charge of it, then it really kind of tells you you’re getting in a vehicle and you know where it’s going.”
Both Gattis and Steele said Cristobal leaving Oregon, a program that he led to two PAC-12 championships, shows how dedicated the new Hurricanes coach is to making Miami one of the nation’s top teams.
“Coach Cristobal did not have to leave the previous institution that he was at,” Gattis said. “He had that place rolling at the highest level. But to see him make that commitment to come back to Miami, a place that’s so special, a place that’s home to him. That’s what excites you. That’s what excites you as a coach because I believe in his mission.”
Both coaches have known Cristobal for years. Steele coached with him when they were both assistant coaches at Alabama, and both coaches saw Cristobal when they crossed paths on the recruiting trail.
“Just a ton of respect for him and being able to see him throughout his career and the steps that he’s taken, the programs that he’s built and all the success that he’s had,” Gattis said. “He’s led programs from the top down.”
Both coaches mentioned the commitment Miami has made to putting resources toward the football program as reasons why they wanted to join the Hurricanes.
“Most importantly, our administration, our fans, our community, they’ve gone all-in, collectively, to give (Cristobal) what he needs to build this program,” Gattis said. “And that’s what it’s going to take. It can’t be one singular coach or one singular side of the ball. It’s got to be everyone in the program, pulling the rope in the right direction.”
Steele said while he may not know the exact details of the financial support the football program will be getting in the future, he expects it to be enough to show that the administration is building a contender, saying he knows new athletic director Dan Radakovich has a history of building winning programs.
“I know his track record. I know him personally,” Steele said. “And I’ve never seen anything he’s led not be first-class and put all of his coaches in a position to compete for national championships.”
